As House Members Cut SalaryOver Planned Protests…

Last Thursday, the House of Representatives resolved to slash the salaries of lawmakers by 50 per cent for the next six months, while some see it as a panic button due to the planned protests against bad governance, others see it as a good gesture. Adedayo Akinwale writes

In the last few weeks, Kenyans have taken to the streets protesting against plans by the government to hike tax in the East African country. The youth-led demonstrations that erupted about a month ago against planned tax hikes have continued even after President William Ruto withdrew the legislation and fired almost all members of his cabinet.

However, Kenyans, frustrated by years of stagnating wages and corruption are seen as worse than ever. But the tax hike plan was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

Despite the Kenyan government yielding to their demands, activists want the president to step down and are demanding systemic changes to fight corruption and address poor governance.

Recall that in October 2020, there was a similar mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria tagged #EndSARS. The movement’s slogan called for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit of the Nigerian Police known for its long record of abuse against Nigerian citizens.

The protests originated from a Twitter campaign in 2017, using the hashtag #EndSARS to demand the unit’s disbandment by the Nigerian government. The movement experienced a resurgence in October 2020 following further revelations of the unit’s abuses, leading to mass demonstrations across major cities in Nigeria, and widespread outrage on social media platforms. 

Though, the protest was later hijacked by elements believed to be sponsored by the government and subsequently failed when compared with the success achieved with the Kenyan protest.

Taking a cue from the success recorded by the Kenyan youths, another protest is in the offing in Nigeria. The planned protests tagged, “End bad government in Nigeria 2024: 10 days of rage” is scheduled to kick off on August 1 and end on August 10.

It was against this background that the House of Representatives appealed to the proponents of proposed nationwide protest to maintain peace, eschew violence and open the windows for meaningful engagements with the government at all levels in order to address their issues.

The House made the call following the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance moved at plenary by Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka.

Moving the motion, Isiaka said the citizens of Nigeria have the constitutional right to peaceful assembly and protest to address their grievances. He noted that maintaining peace and engaging in constructive dialogue with the government was crucial for the resolution of issues facing the nation.

The lawmaker admitted that it was undeniable that Nigeria is facing significant challenges, saying the challenges have plagued the nation for far too long.

Isiaka added that the issues of insecurity, unemployment, and poverty weigh heavily on the hearts of every Nigerian. However, he was of the opinion that the challenges are not unique to Nigeria alone, stressing that these are issues that countries across the globe grapple with on a daily basis.

He emphasised that in a world that is constantly changing and evolving, no nation is immune to the complexities of governance and development. The road to change is not easy.

However, an amendment was proposed to the motion by Deputy Speaker, Hon Ben Kalu who suggested that the lawmakers slashed their salaries by 50 percent for the next six months.

According to him: “This government is doing its best, but one year is not enough to address the challenges of this country. I want to plead with our colleagues to sacrifice 50 per cent for a period of six months.

“Our salary is N600,000 a month. I want to plead that we let go of 50 per cent of our salary for a period of six months.”

In his submission, Hon. Ahmed Jaha said it would take a “reasonable period” of time to address the problems in the country.

He noted that despite the economic hardship, the prices of commodities are cheaper in Nigeria than in most African countries.

According to him: “Tough times don’t last forever, but tough people do. We are appealing to our young men to give the government the benefit of the doubt. If you compare the cost of living in West Africa, you would appreciate the cost of living in Nigeria”.

The motion, as amended, was subsequently adopted by the House when it was put to a vote by the  Speaker, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas.

Although, when Tajudeen put the motion to a voice vote, the voices of those against it were more and louder but the speaker ruled otherwise. The Speaker noted that the cut was going to affect the N600,000 monthly salaries of the lawmakers.

Reacting to the lawmakers gesture, a member of the Eighth Senate, Senator Shehu Sani, said the office running cost of the House of Representatives is the “real devil” and not salary. He made the remark while commending the decision of the lawmakers to slash their salaries.

Posting on his verified X handle, Sani wrote: “The Reps slashed their salaries.That is a good symbolic gesture.I commend them. But the real Devil is the Office running cost and not the Salary.”

Also reacting, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections,  Atiku Abubakar described the “sacrifice” of the lawmakers as a drop in the ocean. He said the demons are in the allowances and not salaries of the lawmakers.

Abubakar posted on X: “The sacrifice of members of the House of Representatives is commendable. But it is a drop in the ocean. The demons are in the allowances and not the salaries of lawmakers and government officials in general.

“Whatever happened to the much-trumpeted implementation of the Oronsaye Report? Recently, the ballooning of MDAs with the attendant cost implications has been observed.

“There’s too much wastage and prioritisation of non-essential expenditures. What is desirable is an across the board cut in expenses. We can no longer afford to borrow money to fund continued irresponsibility in government.”

Nevertheless, while some analysts believed  the gesture of the lawmakers was laudable, others were of the opinion that it was a panic button pressed by the lawmakers because of the fear of the unknown that the planned protests portends.

Investigation revealed that during the #EndSARS protest, investment of politically exposed persons, government warehouses, as well as infrastructure were not immune to the rage of the youths. Companies of politicians were either set ablaze while warehouses of government were looted.

While the gesture of the lawmakers was a welcome development, if the hunger in the land alongside inflation, insecurity, extremely high cost of food and the anger of the youths are anything to go by, the salary slash by the lawmakers was just a drop in the ocean which appears not to be enough.