SECURITY: SALARIES SURELY, NOT SUBSIDIES!
By
Justine John DYIKUK
Starter
With the prevailing state of affairs in our dear country Nigeria, one cannot but recall the ominous words of William Butler Yeats, in his poem 'The second coming;' "Things fall apart, the center cannot hold, mere anarchy is loosed upon the world..." written after the second world war, precisely 1919. Our security situation constantly poses fear and flight across the length and breadth of the nation. In a state where life is continually on the brink of the grave, Chinua Achebe's 'Abame is no more' in his bestselling novel, 'Things fall apart' may perchance be analogous.
Some social commentators have blamed the prevailing circumstances of insecurity on poverty greased by unemployment and poor leadership. Workers in many states are still crying about the new 18,000 minimum wage which is still a mirage in various states. In the middle of these woes came the removal of fuel subsidy policy which many still see, as a punishment. The resultant effect on our economy is the skyrocketing of the prizes of goods and services.
While the apostles of fuel subsidies have made frantic defenses in favor of government's course of action, there is more than meets the eye in the current subsidy drama. The grievance of every concerned Nigerian is whether government will be true to its words in scoring the democratic scorecards? The past activities of government have not only proved insincerity but insensitivity to the plight of the masses. This write-up dares a case for the adequate provision of wages for all workers, security of lives and property, employment, policies in principle and practice, as possible answers for our miseries.
Security Saga
We are faced with the challenge of insecurity occasioned by the odious activities of boko haram. There abound skirmishes of the bustles of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. A friend recently told me that running away from one part of the country to another for safety now is, 'ringing tone' or 'mass exodus without revelation;' such is our situation. In a country where security is either compromised or feeble, what does one expect?
The effects of insecurity are felt and the no victor, no vanquish slang triggers more fears. A consequence of lack of satisfactory security is mistrust of security agents. Whether our security apparatus is anything to write home about is another gist all together.
Substantial Salaries
By salary here I mean a good system that works, in such a way that just wages are given to workers and employment is government's topmost priority. The word salary is no doubt of Roman origin. It comes from the Latin 'Salaruim' linked with employment, salt and soldiers. According to Erik Van Tongerloo, three schools of thought abound as to the root cause of the word. One has it that, the word soldier itself comes from the Latin Sal dare (to give salt). This is the least common of the theories. The second is associated with the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, who in his National History's Discussion of Sea Water writes, "in Rome...soldiers pay was originally salt and the word salary derives from it..." The third school notes that more likely it derives from the soldiers (coins), which was used in paying soldiers and that salarium was either an allowance for buying salt or the prize of having soldiers conquer salt supplies and guard the Salt Roads (via Solarium) that led to Rome.
Whichever definition may sound syrupy, what is important is the fact that salaries, as payment for services rendered to the state by soldiers or civil servants cannot be dispensed with in any society, ancient or modern. Perhaps this was what motivated President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to sign into law the New Minimum Wage Act in March, 2011 which was supposed to be implemented by all States in August of the same year. By June last year, the President's decision was endorsed by the Nigerian Governor's Forum who accepted to implement it and signed a communiqué to that effect. What has become of their decision? The same old story, you will say!
A clog in the wheel of progress in the implementation is Mr. President, who treated the matter with kid gloves. Had he proclaim it binding on all States mandating them to pay as he did in declaring a partial state of emergency in some volatile parts of the country, by now it would have been a thing of the past. Other triple evils are; the Council of States (comprising former heads of State, and presidents, former chief justices of Nigeria, all governors of the 36 states (including those who are yet to pay) of the federation, the Senate president, the speaker, the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and the national security adviser), as well as the Revenue Mobilization and Allocation and Fiscal Commissions. What is 18, 000 to the Presidency or any Governor in this country? Besides, petrol is still expensive and mostly scarce.
Subsidy Story
Fortunately or unfortunately, the subsidy tale has many protagonists and antagonists. While it may have its plausibility as its sages; the President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Petroleum, Alison Maduekwe and the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, have made hysterical defenses; the subsidy narrative has many conflicting views as they have betrayed knowingly or unknowingly and of course, observations of objective Nigerians.
For instance, it made the rounds that in a town hall meeting organized by Newspaper proprietors in Lagos, Sanu Lamido was quoted as saying the policy would benefit middle class Nigerians and he called on government to focus on Agriculture by providing farmers 7% interest rate as against the current 21%. The president himself while addressing a delegation of European Union and European External Action Service had said, there is no justification for government to subsidize elite consumption. These point to a cold but bold war on the cabals of either importation of fuel into the country or filling station moguls. What about the commoners; the likes of the fulani in the bush who may not necessary be overtly perturbed about social amenities because of his life style (transient nomadic life) or the remote nature of his abode but would have to travel by car, motor cycle or Keke? The hike in fuel prize would surely affect this class of Nigerians and badly so!
This may be why some Nigerians see the likes of the finance minister as blind guides, stooges, brain-washed agents of IMF and World Bank. This school of thought believes the later has indoctrinated them to implement their policies in this rich oil nation of Sub-Saharan Africa. Little wonder, the likes of Prof. Tam David West have called for the resignation of the finance minister. In an interview with Sahara TV, the erstwhile petroleum minister during Muhamamdu Buhari's regime says, "there is nothing like oil subsidy - what Nigeria is subsidizing is corruption - it is managed by crooks..." Whatever truth or falsity lies in these thoughts is left to our individual analysis and time.
A close look at prizes of fuel in some countries, reveal:
Iran - N 58.40k
Quarter - N 54
Saudi Arabia - N 17.50k
UAE - N 52.2k
Venezuela (amidst crisis) - N 22.15k
Egypt (a non oil producing country) - N 46.72k
USA (sales in gallons) - N 125.04k
(Cf. Exclusive Interview with Hon. Mustapha Bala Dawaki (MFHR) - Why my constituents oppose fuel subsidy withdrawal, by one Abdullahi Mohammed Seka, in Leadership; Feb 28, 2012 - www.leadership.ng/nga/articles/1314...).
Nigeria (Sixth oil producing country in the world) - N 97
What do you make out of these?
Going through history lane, we remember that over two thousand years ago, the Roman authorities subsidized bread known as 'doles' for their citizenry due to high cost of commodities. Record has it that food items were so expensive such that without free wheat subsidies from the government, the common people would not have been able to survive. According to AEJ, Morris' History of Urban Forum [1970 George Godwin LTD], up to 1/3 of the citizens of the capital city received this public assistance. What a lesson in history!
What is worrisome was the timing of the removal and the uninformed background the issue had. These coupled with its provision in last year's budget until April this year and arbitrary use of a few Nigerians to represent a 'yes' for the generality of Nigerians in the wave of confusions of insecurity and fuel scarcity, made a mess of the subsidy struggle and the seeming blessings it promises. Other pressing yet unattended difficulties confronting government are:
The high rate of poverty; one does not need an angel to know there is poverty in the land. Many families cannot afford three square meals a day. Their hardship is such that, you take what you see; leaving one day at a time. The poor are often becoming poorer as life threatens them with a harsher reality. It must be said that material poverty can so reduce one to inhumanity as looking at a typically malnourished Nigerian child reveals tin legs, big head and a large stomach; a sure case of kwashiorkor. Will Lazarus ever be close to the rich man?
Another melancholy is mental poverty, mother of being unlettered. This trouble is crippling our nation. Mass illiteracy (especially in the north) mostly leading to poor information management showcases itself often. A fallout of this is area boys or agboros in the South and the Almajiri's in the North; twin malevolent forces to contend with. The participation of women in politics, a near zero percent, is also indicative of where we place education in the scheme of things in this country. Will subsidy removal sufficiently address these challenges?
<br/>Solid Strides
What we stand most in need of is, taking a bold step to address the issues at hand. Some Nigerians are calling for a Sovereign National Conference. If we cannot live peacefully in sharing the 'national cake' currently at hand, will a confab be the solution? I dare to say that with the many agitations for the creating of more States and amendment of the 1999 Constitution, any national gathering of that sort might just be a time bomb in the way of disintegration reminiscent of any hard liner Hollywood Movie.
I would insist that meaningful employment and a good pay that comes with it, in the light of 'salt money' via prompt implementation of the minimum wage would be just and good. All stakeholders must reiterate the value of life and indispensable place of peaceful co-existence. No sane member of a family wages war against his kinfolk because he or she is aggrieved. Tearing your new cloth because your father or siblings have angered you brings four losses; you lose, your father does (because money is wasted), others lose because it would have been given to another person and lastly, no one is happy).
Calling offenders of public peace to book, reformation/rehabilitation, compensation and reconstruction will create the Nigeria of our dream. Nigeria is our country and building it is nobody's business but ours. Corruption must be shown the back door by unsubscribing it rather than subsidizing it. While removal of subsidy lasts, we await its goods namely, the 'miracle baby.' Perhaps posterity would vindicate GEJ as the 'golden goose' might be pregnant. In the mean time, he is SURELY stargazing between SUBSIDIES and SECURITY not SALARIES!
N B: This articles has been published by sahara reporters!
Fr. Justine John DYIKUK, a Catholic Priest and a Public Affairs Commentator, writes from Bauchi!
Fr. Justine John DYIKUK, is a Catholic Priest and a Public Affairs Commentator; he writes from Bauchi, Nigeria where he is currently ministering!
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