Jibrin Samuel Okutepa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has called for the harmonisation of the salaries of workers and politicians in Nigeria to allow both parties earn the same minimum wage.
The learned silk in a post on his X account in relation to the raging debate on minimum wage argued that the “time has come to put every worker in Nigeria, including Nigerian politicians, on the same minimum wage as civil and public servants.
Okutepa maintained that “the cost of maintaining some people who forced themselves on Nigerians in the name of leadership and governance is too heavy a burden on our economy.”
He attributed the huge amount of money spent on politicians in the name of allowance as the factor responsible for the pollution of electoral system and wondered the job members of the National Assembly does to warrant the amount they earn.
“The humongous amount of allowances being paid from public treasuries to politicians and political office holders in Nigeria is responsible for the electoral frauds and malfeasances in our democratic journey.
“What work are those in the National Assembly doing to justify the take-home pay and the allowances being dolled out to them. What makes them more special and important than other civil servants.
“There is too much inequality in the governmental system we run. Those in the executive and/or those holding elective political offices should also be put on the same minimum wage. The ongoing strike would not have been necessary if Nigeria was not running a system of ‘monkey dey work baboon dey chop’ kind of democratic mockery.
“See the kind of SUV cars that were acquired for some politicians in our body politics. Only a few members of the National Assembly rejected it. Just see how comfortable some people are on free meals in our country. What a wastage and wasteful venture. Those who real do the work don’t get paid.”
He berated the government for wasting the nation’s scarce resources on irrelevant issues while the critical sectors are left in ruins, stressing that the cost of living in Nigeria is mind blowing.
“The other day, I read that the government of Nigeria is subsidising pilgrimage with about 90 billion Naira.
“Yet the Nigerian constitution says Nigeria is a secular state. Nigerian government has too many misplaced priorities. Check some state courts and see how dilapidated the courts are. Judges in those states have no functional cars and equipped facilities to work with.
“Look at our public educational institutions and see how underfunded and underdeveloped they are. We live almost in darkness on a daily basis because those who have the responsibility to give us enough energy have pocketed the money meant for the energy supply. The social amenities are in total mess. Go to government hospitals and health care centres. There is nothing there to save lives.
“The costs of living in Nigeria have become totally out of control. Nigerians are almost becoming beggars in their own law. Government officials, in most cases, are living in affluence and luxuries while ordinary Nigerians are living in squalor.”
He insisted that “these inequalities and injustices in standards of living have fuelled many of the insecurities and banditry in our land. Nigerian government must do something. Many families across the country can not feed again. Poverty in the land is terrible. The government must be sensitive to the plights of the masses. Life is too tough for most people. We must not pretend. All is not well in the land.”
