The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, has described the Nigerian system as wasteful. Reacting to the news of a NGN37billion allocation for the renovation of the National Assembly complex, president of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke said the huge expenditure should have been better put to productive areas that can create jobs and help solve the problems of society.
Nsuke said, in a country where hunger, poor medical care, poor sanitation weak power supply and insecurity are critical problems, MOSOP considers it wasteful and misplaced for our government to spend that huge amount of money on renovating a national assembly when critical sectors of the economy are collapsing.
The MOSOP president opined that the huge amount of money approved for the renovation of the national assembly if channeled into more productive use could have created over 100,000 jobs for Nigerians, helping to address the insecurity associated with unemployment and thereby serving the interests of our society rather than being expended on a national assembly that already consumes a significant percentage of national budget.
Citing the Ogoni problem which he said has cost the Nigerian economy some significant losses in the past 26years, Nsuke said it has been the consequence of an oppressive system that has neglected the common people who are left to suffer the consequences of reckless resource exploitation and irresponsible business practices for the benefit of the elites.
While insisting that national service should not be turned into a lucrative business, Nsuke suggested pay cuts for political office holders to accommodate maintenance on their facilities. He condemned the current situation where a Nigerian senator earns much more than the U.S president despite the huge disparity in the size of their economies.
He urged that government to focus on creating jobs and investing in social security rather than wasting resources. If young Nigerians will find jobs and be productively engaged, they will not be available for recruitment as Boko Haram fighters or political tugs, the MOSOP leader said.
He further called on the Nigerian people to work for a better society saying “if we want change, then we must work to achieve change. We did it in 2015 when President Buhari was elected and peacefully, that can be replicated in other aspects of society, he said.
