120million vs 120million

120million vs. 120million...

I believe that I can fly sometimes, but when I reach the skies and see Nigerian Airways, I tremble because it seems to fly higher/lower than most planes do. I believe I can see but NEPA makes me see less whenever I am in Nigeria, it becomes the more you look the less you see because some people who are not blind, just refuse to see. I hardly drink water from any running tap there because water treatment seems to be alien to the Water Board that is, if water is even flowing at all from taps. I go to the hospital/clinic for medical attention and behold there are no drugs/tablets and the ones in the chemist are not trustworthy and could be just baked POWDER!!! After all, who cares??? Big men can afford them from abroad while the poor ones could rot in the bottomless pit of hell. Sad abi???

And then, 120million naira in 3 days could have been spent by PDP with the approval of the Senate if not for the unexpected twist of fate by Pius Anyim, Nigeria's Senate President. It now seems that “bomboy” Anyim is no more hiding in big daddy's pocket anymore or is growing to big thus beginning to realise that everyone has the ability to graduate from different stages in life be it good or bad. The author of the request, Audu Ogbeh saw nothing wrong with making such a mouth-watering and dubious submission and got pretty upset when this came to light. The man loves darkness because it is when the evil spirits rise to enchant and make incantations that spell doom when daylight appears. If you are amazed with this, then I am traumatised. In the words of late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Pls, listen to my argument…

Nigeria is a country of 120million people and 120 million naira is/was needed to host a 3 day PDP convention in the moderate and quiet city of Calabar for 800 delegates. The cost estimate according to Audu Ogbeh and his planners were 125,000 naira per delegate and you know what??? This is tax-payers money meant to be blown away in just 3 days when many are being owed salaries and many more are jobless and hungry. I have lived in Calabar and know its terrain’s inside out. I still rekindle how much a good hotel room is now even then because so many of my friends travel day in, day out to the Canaan City. I am very much aware that there are good hotels for 3,000 per night but if in our usual flamboyant manner, they decide to go the 5,000 per night hotels then let’s get down to some mathematics. Each delegate at 5,000 per night would cost 15,000 for 3 nights and then to any right thinking mind, 25,000 naira is alarmingly enough money for feeding for 3 days. Travelling allowances would not exceed 20,000 naira even if you were to fly in from Aso Rock. If you are able to sum this elementary stuff up, then you could easily come to a total of 60,000 naira.

Now, do we not have an excess of 65,000-naira left per head??? I mean, are people in Nigerian democracy paid to attend conventions??? Doesn’t all this amount to 52million naira for delegates and probably not up to 1million naira for the conference venue bookings??? Can we not see that 53-55million naira can conveniently host that so-called convergence of cabals and political sycophants??? Why are we so fun of wasting funds in the midst of abject poverty and malnutrition??? Some how, most of you can see by what I mean by civilian waste. Money is approved for the most inflated purposes and millionaires are made instantly without playing in “who wants to be a millionaire” competition. When my long time friend who is a politician came visiting the other time, he mentioned that they were invited on a number of occasions to meeting in Abuja or wherever for the flimsiest of reasons and paid to do so as some nonsense form of gratification. I laughed at the sheer myopia and ignorance of those ruling us and how money is being spent.

This event which some people are saying that Anyim apologised to Ogbeh or vice versa simply has a similar undertone and many more might have happened without our knowledge. God exposed it to us to let us know that the worst might still be yet to come and by that I include live wastage in 2003. Those that are stealing the money are not doing it for fun but, are piling it up for when the war begins. It is sad, but it is sad enough when we seem helpless and defenceless from this lot of criminals or vagabonds in power. If we cannot fight them, then let’s remind them of the gross indiscipline and disrespect to democracy. Let’s let them know that you could without difficulty learn from the mistakes of others. Let’s be reminiscent them of their respective oaths of office and the implications of further destroying a shattered and ailing economy. After the military cabals returns the political cliques. I think it is time we demolish this myth…

July 2002