THE eight-day trip to London, the United Kingdom, by 32 wives of Oyo State lawmakers, led by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mrs. Monsurat Sunmonu is needless and wasteful. It is yet another clear example of the profligacy on the part of government that has bloated cost of governance and rendered the country’s democracy unproductive. As an entity laying claim to progressive administration, Oyo State should have resisted the temptation to expend public fund for a project with no benefit to its people.

In a season of the absurd, the Oyo state government joined the inglorious band of perfidy following reports that Mrs. Sunmonu, Speaker of the House of Assembly, has corralled 32 wives of legislators to which she added an unknown number of aides and principal officers of the House, to an eight-day jamboree in London. The reason for the trip was to enable the women learn how to cook for their husbands who as legislators now apparently deserve a better fare than the local Nigerian food that they have hitherto been used to. The special training, to be undertaken in Custom House Hotel, London, is euphemistically called ‘Husband Support’. The Speaker is reported to have spiced up the trip by leading the women on a shopping spree in Peckham. According to conservative estimates, this trip at 10 nights per person, will consume N50 million of taxpayers’ money. It should be noted that the London trip is coming hot on the heels of another trip by Oyo state legislators who just returned from a ‘working’ tour of South Africa.

The arrival of democracy is fast becoming an unbearable burden to the people of this country. Since 1999 the political class as a whole has shown impetuous and irresponsible behaviour at the expense of the people. Legislators have become a law unto themselves and are wasting the resources of the nation without any commensurate input into the quality of governance. As a result, the cost of governance in Nigeria is arguably the highest in the world. This profligacy as first noticed by the Governor of Central Bank, Lamido Sanusi, was consuming a quarter of the national budget. The prodigal pattern of consumption is being replicated to an extreme degree in the 36 states of the federation and in the 774 local governments. The looting and the waste going on in Nigeria in the name of governance has no parallel anywhere else and is responsible for the breeding of an angry and alienated citizenry who see no dividend in this democracy. It has been argued that collectively, the subterranean spoils of office in the executive, legislature and judiciary and the abuse of office among public officials in quantum far exceed the trillions of naira regularly reported as stolen in Nigeria. Long-suffering Nigerians have been waiting for the sanitization of the system but it gets worse all the time.

For a trip that adds no value to the people of Oyo state, this jamboree in a disaster prone region is inexcusable. Last year, 100 persons died in flood waters. This year, at the same time as the merry wives of legislators were emplaning for London, another heavy rain destroyed bridges and roads in Ibadan, the State capital. A temporary wooden bridge in Apete, Ido Local Government Area, was washed away, cutting off whole communities. The money expended on this trip could have been used to at least do some remedial work on damaged infrastructure. Instead Governor Abiola Ajimobi rushed to Abuja to appeal to the World Bank to come to his aid. Is it surprising that international donors do not take Nigerian officials seriously when they approach them with a begging bowl? The prodigal lifestyle of officials gives the lie to their request.

Regretfully in the Nigeria of today, everyone does what he likes with nobody calling for restraint. Cases of heinous corruption fill the air with only a handful being investigated, and even fewer prosecuted. The political parties, whether in government or opposition, appear not to have guidelines on acceptable conduct and discipline.

This aberration should serve as a warning to other governors who might be tempted to copy Oyo state, to ask themselves if and when they ever heard that wives of legislators in any country outside Africa had embarked on an inter-continental tour.

Nigerians of any classification are free to go abroad for whatever tickles their fancy, but they must do so with their own money. Dipping hand into the treasury for frivolous trips is an insult on the electorate who are ultimately the source of all power in a democracy. Nigerian leaders must scrupulously guard against conveying the impression that they do not care about what the people feel or think.


http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93746:london-jamboree-by-oyo-legislators-wives-&catid=37:editorial&Itemid=612#comments

HNosegbe: The reason for the trip was to enable the women learn how to cook for their husbands who as legislators now apparently deserve a better fare than the local Nigerian food that they have hitherto been used to. The special training, to be undertaken in Custom House Hotel, London, is euphemistically called ‘Husband Support’. The Speaker is reported to have spiced up the trip by leading the women on a shopping spree in Peckham. According to conservative estimates, this trip at 10 nights per person, will consume N50 million of taxpayers’ money. It should be noted that the London trip is coming hot on the heels of another trip by Oyo state legislators who just returned from a ‘working’ tour of South Africa.

No be amala dem dey chop? What are they changing to?

Bunch of fools.

This just goes to show that even the so-called "progressive" opposition parties are no better than the PDP.

Even if we are to kick out the ruling party, who are we gonna replace them with? These ones?

HNosegbe: This just goes to show that even the so-called "progressive" opposition parties are no better than the PDP.

Even if we are to kick out the ruling party, who are we gonna replace them with? These ones?

how dare you talk like that about the 'progressives'?

HNosegbe: This just goes to show that even the so-called "progressive" opposition parties are no better than the PDP.

Even if we are to kick out the ruling party, who are we gonna replace them with? These ones?

Who are you to talk about progresives like that. Show some respect .

asha 80: how dare you talk like that about the 'progressives'?

afam4eva:
Who are you to talk about progresives like that. Show some respect .

Oh come on guys!!!

But seriously, tell me how the ACN has shown itself to be better. Is it the toll gate saga, the LASU fee hike, the Lagos and Ogun LGA elections, the proposed air-conditioned footbridge or the appalling response to the Ibadan floods? How has the ACN distinguished itself AS A PARTY? Are they not guilty of the very offences we routinely attack the PDP for?

Remove Fashola and Oshiomhole, who else does the ACN have?

@ HNosegbe,
We can only fight through citizen advocacy& lobby/pressure groups seeing we who see through the current charade must force the blind (other citizens)to see too
We must see how to push germane bills/pressing issues into law
Reducing the cost of governance (read as salaries&allowances) will be a good place to start 1st