Politics in Nigeria is a serious business - a do or die affair, as it is the shortest route to riches. With the amount of money given to politicians legally as salaries and allowances excluding the spoils of the office, the politicians have been placed in the legion of millionaires .There is no politician, from councillors upward, that is not a millionaire!

As for the Nigerian masses , they are getting poorer and poorer by the day. Inflation , unemployment , job insecurity, underpayment and delay in payment of salaries have bugged down the poor masses and denied them the living they are supposed to enjoy in a nation blessed with abundant natural resources.

The gap between politicians and masses is getting wider by the day , even as teachers embark on a national strike to demand for increase of salaries and allowances which the government has refused to implement under flimsy excuses, politicians on the otherhand have cause to smile to their banks as their salaries and allowances have increased in millions.

Even as children of the masses roam the streets as hawkers, petty labourers and beggars as all public schools are closed due to teacher's strike, the children of politicians from Mr. President to Honourable Councillor are in their classrooms in expensive private schools. And if not, between Mr. President, his vice and ministers , leadership and members of the National Assembly , state governors and their commissioners who among them do his children attend public schools and is affected by the present teachers strike? If there is anyone among those listed above, i will willingly surrender myself for ten strokes of the cane!

If the Nigerian politicians have had five increases in their salaries and allowances from 1999 to date, how many increases in salaries and allowances have the Nigerian workers got from 1999 to date? (with apology to those not fortunate to be working). Don't they also need increase in their salaries and allowances to curb the menace of inflation? How much is minium wage ? What was the price of bag of rice in 1999 and what is it today? Is miniunum wage enough to buy a bag of rice today? Excluding amount spent on other household items, rent, transport , medical bills, school fees , utility bills etc. ?

We are a nation of hypocrisy and deceit as we all know what is being paid to Nigerian workers as salaries and allowances cannot fulfill their basic neccessities of life. Are the politicians more Nigerians than the masses? Are the politicians our first class citizens? In the course of nation building are some more important than others?

If not for the selfishness and greediness that have characterised the way of life of Nigerian politicians, why wouldn't they use their offices to alleviate the sufferings of their people and live by setting examples? Benefits of the offices they occupied are numerous from free accomodation,transport, medicals, food ,utility and free of whatever you can think of to make life comfortable and easy. But due to their greed the very little the masses demand to assist in keeping them moving is being denied them. It is only masses' demands that meet shortage of funds and deficits. And if they insist on their rights they are threatened with retrechentment and downsizing.

Nigerian masses are philosophical and as such take life easy and simple. As far as the masses are concerned, if they can eat to their satisfaction , pay their house rents, have an atmosphere that is conducive to conduct their legitimate daily activities, being able to solve their family educational and medical needs, etc., the politicians can go and do whatever they want with the nation's resources. But why are the politicians wicked and inhuman? Why should a single person steal billions he cannot use and dump them in foreign banks? The Nigerian politicians should know that tyranny and deceit will not last forever as the dumbfounded and oppressed will one day realise the difference between his left hand from the right.

Disenchantment, mistrust, loss of confidence and hatred are growing all over the country against politicians. The masses cannot comprehend what is being done with billions of dollars the country is earning due to daily increase in international oil price. When some countries among those benefitting from the oil windfall embarked on building five new cities and some using theirs to advance nuclear technology to produce energy , we , the masses here are still living in hunger and lack of basic necessities of life. Politicians should as a matter of urgency act to start implementation of policies that the masses can testify tht yes they have a caring , accomodative and listening goverment.

Politicians at the helm of affairs from federal, state and local goverments have all performed below expectation with huge amounts of monies being shared among them. No good roads, drinking water, education,medical facilities,electricity etc. And they also cannot solve the issue of unemployment which has turned strong,energetic and it is turning able young men and women into beggars, criminals, fraudsters, prostitutes and frustrated people. The issue of unemployment has even taken a new dimension as monies are being extorted from applicants and they can easily lose their lives in the course of seeking for employment.

Other Nigerians, like politicians need equal opportunities and actions in place of rhetoric, sincerity in place of deceit, good governance and a free and fair election. It is quite unfortunate for our politicians to be unable or delibrately refuse to fulfill the promises they make to the electorate when seeking for political office. Present politicians have no excuse for not performing as the resources are there and more than enough to bring about changes in the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

For any nation to develop , it has to invest heavily in the educational sector. With this, I am appealing to President Umaru Musa Yar'adua if he is sincere in achieving his seven-point agenda, among which education is prominient, as a matter of urgency to live by example in removing his children from private schools and take them to public schools and order all his officials and party to do the same and satisfy teachers demands. Let's see if the quality of education will not change immediately.

The earlier Nigerian politicians realise that the masses are watching them enjoying their lives of comfort, while they allow them to continue to live in darkness , insecurity and fear of uncertain future the better. They too (the masses) like politicians, want their dividends of democracy through good living at least ten percent of how politicians live.

Yours Faithfully

Shehu Mustapha Chaji

shehuchaji@yahoo.com

08038222575

Robot  Villager

# 1 Politics in Nigeria is a serious business - a do or die affair, as it is the shortest route to r...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 30.07.2008 21:43

Dewdrops  Villager

# 2 =Robot;4295077518>Politics in Nigeria is a serious business - a do or die affair, as it is the shortest route to r...Read the full article. Nigerian masses are philosophical and as such take life easy and simple. As far as the masses are concerned, if they can eat to their satisfaction , pay their house rents, have an atmosphere that is conducive to conduct their legitimate daily activities, being able to solve their family educational and medical needs, etc., the politicians can go and do whatever they want with the nation's resources. But why are the politicians wicked and inhuman? Why should a single person steal billions he cannot use and dump them in foreign banks? The Nigerian politicians should know that tyranny and deceit will not last forever as the dumbfounded and oppressed will one day realise the difference between his left hand from the right. "The happiest and most sexually satisfied in the world"!:biggrin: Those should count for something! Nigeria tops happiness survey http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3157570.stm The survey confirms money does not buy happiness A new study of more than 65 countries published in the UK's New Scientist magazine suggests that the happiest people in the world live in Nigeria - and the least happy, in Romania. People in Latin America, Western Europe and North America are happier than their counterparts in Eastern Europe and Russia. HAPPINESS AROUND THE WORLD The happiest Nigeria Mexico Venezuela El Salvador Puerto Rico The least happy Russia Armenia Romania Source: New Scientist Nigeria has the highest percentage of happy people followed by Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador and Puerto Rico, while Russia, Armenia and Romania have the fewest. But factors that make people happy may vary from one country to the next with personal success and self-expression being seen as the most important in the US, while in Japan, fulfilling the expectations of family and society is valued more highly. The survey appears to confirm the old adage that money cannot buy happiness. PATH TO HAPPINESS Genetic propensity to happiness Marriage Make friends and value them Desire less Do someone a good turn Have faith (religious or not) Stop comparing your looks with others Earn more money Grow old gracefully Don't worry if you're not a genius The researchers for World Values Survey described the desire for material goods as "a happiness suppressant". They say happiness levels have remained virtually the same in industrialised countries since World War II, although incomes have risen considerably. The exception is Denmark, where people have become more satisfied with life over the last three decades. The study was carried out in 1999-2001 and published for the first time by New Scientist this week. Consumerism Researchers believe the unchanging trend is linked to consumerism. "New Zealand ranked 15 for overall satisfaction, the US 16th, Australia 20th and Britain 24th - although Australia beats the other three for day-to-day happiness," New Scientist says. The survey is a worldwide investigation of socio-cultural and political change conducted about every four years by an international network of social scientists. It includes questions about how happy people are and how satisfied they are with their lives. Although such surveys are not new, they are being increasingly taken into account by policy makers, the magazine says. http://www.african-news.ch/?p=24 Global Survey Ranks Nigerians Most Sexually Satisfied South Africans: great sex but too stressed out Filed Under Entertainment Nigerians rank the highest in the world in terms of sexual satisfaction, according to results of a Global Sexual Well-being Survey conducted by the United Kingdom-based Life Aid Foundation. The Southern African correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the survey’s finding as saying that Nigerians take the longest time having sex, at 24 minutes per session, while Indians are the quickest with 13 minutes. While Nigerians have lots of great sex, scoring 67 per cent, the Japanese are the least sexually satisfied nation with only 15 per cent. According to the survey, which polled more than 26,000 respondents across 26 countries, Nigerians are followed by Mexicans and Indians who scored 63 per cent and 61 per cent. Although South Africans have great sex and many orgasms in a number of encounters, they are too stressed out to enjoy it, the survey found. Only a quarter of people in France, which was long dubbed the country of romance, are fully satisfied, the survey released on Friday added. On the average, about 44 per cent of all respondents around the globe claimed to be completely satisfied. “It’s great that these questions were asked because it tackles the whole issue in a positive way, said Johannesburg-based sexologist, Dr. Elna McIntosh. Na wah for "Wire Road" ooooooooooooooooooh! ABEG POVERTY NO BE BAD THING AFTER ALL. . . .NA SERIOUS "APHRODISIAC"!!!! :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: "Phock-a-holics"! Posted by Dewdrops| 01.08.2008 00:48