This is the continuation of last week’s article headlined: Nigeria needs total restructuring, which I defined as devolution of power to bring about true federalism, resource control and replacing the presidential with the parliamentary system. I decided to change the title following the warnings of His Royal Majesty Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife and Professor Ango Abdullahi, a leader of the Northern Elders Forum and a former Vice – Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria that the country was tottering towards a revolution.

I decided on the headline in the believe that instead of the one used last week that this one will better attract the attention of those in government and the members of the National Assembly and the parliaments in the 36 states to appreciate the need to take steps urgently to prevent a revolution from happening. Or stop the present situation from getting worse.

The write  up is also to make Chief Gani Adams, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, the Niger Delta militants, MASSOB, IPOB and nationalistic northerners to act, through telling peaceful protest that I will later highlight to make the Federal Government and the legislators in the National Assembly and the parliaments in the 36 states to do the needful. Undoubtedly, their efforts are required for the quick restructuring of the country, and this could even happen before the end of this year if they are diligent in their action.

Indeed, it was the statements of Professor Abdullahi in two leading national newspapers in the last one – and – a – half months that led to my decision to begin the article on restructuring the country last week. According to him, on Page 9 of the Nation newspaper of Tuesday, January 16 the analysis done by someone, whose name he did not provide, “showed that the legitimate earnings of the members of the National Assembly per annum, can employ and pay the salary of eighty per cent of the nation’s jobless youths, if they are paid ninety thousand naira a month.” An amount which is seventy – two thousand naira more than the present eighteen thousand naira minimum wage workers receive every month.

Professor Abdullahi made the statement in advocating a change from the presidential to parliamentary system. He said what has been militating against the desired change, is that “the beneficiaries of the system, the legislators in the National Assembly and those in the 36 states, who have the power to amend the constitution to this effect, will always rise and defend whatever argument is brought up against the present system of government.”

He concluded with: “if care is not taken, thousands of unemployed youths turned out from our universities every year, will one day revolt against the system.” A month later, he had this to say on Page 52 of the Saturday Sun of February 17: “if we want change and progress for the country we should go back to the parliamentary system of government, not this very corrupt, inefficient and no accountability type of government.”

A report on the internet on the estimates of the salary and allowances of the members of the National Assembly published by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) is both revealing and provocative. As it gives credence to the submission that the government can engage all the unemployed youth in the country and pay them a salary of ninety thousand naira a month, if the economy is properly managed and we adopt the parliamentary system. 

According to the report, it will take sixty years for a worker on the national minimum wage of eighteen thousand naira per annum, to earn the salary and allowances a senator gets in one year. And that it will take forty – four years for the worker to receive what a member of the House of Representatives earns per annum.

Figures released by the RMAFC show that a senator earns N13.9 million (actually N13, 939, 549) a year. The breakdown is: basic salary N2.0million (N2, 026, 400), constituency allocation five million naira, fuelling and maintenance of vehicle N1.5million (N1, 520, 000), domestic staff N1.5million (N1, 519, 000). Accommodation is N1 million, entertainment N607, 920, utilities N607, 920, personal assistant N506, 600. While other allowances are N506, 000 for wardrobe, N303, 960 for newspapers and periodical, N202, 640 for recess, N101, 320 for house maintenance, N37, 000 for tour duty and N189, 288 for estacode. The latter is paid in United States dollars.

In addition to these emoluments, every four years a senator receives eight million naira loan to buy a vehicle, six million naira for furniture and six million and ninety thousand naira as severance allowance. The total of these payments is N20.09 million(N20, 090, 000). It breaks down to N1.6 million (N1, 666, 666) a year.

To be continued next week