With the cacophony of unrelenting criticisms trailing the National Assembly’s jumbo pay since Professor Itse Sagay blew up the lid on the issue, all the federal legislators required to cow Nigerians to submission was to silence the Central Bank Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who recently alleged that 25 per cent of the nation‘s recurrent expenditure was being expended on the National Assembly members.



Nigerians have a reason to thank Sanusi for calling the bluff of the legislators on Wednesday. Hear Sanusi at the defence of his allegation before the Senate Committee on Banking and Finance: “My name is Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. I was not born central bank governor and I will not be central governor forever. I have a right to comment on issues as a citizen of this country…By nature, I don‘t apologise when I‘m not convinced that I‘m wrong.” This response was in reaction to the senators’ attempt to rattle Sanusi and make him apologise.



The weapon before the Senate under the circumstances was intimidation. They thought that his robust job as central bank governor would make him tow their line. He thoroughly disappointed them. This is courage. Until Nigerians learn to speak out and be ready to walk away from government job, if necessary, the political class will continue to blackmail the elites and cow them to submission.



National Assembly members wanted to distract Nigerians. This is unacceptable. Taking close to N10 million monthly in a nation where the minimum wage was N7, 500 before it was recently reviewed upward to N18, 000 last week and in a situation where 70 per cent of the people cannot afford three square meals per day and the nation‘s infrastructure is comatose, is criminal, insensitive and irresponsible.



This crop of legislators cannot continue to represent us. Nigerians must vote them out in 2011. Beyond that, Nigerians should be vigilant. They should protest against any move by the next federal legislators to repeat this unpopular feat.

Sanusi, well done! Help me tell those legisLOOTERS the truth.

Thanks sanusi for making those idiotic [i]SIN[/i]ators disgrace themselves

Eh, nice words, but let's not overreact now.