AT THE heat of Nigerian medical doctors migrating abroad, a member of the National Assembly said he felt that there was not patriotism on the part of the doctors. However, when the same person defended the N165m car for each member of the National Assembly, the question of patriotism keeps nagging at me.
As it is elected politicians in high places and appointed people as well who get humongous amount of monetary compensation including other perks like cars and God knows what, and they see nothing wrong with it, because it is in the ‘law’ whatever that means.
This in-your-face insensitivity and total disregard for the people while getting away with it embolden people and make politics the most lucrative ‘business’. Many may not see it as service to the people, but rather what they get out of it, because the indulgence is too much. This is why politics is a do-or-die. Those that can manipulate themselves into elected positions are suddenly transformed into the club of super rich paid by the government.
That was why when there was outrage about the cars, especially at this timewhen people are thrown into hardship due to the removal of fuel subsidy that has led to incredible inflation – high cost of transportation and in every facet of life – they still defended the purchase.
The Labour Party (LP) asked its members not to accept the cars, but they didn’t reject them. I watched one of the Labour Party members saying that even if they rejected the cars, they were not sure if the money would be returned to the government’s coffers. But that is not their business; they would have done what their party told them to do.
All the same, it is not as if people are against their having cars bought by the National Assembly, which some of them take pains to explain that at the end of four years, they would buy the cars, so, it is not as if the cars are free. People feel that they could get less expensive ones, but not to show brazen insensitivity to the suffering people.
Nevertheless, they didn’t waver from their intent on getting those cars, even as a show of concern by the public outcry, to show the voters that they care at this time that people are going through hardship. Even if it is not from their hearts.
But no, the voters don’t count, making one to wonder about our democracy. The voter is only useful at the time of election; after that he is dispensable.
This in-your-face insensitivity and total disregard for the people while getting away with it embolden people and make politics the most lucrative ‘business’. Many may not see it as service to the people, but rather what they get out of it, because the indulgence is too much. This is why politics is a do-or-die. Those that can manipulate themselves into elected positions are suddenly transformed into the club of super rich paid by the government.
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People are however not stupid; they see what is happening and are they expected to be happy with the poor-quality education and miserable jobs with equally poor salaries clearly not enough under the prevailing economic situation?
Therefore, those doctors that are not well-paid or ironically cannot get a job, grab at opportunities to travel abroad. And somebody is calling them unpatriotic. And that somebody is comfortable to collect N165m car bought by the government. The irony is lost on him.
Before people throw words like patriotism about, they should look at themselves critically, after all, most, if not all Nigerians, are proud of their country even where the country fails them and rewards others stupendously.
In any case, does patriotism only means staying in your country to work even if you have an opportunity to go abroad and you are denied such opportunity where it exists in your country because you don’t know a big man?
Recently a friend’s daughter got an opportunity to migrate abroad by passing exams. She told me that she wept in gratitude because if it were in Nigeria, she knew her daughter would never be given her due even if she came first.
“They would give it to a governor’s child, or senator’s child, or minister’s child and their like,” she said.
This is how bad we have become as a nation.
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Besides, we see how the government reveres those Nigerians that make impact in other countries and bring them home from time to time to head government agencies. Before people throw words like patriotism about, they should look at themselves critically, after all, most, if not all Nigerians, are proud of their country even where the country fails them and rewards others stupendously.
