Buhari and the trouble with that double pension ruling

Since the return to democratic rule in Nigeria twenty years ago, the fad has been for governors to retire and keep earning. Their accurate reading of the political thermometer means they could work their ways preferably to the senate or clinch a ministerial or board appointment. One thing a sitting governor hates is the ten-letter word – retirement. Having tasted the spoils of office, they do not want to return to the abnormality of no siren, no immunity from traffic gridlocks or prosecution. They dread the boring life of the inconsequential.

They know that in politics, everything is possible. They negotiate with lame duck state assemblies a generous severance package in case their plans fail. Last week, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos ordered the federal government to recoup money paid to ex-governors serving either as ministers or members of the upper chamber. The original case was brought by SERAP, a non-governmental organization concerned at the financial burden that the principle of paying already have bloated individuals more than they deserve.

And as if working in tandem with the ruling, another high court has sentenced former Abia state governor, Orji Uzor Kalu to twelve years. It found him guilty of money laundering N7.1 billion and ordered the latest convict to forfeit the assets of SLOK group, the company that Kalu used to perpetrate his crimes to the federal government.

It is too early in the day to say that these rulings restore hope to a country mired in political shenanigans. For one, after the first ruling, Justice Minister Abubakar Malami says he is studying the ruling and would make a pronouncement soon. The ruling itself has grave ramifications. More than 50 governors and several deputies have served at the federal level thus far. Nine ex-governors are currently serving in Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet along with two former deputies.

Malami would have to determine the full extent of these judgments. Court rulings, rarely have retroactive effect although the ‘crimes’ labeled against these individuals span time with implications for life and death. The states they ruined are usually cash-strapped with the implication that those who truly served them die on pension queues while they enjoy.

Malami would have to determine whether this judgment could; by extension, affect President Muhammadu Buhari and former president Olusegun Obasanjo. Both men had served as former heads of states and were drawing pensions from the army before they ‘won’ elections. How the attorney-general interpretes this would have tremendous effect on governance at all levels and we have SERAP to thank for it.

Not much ambiguity in Kalu’s sentence. It is quite heartening to hear that he wept in the dock while the summary of the ruling was being delivered and negotiated with warders not to be cuffed in public. These people commit brazen crimes but are ashamed to do their time, even when it means serving at the amenity ward of posh hospital with possible privileges for conjugal visits. As long as their freedom of movement is restricted, and the fear of God is put on those contemplating their type of lifestyle, the purpose is half served. Seeing justice served is a relative process.

That state assemblies passed the packages into law makes the heist prima facie legal but it does not legitimize it. The wanton abuse of public trust is shameful. But once they beneficiaries leave office without access to public funds; the jamboree ends. The fair-weather friends they have garnered in the era of plenty soon evaporate like the dew before the rumbling of the mid-morning breeze. This is the first death to most of them.

Homes that used to get fresh layer of paint every three months start to peel. As one big man once confessed, even a call to the erstwhile First Lady echoes through the building, because the house is empty. Grown children have moved on only to return for holidays. These guys are not wise enough to realize that a one-in-town-wonder house has only a temporary notoriety – until a better one rivals it.

Nigeria needs to find a permanent way of insulating public office from these forms of abuse. Should we continue to incentivize political or elected office with insane remunerations or should we make it what it should be – service? To see elected officials in 40 exotic fuel-guzzling convoy of vehicles is shameful. Each occupant of that convoy draws a generous allowance from the state. The convoys go anywhere from attending frivolous buddy’s wedding to a colleague’s child dedication even when salaries are unpaid. The false façade of opulence in the ocean of want is maintained at public expense.

If we have a law that precludes the principle of double or triple pension at public expense, the lure for public office may continue, but we reduce the number of imbeciles arrogating to themselves the titles they did not earn. The 300% basic salary authorized by the RMAFC is already obnoxious amidst the sea of wants. Governors, especially those who cannot pay the minimum wage should retire on it. After all, they ought to have saved in the four or eight years they lived at public expense. They deserve nothing more if they came in to serve!

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