Papi Silvio and the cheating British MPs

By Reuben Abati

TWO different incidents making the headlines at the moment in Italy and the United Kingdom reinforce the simple point about how the conduct of persons in public office is so central to their ability to provide leadership and how public confidence in that ability is so central to everything else. In Nigeria, indeed Africa, this is often underplayed. Public office is regarded as a divine privilege if not a license for impunity. Elsewhere, it is not.

In Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is currently in the eye of the storm over his alleged relationship with an 18-year old lingerie model Noemi Letizia who calls him "Papi Silvio". The young lady has explained that she is a virgin, and that she only spends time with the Prime Minister as follows: "Papi brought me up. He's always been kind to me. One year he gave me a little diamond; another time, a small necklace...He calls me, he tells me he has some free time and I join him in Milan or Rome. I stay there listening to him. That's what he wants from me. Then we sing together."

But Berlusconi's second wife, Veronica Lario doesn't think so. She is filing for divorce and accusing Berlusconi of being besotted with under-aged girls. "This time, she says "he went beyond the limit with this latest public humiliation. I want to close that chapter on this marriage". Lario is 52, she and the Prime Minister have three children together, the first was born in 1984. Berlusconi's offence is that he attended Ms. Letizia's 18th birthday and gave her a pendant worth 6,000 Euros. Lario says Berlusconi never attended any of his own children's 18th birthday, even though he was always invited. The Italian Prime Minister is not new to controversies such as this.

In 2007, he had at a dinner event told a former showgirl, Mara Carfagana: "If I wasn't already married, I would marry you right away. With you, I'd go anywhere". His infuriated wife Veronica demanded an apology, but soon after, Berlusconi appointed Carfagana his Minister for Equal Opportunities. He again most recently got on his wife's wrong side when he started boasting that his party would field only beautiful women as candidates for the European Parliament. Tana de Zulueta, a former Italian Green MP, writing in The Observer (May 10) accuses Berlusconi of bringing "shame on Italy". The Catholic Bishops' newspaper L'Avvenire says the Prime Minister has an "evident weakness for the flower of youth of young actresses". Berlusconi is 72.

The current hoopla over him and an 18-year old siren is reminiscent of the Bill Clinton - Monica Lewinsky saga in the United States minus the open tantrums of a scorned wife. Ms. Veronica Lario in her public protests and the use of La Repubblica, an anti-Berlusconi newspaper to express her views draws attention to the independence of the modern European woman. Her accent on the responsibility of fathers, and appropriate relationship between old men and young girls should appeal to the conservative fold. But Mr Berlusconi may be untouched. The reason his popularity rating has not been so adversely affected (a drop of only 4 per cent) is obvious: the Italian Prime Minister owns about 90 per cent of the media in Italy, he is the third richest man in Italy, in addition to being a powerful political figure! Such near-absolute concentration of power and influence in one man is not good for Italy.

Berlusconi's domination of the media for example, defeats the objectives of diversity and free expression. In permissive societies with relaxed media ownership rules, a reproduction of the Berlusconi example can be even more dangerous, such monopolization of the airwaves and the print media, (Berlusconi even has an advertising firm and he owns the football club, AC Milan) can only result in dictatorship and the suppression of truth.

Back to Berlusconi's obsession with "the flower of youth of young actresses": Poor Berlusconi. He should have been an African. If he were an African leader, his affairs with an 18-year old or with beautiful models would not have raised any eyebrows at all. And who is that wife who would write a newspaper article to protest that her husband, the Prime Minister of the country, loves young, pretty women? In some parts of Nigeria, young maidens hold special attraction for older men, because an affair with younger women, (preferably virgins!) is considered the best way to renew one's youth. Indeed, some men marry under-aged girls and claim that they are permitted by culture to do so. At least two Governors in the last two years have married President Yar'Adua's young daughters.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was secretly admired by many men because of his reputation as a great womaniser. Nobody condemned Obasanjo for loving beautiful women, except perhaps his first wife who has written a whole book to document her objection. In Swaziland, King Mswati III presides over the Reed Dance Festival where nubile maidens are required to bare their nakedness, for the Royal Majesty to choose a lucky girl for his ever-expanding harem. Berlusconi would be excited to be a guest of King Mswati III. Incumbent South African President, Jacob Zuma, is a serial womanizer and that was not in any way an issue in the recent South African elections. Long before Zuma, there were African leaders like Bokassa, Mobutu, Idi Amin Dada, Hophouet-Boigny.. for whom beautiful women were trophies of leadership. A leader chasing young women simply does not offend the African sensibility.

If President Umaru Yar'Adua for example were to decide to take a young wife to assist Madam Turai, this would cause great excitement, not opprobrium. In official quarters in Nigeria, there is something called "man no be wood allowance": the standard euphemism for the use of state resources to attract, maintain or motivate young ladies who are recruited as gift items and sex toys for visitors. There have been reports of sexual orgies in the corridors of power. Many of Berlusconi's critics are insisting that he should learn to treat women with greater respect. Here, men of power do not care. In the midst of all the media frenzy over Papi Silvio and his 18-year old Noemi, the Italian Prime Minister has nonetheless remained focused on his primary assignment. In Nigeria, with or without such controversy, our leaders appear distracted.

Now, the expenses claims scandal in Britain: in the past few days, there has been so much focus in England on the abuse of expenses claims by Members of Parliament and Cabinet Ministers. Yesterday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown suspended Labour Party MP Elliot Morley "until further notice" for collecting £16,000 for a non-existent mortgage. "Where standards are transgressed and mistakes are made we have got to take action...where there is irregularity now, it has got to be dealt with immediately", Gordon Brown said. Government, the opposition and the media in the UK are in effect currently engaged in an audit of expenses claims by public officials. And reputations are tumbling from the skies. Taxpayers are aggrieved and furious. Bracknell MP Andrew Mackay, a senior aide to Conservative Party leader, David Cameron, is accused of having claimed a second-home allowance. He has resigned his position.

Others that have been mentioned in the MPs expenses scandal include Tory MPs John Maples, Stephen Crabb, Labour MP Fabian Hamilton, Clare Short etc. Each one of them is contrite, they are even willing to pay back whatever they have collected. Most of the amounts involved are so small this could make a Nigerian lawmaker roll on the floor with laughter. For example, former leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Sir Menzies Campbell is returning to the treasury £1,490.66; Julia Goldsworthy is paying back £1,005 to the House of Commons. The Daily Telegraph is accusing Chris Huhne MP of claiming £119 for trouser press, Andrew George MP is being asked to return £847 and Lembit Opik MP, £40. The underlying principle is that public officials are not expected to use their positions to cheat the taxpayer. Is this possible in Nigeria?

In this country, theft of public resources as well as abuse of allowances is routine. Public officials are like parasites feeding fat on the state and its resources. Our lawmakers do very little and earn so much. A member of the House of Representatives for example goes home with as much as N10 million or more. Principal officers of the state use official cars, despite the monetisation rule. Relations of Governors, Ministers and other principal officers of state enjoy privileges that they are not entitled to. The Nigerian public service system is built on a foundation of waste. What is more frustrating is the absence of a qualitative oversight process that confronts public officials with the truth about their own omissions. Gordon Brown has spoken about "standards". It is this that is sorely lacking in Nigerian public life.

We lack the capacity to be shocked by this or even the abuse of women. We make excuses for public officials and would always easily overlook "small theft". 40 pounds? The cost of maintaining a public official in Nigeria accounts for much of the poverty in the land. There is so much outrage in Britain simply because the taxpayers' money means a lot. Public officials are not allowed to cheat in filing expenses claims while the ordinary man pays huge taxes. We have a long way to go, no doubt.

Robot  # 1 | 15.05.2009 07:31

Papi Silvio and the cheating British MPs By Reuben Abati TWO different incidents making the headlines at the moment in Italy and the United Kingdom reinforce the simple point about how the conduct of persons in public office is so central to their ability to provide leadership and how public confidence in that ability is so central to everything else. In Nigeria, indeed Africa, this is often underplayed. Public office is regarded as a divine privilege if not a license for impunity. Elsewhere, it is not. In Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is currently in the eye of the storm over his alleged relationship with an 18-year old lingerie model Noemi Letizia who calls him "Papi Silvio". The young lady has explained that she is a virgin, and that she only spends time with the Prime Minister as follows: "Papi brought me up. He's always been kind to me. One year he gave me a little diamond; another tim...Read the full article.

ttonjo  # 2 | 15.05.2009 13:29

We lack the capacity to be shocked by this or even the abuse of women. We make excuses for public officials and would always easily overlook "small theft". 40 pounds? The cost of maintaining a public official in Nigeria accounts for much of the poverty in the land. There is so much outrage in Britain simply because the taxpayers' money means a lot. Public officials are not allowed to cheat in filing expenses claims while the ordinary man pays huge taxes. We have a long way to go, no doubt. Here in Britain, there is check and balances. There is a 'vibrant and honest press' to check the excesses of the public officials. But who is there to do same for us in Nigeria? There is corruption everywhere. Even the so-called Nigerian press is NOT immune from corruption. It seems that almost everyone has got the dreaded evil and destructive element called 'CORRUPTION' in their DNA.:rant: In a decent society like China, people like Elumelu and his partners in corrupt activities, should be facing firing squad by now. But hey, this is Nigeria, the land of liars, fakers, thieves, murderers, evil doers, .....'heartless people, corrupt nation.' :rant: Look at what the rotten system in Nigeria is doing to the most brilliant and hardworking and God fearing woman, Professor Dora Akunyili? What an evil society called Nigeria! :rant:

i-go-better  # 3 | 16.05.2009 08:16

Now, the expenses claims scandal in Britain: in the past few days, there has been so much focus in England on the abuse of expenses claims by Members of Parliament and Cabinet Ministers. Yesterday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown suspended Labour Party MP Elliot Morley "until further notice" for collecting £16,000 for a non-existent mortgage. "Where standards are transgressed and mistakes are made we have got to take action...where there is irregularity now, it has got to be dealt with immediately", Gordon Brown said. Government, the opposition and the media in the UK are in effect currently engaged in an audit of expenses claims by public officials. And reputations are tumbling from the skies. Taxpayers are aggrieved and furious. Bracknell MP Andrew Mackay, a senior aide to Conservative Party leader, David Cameron, is accused of having claimed a second-home allowance. He has resigned his position. "The Daily Telegraph is accusing Chris Huhne MP of claiming £119 for trouser press, Andrew George MP is being asked to return £847 and Lembit Opik MP, £40. The underlying principle is that public officials are not expected to use their positions to cheat the taxpayer. Is this possible in Nigeria?" RA you rightly asked, "is this possible in Nigeria?" The honest answer is NEVER!! Not with the type of journalism you guys in Nigeria showcase to the public. I have carefully underlined the meagre amounts involved and to inform you that the political establishment here in the UK is in total disarray and may never recover. The Metropolitan Police is studying the situation and are ENCOURAGING THE CITIZENS to lodge formal complaint for possible prosecution of any MP! And the Party Leaders have openly APOLOGISED TO THE CITIZENS and have promised to sanction any member of their PARTY found culpable. In all, there are FOUR synergised dynamics: 1)UNCOMPROMISED MEDIA 2)CITIZENS OUTRAGE 3)APOLITICAL LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCY 4) LEADERSHIP THAT KNOWS WHERE SOVEREIGNTY LIES-THE PEOPLE. In Nigeria, the media, with the exception of AIT, are dangerously compromised. With that as the WEAKEST LINK, the remaining THREE dynamics cannot exist!

ajimoh  # 4 | 16.05.2009 17:54

=i-go-better;356383>Now, the expenses claims scandal in Britain: in the past few days, there has been so much focus in England on the abuse of expenses claims by Members of Parliament and Cabinet Ministers. Yesterday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown suspended Labour Party MP Elliot Morley "until further notice" for collecting £16,000 for a non-existent mortgage. "Where standards are transgressed and mistakes are made we have got to take action...where there is irregularity now, it has got to be dealt with immediately", Gordon Brown said. Government, the opposition and the media in the UK are in effect currently engaged in an audit of expenses claims by public officials. And reputations are tumbling from the skies. Taxpayers are aggrieved and furious. Bracknell MP Andrew Mackay, a senior aide to Conservative Party leader, David Cameron, is accused of having claimed a second-home allowance. He has resigned his position. "The Daily Telegraph is accusing Chris Huhne MP of claiming £119 for trouser press, Andrew George MP is being asked to return £847 and Lembit Opik MP, £40. The underlying principle is that public officials are not expected to use their positions to cheat the taxpayer. Is this possible in Nigeria?" RA you rightly asked, "is this possible in Nigeria?" The honest answer is NEVER!! Not with the type of journalism you guys in Nigeria showcase to the public. I have carefully underlined the meagre amounts involved and to inform you that the political establishment here in the UK is in total disarray and may never recover. The Metropolitan Police is studying the situation and are ENCOURAGING THE CITIZENS to lodge formal complaint for possible prosecution of any MP! And the Party Leaders have openly APOLOGISED TO THE CITIZENS and have promised to sanction any member of their PARTY found culpable. In all, there are FOUR synergised dynamics: 1) UNCOMPROMISED MEDIA 2) CITIZENS OUTRAGE 3) APOLITICAL LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCY 4) LEADERSHIP THAT KNOWS WHERE SOVEREIGNTY LIES-THE PEOPLE. In Nigeria, the media, with the exception of AIT, are dangerously compromised. With that as the WEAKEST LINK, the remaining THREE dynamics cannot exist! i-go-better, thank you for your honesty. Why and how has it come to this? Compromise vis-a-vis perception also appear lost to most media practitioners in Nigeria and any attempt to raise questions bordering on our perception is usually met with haughty dismissals instead of candid explanations. Considering the role played by the same Nigerian media during the Abacha darkness, it a shame indeed what is now happening!