FROM THE PREACHER'S LENSES

Sam AwedaTuesday, November 1, 2011
[email protected]
USA

ANNOUNCE THIS ARTICLE
TO YOUR FRIENDS

Government sponsorship of citizens to religious pilgrimages, removal of petrol subsidy:
Open Letter to President Goodluck Jonathan

ith Dr. Rueben Abati at the head of Communication to the President, I am hopeful that this piece will receive the necessary attention it deserves and have an acknowledgement.


advertisement

A patriot will sincerely appreciate the wisdom in Mr. President's decision to stop using government fund to pay for religious pilgrimages to Jerusalem.

With the sensitive and inflammable nature of religion by Nigerians, Mr. President being a Christian, has used an appropriate medium to announce his intention. He did when speaking to his own at the inauguration of the Committee to oversee the 2011 pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

The same wisdom informed my writing about this time (Nov.9) last year when I wrote in this column "I am a Pastor, I will not accept Government Sponsorship to Jerusalem" (ANOTHER OPEN LETTER TO SENATE PRESIDENT, GEN. DAVID MARK (RTD) &SPEAKER DIMEJI BANKOLE) https://nigeriaworld.com/feature/publication/aweda/110910.html

I had no acknowledgement from either the Senate President or the House Speaker. I hope it will be different with this one.

I had earlier while addressing the conference of Christian Religious Leaders & Ministers at Ilorin on September 14 (2010) strongly suggested to the conference to issue a communiqué to the government that in order for it to face repair of dilapidated infrastructures in the country, the Christians will no longer be in the position to accept sponsorship to Jerusalem. The text of my address https://nigeriaworld.com/feature/publication/aweda/091410.html titled "Hard Pills" was published in this same column on Sep. 14 (2010).

The battle against this unrighteous spending by the government is already won with our partners on the other side of the isle, the Muslims, coming out to openly voice their support for this decision.

My attention was pleasantly drawn to the report in the Nigerian Tribune of Oct. 27 of the total support of Dr. Yakubu Imam Aliagan and his partner Alhaji Olohunoyin in their Friday Oct. 24 talk show on Federal Radio, Harmony, FM 103.5, Idofian. I hope more Christians and Moslems will come out en-mass to support this plan of Mr. President.

In my writing of Nov. 9 2010 on this subject, I referred to a report of one Abiodun Onafuye of the PM news of October 8, quoting the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) "that the Federal Government may spend about N14 billion on Muslims who will attend this year's (2010) pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia"

If we add this figure to what each of the 36 States and over 300 Local Governments (LG) of the Federation expend, we can imagine how much of the public fund, which can be used to benefit all citizens is being used to benefit only a fraction of the populace.

Mr. President, no doubt, you mean well for this nation but the truth as Nehemiah saw it in his days is that

"The bondage was heavy upon this people" (KJV) or in the LB "They were already having a difficult time" (Neh 5:18).

As a man of God that you are, I believe you will not want to add to our difficulties. Removing fuel subsidy, will definitely worsen our already terrible situation.

The Bible in Hebrews 4: 15 tells us that Jesus understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings like us.

Because He did not live above the society, He was able to have a feeling of what the society went through.

The great men of God in Nigeria, who you are likely to have reached are stupendously rich and so may not feel the impact of the difficulty the society is going through, so may not appreciate the reasons why the government must not remove fuel subsidy.

Other than your plan to stop funding pilgrimages, I encourage Mr. President to look into more areas, where to conserve and raise fund to fund all the projects you have in plan for us rather than removing fuel subsidy.

For instance, the Vanguard Newspaper of Sunday 18 November 2007 reported that Aso Rock had budgeted N2.3 million a day for refreshment alone in the financial year 2008.

The Daily Sun of another date in April 2008 also reported that the Reps have also earmarked a sum of N114,054.95 for each of them per day as refreshment allowance among others on the list of their budgets. These monies, respectively translate to $20,000+ & $1000.00/day as of that time. I am sure by now in 2011, it would have been reviewed upwards.

A sitting Senator let the lid open on an AIT programme talk show few years back, when he said that each State Governor takes N400m/month in security vote. This money is non-retirable we are told. Yet no Governor has come out to refute it.

As the chief Security Officer of his state, does any governor need any other special money for security?

These budget proposals confirm the submission of the former World Bank President, Paul Wolfowitz.

Wolfowitz, when he was the World Bank chief in charge of Africa announced some years ago on a visit to Lagos that the ruling class of Nigeria constitutes only 1% of the entire population, yet it (ruling class) consumes 80% of the nation's wealth, leaving the rest 99% of the population to scramble for the rest 20% of the wealth.

Whichever committee it was that set the salaries and allowances for our Political offices in this dispensation, have done this nation, a great disservice. They cause the horror we are going through. They have enriched a few and made the largest members of the society sub-human to live under nagging poverty.

Permit me Mr. President to suggest, as a matter of urgency, that the salaries, emoluments and allowances of Politicians must be within the range, which Civil Servants take.

I stand to be challenged; Members, House of Assembly (MHA) in the defunct Northern Region in the 1st Republic, took £60/month, which was same as the basic salary of a fresh University Graduate as of the time. This was fair enough.

The rulers of the time did not consume the whole wealth of the nation and that was why there was smooth development in the nation, in spite the fact that there was no oil revenue.

The rulers of today take all the wealth and this is why winning of election has become a do or die affair and infrastructures are in pitiful state with the governed dying in hopelessness of economic distress.

In my published book titled Prosperity of the Nation; Answer to Each Citizen's Lasting Prosperity" I did recommend that we should make Politics unattractive so that only those who love the nation will be seeking elective posts. (I also titled the book "Except the Nation Prosper, Individual's Prosperity is Short Lived (Won't Last))

Petrol in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is cheaper than potable water. I lived there for years and I can confirm it.

My candid advice to you Mr. President is that you do not remove petrol subsidy because it will worsen the poverty of Nigerians whose burden of poverty is already heavy.

Rather,

  1. Be courageous and not waiver to putting an end to using public fund for religious pilgrimages. It is acceptable that you fund logistics.

  2. Let the emoluments of the 2 Federal houses and state houses be within those of Civil servants. They are serving the nation and are in no way doing better than other Civil servants.

  3. In fact let all the Honorable members take sitting allowance alone.

  4. Cancel all these N400m security votes for State Governors

  5. Let there be serious vigilance on all spending, by making sure that whatever is budgeted for a particular project is not diverted into private pockets.

  6. All those retired military generals and other retired members of the Armed Forces and others who have made their wealth through their association with the government at one point or the other and who still want to serve this nation should be encouraged to do it freely. They are financially capable, no doubt.

I guess you will want to tell me Mr. President that it is not within your job schedule to implement some of these, but you can promptly submit them as bills to the appropriate quarters.

God bless you and God bless Nigeria.

Sam Aweda is President & Snr. Pastor, Jesus for the World Revival Mission (Peoples' Church)

advertisement
IMAGES IN THE NEWS