34 SENATORS TABLED NO BILLS IN 2 YEARS AND COLLECTED N1BN

If want to know why Nigeria is the way it is, take a look at our National Assembly, especially the Senate? According to the latest news report by Daily Trust Newspaper which cited Senate’s own mid-term review of its performance, 34 senators who between them have earned more than N1billion in the past two years, have never tabled a bill before the senate. They are basically in Abuja to collect their salaries and allowances and the people they are supposedly representing can go to hell for all that they cared. These are the highest paid lawmakers in the world, yet they cannot even make laws. With all the suffocating needs starring them in the face in all their senatorial districts, they did not find one need that deserved a bill to address it. I can bet my bottom dollar that many of them are already scheming to be re-elected to the senate in 2015 or even aiming higher positions. If Nigeria is a country where elections account how could these characters be re-elected to the senate or found worthy to seek any other public office. Sadly we hardly have free and fair elections,  that is why the nation will continue to service an unproductive bunch with tax payers money.  These are the senators that in the past two years the only “good laws” they have passed with gusto and religious feverishness are laws on early marriage and life pensions for principal officials of the National Assembly. These senators saw nothing wrong with the emasculation of the local governments by the state governors and thus stood down the unanimous decisions of Nigerians that the local government should be autonomous and not a mere appendage of the state government. At a time when workers take home pay cannot take them home, these senators removed minimum wage from exclusive to concurrent list thereby giving the governors the latitude to pay their workers whatever they thought fit, while those who can “enjoy” reasonable minimum wage would be the ones working for federal government. And the federal government is downsizing, at least that is what Steve Oronsaye Committee it set up to advise it on the “over bloated” public service recommended. So with fewer numbers of public servants all our oil money will now be eaten only by these unproductive senators and politicians. And some people are saying that we are not already on the read to “Nigerian Spring”. The most distressing aspect of it is that this debauchery, misuse and misapplication of state resources are not ending anytime soon no matter which party is in power. Until Nigerians began to demand accountability from their leaders they will continue to abuse the privilege given to them to serve the public. Nigerians have to demand that we do not need full time lawmakers. Let us have part time lawmakers who would be paid based on sittings and productivity. What the country spends to sustain this democracy will eventually kill democracy.