September 29, 2013 by LEKE BAIYEWU
PUNCH
A civil society group, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, has said the National Assembly is the main problem of Nigeria and not the leaders of the country since independence.
CACOL was reacting to a resolution by the Senate that the nation’s leadership, since the return to full democratic rule 14 years ago, had taken no serious step to tackle corruption, unemployment, rot in the education sector, decayed infrastructure and nepotism.
Members of the Senate had unanimously submitted that the nation’s leaders, apart from those who fought for its independence 53 years ago, had failed to provide the required leadership that could make the country socio-economically independent.
In a statement by the Media Officer, CACOL, Abimbola Adegoke, the Executive Chairman, Debo Adeniran, said the National Assembly had been the major problem with the country.
He said, “It is crass irresponsibility for the senators to lament the plight of the Nigerian masses, when, as a matter of fact, they are part of the political brigandage that has been holding the growth of the nation down through their jumbo salaries and high level of corruption going on in the National Assembly.”
Adeniran queried the legislature on how many masses-friendly laws they had passed since 1999. He alleged that the lawmakers had been fixing allowances and emoluments for themselves at the expense of the poor civil servants.
He further said their legislative business was not favourable to the masses, lamenting that despite the large number of poor people, the legislators were the highest paid in the whole world.
Adeniran said, “Is it not a height of thoughtlessness for them to live big in the midst of poor masses that are merely eking out a living? Who are the leaders they are referring to?
“As a matter of fact, if the oversight functions are done properly, corruption would have been reduced in the MDAs. Do they think Nigerians will fall for their rhetoric? And now that they have woken up from their slumber, what are they going to do to alleviate the plight of the Nigerian masses?”
While noting that revolution was the only solution to the problem of the country, he said many leaders had shown that they didn’t have the interest of the people at heart.
“The only way out of the current problem is through a peaceful revolution, which can only come about by calling the conference of the people,” he added.