[size=14pt]As a senator in 1992, I was earning N6,500 per month [/size]
Written by Abiodun Awolaja Friday, 05 August 2011


Segun Bamigbetan Baju

Chief Segun Bamigbetan Baju, former senator and  former Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, spoke with Abiodun Awolaja at the Ifaki-Ekiti country home of former Governor Segun Oni  last Friday, on the political gathering at his (Oni’s) mother’s burial, Nigeria’s foreign policy, the controversy over the remuneration of  National Assemblymembers, and sundry issues.

DURING the burial ceremony of Madam Comfort Oni, mother of Chief  Segun Oni, we have seen an outpouring of goodwill and emotions across party lines. What is your  comment on that?
Well, certainly  we have seen tremendous outpouring of love, respect and  goodwill towards Chief  Segun Oni, the immediate past governor of  Ekiti State, who is a very good friend. More importantly, he is a decent  Nigerian, well educated, and a polished politician. I’m amazed myself to see  the composition of the attendance  that we had today(last Friday); there were at least four past and present governors of Ekiti State, starting from Niyi Adebayo, Ayodele Fayose;  of  course, Oni the host, and also the current governor, Kayode  Fayemi. Also, former Governor Osarhimen Osunbor of Edo State, senators, past and present, members of the House of Representatives and leaders of political parties, were all represented.

I was particularly touched by what the Prelate of the Methodist Church, Dr Ola Makinde, said. He said, “This is a demonstration of love, and Ekiti is starting it for Nigeria.’’ Regardless of partisan views, we all came together to give mama  a befitting burial, and that is a lesson for us all  to learn because we all put politics aside. We just came to pay our  last respects  to  a wonderful Nigerian,  who had done so well for her children. And, of course, that is why we had so many Prelates and Bishops in attendance. It was really a great day.

Would you say that demonstrates the resilience of our culture, because sometimes we seem to have lost touch with the culture, mixing politics with everything?
I think today we have seen the best of our culture. Also, we must not forget the fact that we have seen a lot about the character of Engineer Segun Oni and the goodwill that he enjoys from across Nigeria; you saw  messages from the governor  of Niger State;  from the President and Commander-in-Chief, and from the Senate President.

We have had this issue of people saying that the salaries of senators are too high, without seemingly extending the same criticism to the executive. Is it that there is a conspiracy against the Nigerian legislature, or that the problem is within the National Assembly   itself?
[size=14pt]I think, frankly, you would need to ask the current legislators. I was in the Senate in 1992 and, if I remember correctly, I was earning N6,500 per month.
Per month?

Yes, and that was everything. As a matter of fact, the Senate President was earning N13,000. Perhaps I have lost touch with what is happening. But then, I think we need to do something about it (the jumbo pay) because if we are leaders of the people, we must not be out of touch with the feelings of the people.[/size]

We must represent their best feelings and aspirations.
Critics of Nigeria’s foreign policy, including the Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, Professor Bamitale Omole, have said that Nigeria has a Big Brother approach, extending a hand of fellowship which is not reciprocated, especially by the French West-African countries. As a former ambassador, would you say we on the right track?

Well, Nigeria cannot afford not to be the Big Brother in Africa, by virtue of  our sheer  size, population, and endowments. It is a role that we have to play. And, of course, you know that internationally, we play a major role in peace-keeping operations all over the world, not just in Africa. But what needs to be corrected is that we must insist on being treated with the same kind of respect with which we treat our neighbours, our brothers.That is the important point.

On Nigeria’s democracy, we have observed some positive developments. For instance, we have had losers of elections congratulating the winners the moment they were declared. We also had an election that we can say was an improvement on previous ones. Taking a critical look at our democracy, would you say that we are improving?
Certainly, we are improving. But there are so many areas we need to cover. We may not cover everything overnight, but in certain areas, it has been a learning curve for the leaders,  those who are aspiring to lead, and even the populace. The parties that lost now have to go back to the drawing board and ask themselves: ‘’where did we get it wrong?’’ And this is the whole essence of democracy.

The issue of President Goodluck Jonathan proposing a single term for the president and governors has generated a lot of controversy. How do you see it?
Well, the idea of single term has been around for some time, but if you ask me (and I’m not speaking on behalf of my party), I think  there is a lot of credence in the two-term policy, because it gives credit to those who have done well, and it gives the people the opportunity to  change, to correct, people who have been elected but did not perform well.

You see, sometimes (I don’t know whether this is the Nigerian nature) we tend to get so impatient. Those who have designed programmes and policies in their wisdom have done a lot of work and, of course, they must have taken their experiences into consideration. You know, their past experiences must have been instructive in coming up with those policies. But sometimes we, in our haste, jettison such policies, only to come back to them in a few years. I think the idea of two-term for the executive is a very sound one.

We should be more reflective. We have only practised democracy now for just 12 years since the return to civil rule in 1999, and we are already changing the constitution so many times. I don’t  think this is necessary. We need to improve on our institutions; it is the institutions that are failing.

Our judiciary should function. You have seen all that has been going on, all the allegations between judges. It’s unfortunate; we should strengthen  our institutions. The judiciary, police, customs, our power supply agency, should all function. Once we have the agencies functioning, then I don’t think there would be much problems.

Is this a problem of change in values?
If we must be honest with ourselves, we must reflect on how we started. We are operating a borrowed system; this is not our traditional system. It is good, but perhaps we need time to master it.

We already have a culture, and some aspects of our culture are very good and superior . But we are borrowing the ones we think are better. We can’t master it overnight; we have to be a bit patient. At least, we have seen some level of benefit that is better than when we had the military. The people can exercise their rights, vote out bad leaders. We didn’t have that under the military.

Even our civil service is not perfect. The civil service has been there for 50 years or thereabouts, but democracy has only been there for a few years. We need to take a critical look, throw the searchlight on our civil service. Is it functioning at the optimum level? Because, for anybody who is elected as a governor, you need the civil service, you need the technocrats. If that is already a crumbling institution, then something has to be done. Otherwise, you can’t perform even with the best intentions.

Some people have said that politicians are able to perpetrate corruption only because they are aided by civil servants; that if the top directors do not cooperate with you, you cannot steal as a commissioner or minister. In concrete terms, how do we reform the judiciary?
You have said it all. No politician can steal without the cooperation of the civil service. Any politician that does so would simply find himself behind bars. I will give you an example.

In the state of Illinois in the United States, the past three or four governors are in prison. And the last one that was there when Obama was elected— after Obama was elected US President, he was caught on tape negotiating Obama’s vacant senate seat and was impeached. So, let our institutions work. The problem is not the politicians; if anybody does anything wrong, and the institutions are strong enough, he goes to jail, and then that  would put an end to everything.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/politics/26177-as-a-senator-in-1992-i-was-earning-n6500-per-month

Before you people get it too twisted, we should determine what N6500 is in today's terms. Back in 1992 the naira was 1.5 times the dollar, so in today's terms, the naira would be 1.5 * 163N/$ which means N6500 in 1992, is equivalent to 163 * 1.5 * 6500 = N1,89.250.00. We adjust for inflation by multiplying that sum by 400%. Thus N6500 in 1992 is equivalent to N7,570,000.00.

So former Senator Segun Bamigbetan Baju and his colleagues earned way more than the current senators, no wonder the 'poorly' paid Senator Batu obtained a chieftaincy despite his poverty.

^
Are you defending "something?"

Put away those voodoo figures sir; or better still, apply them to a labourers wage. After that, tell me if labourers are doing better these days. Apply your calculation to teachers, doctors wages etc and give us your report. NASS members are not special beings.

Beaf:

^
Are you defending "something?"

Put away those voodoo figures sir; or better still, apply them to a labourers wage. After that, tell me if labourers are doing better these days. Apply your calculation to teachers, doctors wages etc.

If you are insinuating that I am defending Senators' salaries, I am not. It suffices to say that their current salary is not excessive, the excesses are found in allowances and quarterly, unconstitutional payments they make to themselves. By the way, my numbers are on the conservative side, 400% inflation is an understatement - for example a you could buy a brand new car in 1992 for N6500. I know say you be small boy, so you have no idea. olodo

ndu_chucks:

If you are insinuating that I am defending Senators' salaries, I am not. It suffices to say that their current salary is not excessive, the excesses are found in allowances and quarterly, unconstitutional payments they make to themselves. By the way, my numbers are on the conservative side, 400% inflation is an understatement - for example a you could buy a brand new car in 1992 for N6500. I know say you be small boy, so you have no idea. olodo

Until you do the same math for labourers, doctors, teachers, drivers etc, we wouldn't get anywhere. There is no need for any special math that suits NASS members.

By the way Segun Baju makes it quite clear that N6,500 represents ALL he got, no hidden perks or "chocolates." Now how do you explain this bomb:

Check out this email I received detailing the outrageous figures paid to a Nigeria Senator. Little wonder why everyone in Nigeria has political ambitions and will do whatever it takes to get there.

Basic Salary (BS) – N2,484,245.50

Hardship Allowance @ 50% of Basic Salary – N1,242,122.70 (I love this kind of hardship)

Constituency allowance @ 200% of BS - N4,968,509.00

Furniture Allowance @ 300% of BS – N7,452,736.50

Newspaper allowance @ 50% – N1,242,122.70 (Which kind newspaper be this, abi na online or hard copy?)

Wardrobe allowance @ 25% – N621,061.37

Recess Allowance @ 10% – N248,424.55

Accommodation @ 200% – N4,968,509.00

Utilities @ 30% – N828,081.83

Domestic Staff @ 35% – N863,184.12

Entertainment @ 30% – N828,081.83

Personal Assistance @ 25% – N621,061.37

Vehicle Maintenance Allowance @ 75% – N1,863,184.12

Leave Allowance @ 10% – N248,424.55

One off payments (Severance gratuity) @ 300% – N7,452,736.50 (Once they get fired.)

Motor Vehicle Allowance @ 400% of BS – N9,936,982.00 – Every Four Years

Senator’s Salary per month – N2,456,647.70
Total = N29,479,749.00 Per Year
Allowance of Nigerian Senator: $1,500,000/year
GDP of Nigerian Economy: $45 Billion/year

A feeding frenzy!!!
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!

Compare with this -

Salary of the U.S. President: $250,000/year
GDP of the U.S. Economy: $13 Trillion/year
What do these Senators do to deserve this pay?

Amazingly, I saw a recent news video on YouTube of Nigeria senators in a session demanding an increase to their yearly allowance. These guys want a whopping N30 million every month.

Most of the Pharmacists, Engineers, Lawyers, Doctors, Welfare coordinators, Teachers/Lecturers, Engineers, Civil Servants and other productive professionals cannot boast of N1 million per year. What a pity !!!

SAY NO TO THIS OPEN LOOTING OF NIGERIA.
SEND A LINK OF THIS POST TO ALL PATRIOTIC NIGERIANS.

http://www.peterokali.com/2010/08/02/this-really-stinks-nigeria-senators-salary-package-2/

Of course we know that the likes of Dimeji were getting N100,000,000.00 before perks. Dimeji Bankole "managed" with a miserly 1.6billion Naira per annum, I wonder what math can moralise that?

Ekiti is always in the middle of sth. My own is, hope it wont be a battle ground in the later future

I love my state

Addressing the topic, it's really scary how salary went from N6k to N6m in less than 4 years.

Beaf:

Until you do the same math for labourers, doctors, teachers, drivers etc, we wouldn't get anywhere. There is no need for any special math that suits NASS members.

By the way Segun Baju makes it quite clear that N6,500 represents ALL he got, no hidden perks or "chocolates." Now how do you explain this bomb:

http://www.peterokali.com/2010/08/02/this-really-stinks-nigeria-senators-salary-package-2/

Of course we know that the likes of Dimeji were getting N100,000,000.00 before perks. Dimeji Bankole "managed" with a miserly 1.6billion Naira per annum, I wonder what math can moralise that?

Why are you desperately trying to project the image that I am in support of the salary and allowances of the thieving Senators of today? My only point is that the Senators' salaries were higher in 1992 than today. shikena.

Beaf:

Until you do the same math for labourers, doctors, teachers, drivers etc, we wouldn't get anywhere. There is no need for any special math that suits NASS members.

By the way Segun Baju makes it quite clear that N6,500 represents ALL he got, no hidden perks or "chocolates." Now how do you explain this bomb:

http://www.peterokali.com/2010/08/02/this-really-stinks-nigeria-senators-salary-package-2/

Of course we know that the likes of Dimeji were getting N100,000,000.00 before perks. Dimeji Bankole "managed" with a miserly 1.6billion Naira per annum, I wonder what math can moralise that?

how does one also moralize gej allowing bankole and mark to buy their official residences for a pittance?

offtopic - speaking of dimeji whatever happened to the much publicized arrest just before gej's visit to yankee

was that fresh hot air

1992 in the middle of SAP? 7yrs after IBB began to rule?

Some of us were grown enough in 1992. The Dollar wasnt 1.5, The Dollar was between N10 and N22.

I know in 1993 the Dollar was sold for $22 to Banks and $70 to the public.

In 1991 I bought the Guardian newspaper for N1.50.

I have difficulties believing his figures though maybe he was talking about basic salary excluding allowances

As at 1992 Atlantic Hall students were already paying 25k for school fees

1 dollar was not 1.5 Naira in 1992.

In 1992, I dollar was exchanging for N20, I pound sterling was exchanging for close to N40 and 1 Dutch Gulder was exchanging for N10. I done dey exchange Forex every Christmas since I was born.

House rent for 3 bedroom flat in 1992 was N50,000, and I remember that my mother was earning N20,000 per month in 1992. . . and we were not balling.

I don't know where Ndu-Chucks got his info from but in 1992, school fees for mid-range private school was N1,000. Peak milk was nowhere near 50kobo. Coke was N5 and Meatpie was N5. I remember cos that was ma lunch allowance.

oyb:

offtopic - speaking of dimeji whatever happened to the much publicized arrest just before gej's visit to yankee

was that fresh hot air

The matter is before the courts.
A lot of you stones and rocks know nothing about civilisation and due process. Nigeria is being rescued from the jungle it has historically been were people get lynched and burned alive, get an education about what human rights in democratic society means. I'm curious to hear your crude suggestion.

Now, back to topic.

jmaine:

I go with Ndu_chucks on this one . . . .but that does not erase the fact this present day senators are gluttonous in their looting and milking spree . . .In 1992, a tin of evaporated Peak milk was selling for 50kobo . . . . but now it's about N120

I knew some old coots and cargoes, like Ibime,  were going to come out with their own bogus numbers    The 400% inflation rate I used abouve was way too conservative and low. To convert to today's naira I should have used 1500%. Additional research shows that 1992 rate may have actually been 1$ = N9.91 (Parrallel market) - I erroneously used adjusted 1982 rates instead of 1992 rates.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_naira#Exchange_rate_history  Using the more accurate rate and inflation adjustments, N6500 in 1992 is equivalent to over N1,5 million/month in today's naira. 

Senators' salaries back in 1992 is not much different that what it is today, I maintain.  My N1.5million/month assumes that they did not get any salary increases from 1992 to 2011 - we all know that is impossible. I stand by my point.

@Ibime, was one round with an Idoma ashewo not 5 - 10 kobo back then, do you remember?   

i remember vividly when coke was increased from N2:50k to N5:00 and this was around 93-94 . . . . And the same increase was effected in the rate of bikes and other consumable commodities at the same period . . .Peak meak meant was formerly sold for N1:50k . . It was subsequently increased to N2:50k then to N5:00 . . .cant really pinpoint the exact years but the N5:00 rate was prolly in 93 . .