Wednesday, 10 November 2010

THE National Assembly, on Wednesday, November 3, 2010, passed a bill which elongated the list of public office holders entitled to pension, upkeep allowance and the usually generous perquisities. One group that readily attracts attention on the list of beneficiaries is that of former military dictators. The Senate, which earlier in March this year voted against the inclusion of former military leaders on the list, eventually made a U-turn when the conflicting positions of the two legislative chambers were being harmonised. The bill now awaits the assent of the president to become law.

THE involvement of the military in political administration is generally regarded as an aberration. Nigeria and many other African countries have had their age of colonels and generals. In many countries, the people trooped to the streets to celebrate the advent of soldiers on the political scene. In all cases, the ostensible purpose of their intervention was to clean the Augean stable. It, however, later became apparent that the primary motive of the nocturnal conspiracy of most of the coup planners was to secure an unrestricted access to the public treasury. At the end of the day, particularly in Nigeria, they left the stable messier than they met it. Their eventual exit from the political arena was highly ignominious.



NIGERIANS know military rulers who rendered selfless service just as they know those on the other side of the divide. It is regrettable that those who have stolen even what they do not need and would have, in saner climes, been put behind bars, are among those to be provided with additional luxuries at the expense of the people. The resources that should be committed to the provision of the basic needs of the hoi polloi are to be used to further enhance the comfort of those who have made their lives miserable. In both the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, it is now an article of faith that no one should take control of the reins of government by unconstitutional means. Nigeria is a prominent player in the two organisations. The recognition and reward being given to former military dictators is antithetical to Nigeria’s avowed commitment to the principles of democracy.

IT is an act of treason when a soldier ousts an elected government from power. It is a continuation of illegality when a soldier supplants a comrade-in-arms. The overall total of 29 years of military rule that Nigeria has experienced was a period of arbitrariness and blatant disregard for human rights. The intervention of the military in the political administration of Nigeria was an obstruction to the evolution of democratic governance and the practice of federalism. The fundamental issues that should have been sorted out within the first 10 to 20 years of sovereign existence are still outstanding. The standards and systems which the military inherited were perverted by their unitary approach to a federal structure. The persistent agitation for a sovereign national conference is aimed at the creation of a forum at which the distortions imposed on the country by the military can be discussed and corrected.

FORMER military leaders are, like other former public officers, entitled to their retirement benefits. Their usurpation of political power in the course of service should not confer on them additional advantages because it was an illegal act. The legacy of the military in Nigeria’s political history is one of economic decline and corruption of the value system. By extending undeserved perquisites to former military rulers and their family members, the National Assembly is offering them handsome rewards for illegality and illegitimate exercise of political power. It is an unwitting yet obvious encouragement to ambitious soldiers who might wish to enjoy similar benefits.

ANOTHER revolting dimension of the ill-considered bill is the inclusion of presiding officers of the National Assembly and their deputies on the list of those to be undeservedly remunerated. Some of the intended beneficiaries served in these positions for less than one or two years. It is unthinkable that such people are meant to be paid for life for doing just that. This is utterly irresponsible in a country in which so many other citizens who have served for 35 years are starving because of the irregular payment of the peanuts that the system provides for them as pension. Should this bill become law, state assemblies will quickly take their cue from it. It will become a precedent in the pursuit of selfish interests.

THE entire bill is indeed a disservice to the people of Nigeria. It is a senseless addition to the already-bloated cost of governance in a country in which nothing works. It is an obnoxious piece of legislation to which the president should not give his assent because it amounts to an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians.


http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/editorial/13308-handsome-rewards-for-illegitimacy

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