Guest
In Nigeria, a majority of workers dwell in abject poverty while their political servants fly first class or in their own private jets. While workers await the federal government’s response to organised labour’s demand for N52,000 minimum wage, our political servants have graduated from driving posh Hummer and Mercedes bullet-proof jeeps to flying their own private jets. Those who claim to represent workers of this nation feel that N52,000 is too much money to pay workers but have no qualms spending millions of naira on private jets despite the pervasive mass poverty amongst workers of this nation.
The way and manner in which our political servants who have become Nigeria’s new novae rich flaunt their wealth in the face of mass misery and deprivation is nothing but an evil slap on workers’ faces. Consider the arrogant display of wealth by a member of the House of Representatives as revealed in a most ludicrous story published by the Sun Newspaper recently for instance. Honourable Bala Ibn Na’Allah recently became the first Nigerian lawmaker since independence to fly a private jet. Although not the first Nigerian politician to own a private jet as he was beaten to the record by some ex-Governors, the Honourable Servant of the Zurus acquired the aircraft after just six years as a representative of Zuru workers and peasants.
While the intention here is not to query the lawmaker’s source of wealth, his action makes one wonder if he has sufficiently alleviated poverty amongst the ranks of the workers and peasants of Zuru/Fakai/Zakaba/Dawazagu Federal Constituency of Kebbi State to warrant such arrogant display of wealth. If anything, Honourable Na’Allah’s material obscenity is symbolic of the levity and disdain with which our so-called servant-leaders treat us. Incidentally, the honourable private jet pilot ascribed his elitist taste to a number of factors. First is the fact that the risk of dying from road accidents involving “mad drivers that can drive you crazy with armed robbers trailing you, not to talk of bad roads” was far higher than that recorded from the air.
Secondly, it is cheaper for him to maintain his ‘small’ aircraft than to maintain some cars in his garage. Obviously, Na’Allah, reportedly a car dealer before venturing into politics, must have a fleet of cars in his garage. The fact however remains that the jet is an addition to the numerous cars in his garage. Thirdly, the private jet saves time for the busy politician as it takes him only one hour and forty minutes by air from Zuru to Abuja as opposed to between seven and eight hours by road for the same journey.
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Let it be known to the likes of Honourable Na’Allah who swore on oath to guarantee Nigerians a comfortable lifestyle, that ninety-nine percent of Nigerian workers don’t own cars talk less of affording to service one for N50,000. Moreover, the retainership fee of about N200,000 he reportedly pays the Aviation Maintenance Organization per annum would put smiles on the faces of at least two hundred Zuru peasants who are struggling to cope with the fallouts of the global economic crisis, while the US$48,000 he claimed to have paid for the ‘small’ private jet and the US$182 for three tyres, although not enough to buy a comfortable elitist car, can conveniently pay for a village clinic somewhere in Zuru. And there is no denying the fact that the thousands or maybe millions he expended on training as a pilot at Colleges of Aviation Technology in Zaria and South Africa can pay for an Almanjeri in Zuru to acquire secondary school education.
Incidentally, Honourable Na’Allah believes many Nigerians would not hesitate to acquire a private jet if they realise it is cheaper to run than a car. The fact remains that flying a private jet in the midst of mass poverty is not the best way of displaying knowledge. In Nigeria, our servant-leaders display obscene wealth with impunity. Anytime from now, our airspace will witness private jet ‘go-slow’ as our servants struggle to outdo each other in the air in a bid to avoid armed robbers and bad roads. And this is happening at a time of global economic crisis and war in the Niger-Delta where hundreds of workers from oil producing communities have been displaced and thousands more maimed.
While our servant-leaders fly private jets and eat breakfast in London and lunch in Washington, with fleets of exotic cars parked in their garages, workers await the one million jobs President Yar’Adua promised to generate annually under the National Youths Employment Action Plan (NIYEP) ages ago. In the government’s usual comatose style, the one million jobs for 2009, like the seven point agenda, are yet to translate from Committee level into reality. And as if to add insult to injury, our Governors are getting ready to jet off to Harvard University in the United States of America to learn how to govern us. We might as well bring in American Professors to take their place. After all, that would be true display of knowledge.
