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[email protected] Melbourne, Australia

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''MAGICAL'' NGOZI OKOJO-IWEALA & OLUFEMI ADENIJI: THE NEED FOR CAUTION:
A RESPONSE TO TONYE DAVID WEST JR.'S ALL THIS NONSENSE ABOUT MINISTERS' PAY IN DOLLARS

lease permit me to point out some inconsistencies, many fallacious assumptions and inaccurate assertions of Mr. Tonye David West Jr. on the above issue. While I respect his opinion and noted his sentiments on this issue, I believe Mr. David-West Jr. did missed the point in his defence of the conduct of the generally perceived illegal action of a government he once labeled inept. Reading through, his write up can be considered to amount to hypocrisy, which many Nigerians (particularly the so called "critics") have come to be known for, and his position is tantamount to double standard.

There are two vital issues that should be of major concern to any observer of the Nigerian project regarding the hullabaloo that the "dollarization" of the two ministers' salary is generating. These, in my opinion, border on its constitutionality and the attendant moral dilemma. Is the Nigerian constitution being violated or not by this arrangement? Could there have been better arrangements to accommodate these "Tokunboh" ministers without necessarily putting their salary issue at odds with the law of the land if answer to the former is in the affirmative? There is no doubt a constitutional interpretation of the issue at hand, which is unprecedented in the history of our dear country, is needed.

Again, the questions we should sincerely ask ourselves (particularly people like Tonye David-West, Jr. - who in my candid opinion should appreciate and respect people's opinion as he wants his to be respected) instead of indulging in self aggrandizements and personal glorification is whether there is a constitutional provision for a Nigerian-based serving public officer of the Federal Republic to be paid in a foreign currency? Shikena! If the government is breaching the constitution and, in spite of this, some of us feel it should be accommodated, then what moral justification do we have to criticize the same government when it goes far outside the constitution to satisfy personal needs of those who are ruling us? The payment of the two ministers in currency other than naira in my opinion (until proven wrong) is not only unconstitutional but also immoral.

The fact that the Finance Minister, Dr. [Mrs.] Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Foreign Affairs minister, Ambassador Olufemi Adeniji were earning certain amount of money and in certain currencies while serving International Organizations is less relevant in this case. It is my candid belief that serving one's fatherland sincerely requires a great deal, in fact limitless sacrifice. Besides, there are no serving ministers in Nigeria today that are by any standard a pauper with all the paraphelia that comes with the post (even without resorting to looting and corrupt practices). Nigerians might want to be enlightened if Mr. David-West Jr. could point to a single country where any serving public officer based in that country is being paid in foreign currency as against the stated law of that country when the country in question is not a trustee of the United Nations or of an occupying force. Even if the Nigerian state is still contributing to the special UNDP fund where the salaries of these ministers are being drawn, I believe its application is still subject to the Nigerian constitution. It should be pointed out that we have had in the past people who have worked in some International Organization as ministers yet they still received their salaries in our "dying naira", in this instance the late former Health minister Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti easily comes to mind.

Part of the problem with us as a nation is that we often allow ourselves to be consumed in self-righteousness and unnecessary displays of what I will just term black-man's foolishness. For your information, there are many brilliant and world acclaimed academics in Nigerian Universities today who refused the temptation of stowing away in many institutions in the developed countries and remain at home regardless of the peanuts the government is paying them as salaries. Still, they honestly manage to make up through other legitimate means like research and publications.

I quiet agree with Chris Adetayo (in Wrong Impression) "that it is wrong to assume that it takes "tremendous sacrifice" for anyone to leave the World Bank or the UN to come and serve his or her country". What are people getting at? When did being the Vice President of the World Bank become such a high post that leaving it to become a federal minister is a sacrifice that must be compensated outside the provision of a country's constitution? Will an American say he or she is making a sacrifice if he were to swap such a position for a White House cabinet post?

Quoting Mr. David-West Jr.:

"The argument has been made that there are many in Nigeria who could have become ministers of those two ministries for free and still do a better job than the two individuals currently holding the positions. Fine, I don't doubt that, but why didn't they volunteer their services when the president was looking for volunteers? If they had such expertise when the clarion call went out, shame on them for not coming forward to help their country�"

The above statement is very unfortunate and this amounts to trivializing the matter. With due respect, I strongly believe those eminent Nigerians that Mr. David-West Jr. was trying to rubbish deserve an unreserved apology from him. I must be living in another planet, as I do not know that people do come up now and volunteer their services to be ministers in Nigeria. Perhaps he can provide us with any example from the past?

The issue transcends the personalities of these two individuals, but the moral and constitutional questions arising from this development. For all I care and I believe I am speaking the minds of many Nigerians too, the government could be paying all the ministers, countless special advisers and the hanger-on millions of Pound sterling after all the money is there and the generality of Nigerians are not benefiting from it anyway. But then, let us be objective here, is the action of the government constitutional?

Arguments have been posited about Okojo-Iweala and Adeniji having house mortgage to be paid in the United States among others, fine, she should be able to fulfill this but at her own personal level I suppose. The choice is hers. Who does not have one mortgage or the other to pay in his/her life?

I think it might be a better idea for the Nigerian world publishers to be moderating fairly without necessarily curtailing the freedom of opinion the articles being pasted on their site. When people disagree with your view, it does not necessarily mean they disagree with your person and as such it is not appropriate to castigate them as talking nonsense!

Abiola Falayajo is an International Relations analyst living in Melbourne, Australia.