A popular joke in Nigeria’s comedy circle aptly captures the spendthrift culture of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
The joke, “Money is not a problem, but how to spend it,” paints a picture similar to that of the Prodigal son in Biblical parable, who was given to unreasonable and wasteful spending.
To be fair to him, however, the Prodigal son only squandered his inheritance, not public funds meant for the good of all, as the case is in Nigeria.
Jokes apart, over 70 per cent of Nigerians currently living below $1 a day, are not smiling at all.
This is especially so as their sensibilities were constantly insulted by spurious use of public funds by those kept in trust of it, while they grapple with deteriorating basic infrastructure and institutions.
This brings a recent experience to mind. An indigent woman was seen at the Ikeja Under-the-Bridge area of Lagos State with a baby strapped to her back and a thatched umbrella.
It was a really hot afternoon and being barely able to carry herself, she went to and fro trying to catch up with other ‘struggling’ Nigerians along the road, to woo them to part with some change.
But out of every 10 people she whispered her plight to; hardly did she get a Good Samaritan to give her a sum.
This price she paid everyday to feed herself and baby to stay alive.
Her case, however, is one among several thousands of poor and hungry Nigerians there on the streets.
In a dispensation in which over 70 per cent of its citizens cannot afford to feed, Jonathan would stop at nothing to impress himself by oppressing the poor.
Jonathan, who claimed during his election campaign rallies to have been raised in poverty-stricken and deprived circumstances, can now afford the luxury of N1bn feeding and refreshment budget on the nation’s bill.
It was Mother Theresa who said, “There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could see.”
She sure spoke of a sane society. Mother Theresa would certainly feel sick to realize that public officials can afford to live well in Nigeria and they didn’t have to work for it.
The recent purchase of two BMW armoured vehicles at a whopping N255m, by Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, appears to send another perish-if-you-would signal to already battered Nigerians.
For many, more annoying is the fact that in its characteristic manner, the President has set up one of his numerous panels to probe what is obvious.
Just as was provided for in the 2012 budget, Jonathan and Vice President’s food and general catering services in 2013 is costing Nigerians about N1bn (N990.24m precisely).
The total feeding expenditure for the Presidential Villa for the current fiscal year 2013 is only N2.33m shy of N992.57m, the amount the government spent on foodstuff and refreshment in the previous budget year.
A breakdown in the 2013 budget showed that the sum is the cost of purchasing foodstuffs, refreshment, cooking gas, catering supplies and kitchen equipment for the president and his deputy’s offices and residences.
But how much does a decent feeding cost? Do the wares in the Aso Villa kitchen get changed every year?
If wiser cost-saving measures are introduced, tax-paying Nigerians, who watch this trend with helpless nostalgia, believe that N1bn can at least provide better healthcare and education for Nigerians.
Basic civil engineering search showed that N1bn is enough money to build over 100 blocks of classrooms for public primary or secondary schools in Nigeria.
This amount will also conveniently build over 50 good healthcare centres in the South-South, where the president hails from.
The initial announcement in 2012 about the N1bn enhanced feeding package for the presidency, had incited rage amongst the polity, as prominent Nigerians described it as “insensitive.”
A constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, SAN, had described the bill as “insane, while wondering why the country’s leaders were careless with public funds.
But does the Jonathan’s leadership give a hoot?
