ideas or capacity to do so, without the Federal government propping up their structures. The most urgent form of restructuring should be at the party level, where candidates begin their journey. Greater scrutiny to ensure that only the best are fielded to represent us can only happen if we the people get involved at all levels. National Assembly It has the power to approve appropriated funds, not to decide (which is a function of the executive) what funds should be spent on. If legislators want to decide the specifics of budget line items, then they are in the wrong arm of government and should have pursued careers under the executive branch. The unspoken allegation here is that the running battle between the National Assembly and the Federal Government is in fact over constituency projects and other such amendments which allow many legislators leeway to spend money as they please.
The number of uncompleted and abandoned so-called “constituency projects” and fanciful donations of sewing kits, motorcycles etc. which are far below the monetary equivalent of the amounts the legislature claims its spends on its constituencies, are a bone of contention and represent just some of the issues Nigerians should be up in arms about. These are the wasteful, allegedly corrupt practices holding us back, not our ethnic origins or religion. Goodluck Jonathan Three former officials of the Nigerian Ports Authority and a former special adviser of this former President were recently named in a Swiss corruption case involving a company whose top officials have already been convicted. According to Swiss prosecution, Mohammed Adoke, the former attorney general, claimed there were no grounds for prosecution in Nigeria. Yet, the Swiss case alleges that the company in question was awarded $70million worth of contracts every year without any public bidding, cornered jobs worth around N717 billion and bribed Nigerian officials copiously. How much did the Nigerian state lose? Nigerians aren’t poor because of ethnic marginalisation, we’re poor because of corruption. It’s time we face up to reality and stop hiding behind ethnicity to excuse the enrichment of some at the expense of the majority.
Tabia Princewill is a strategic communications consultant and public policy analyst. She is also the co-host and executive producer of a talk show, WALK THE TALK which airs on Channels TV.
