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Author: KOLA IBRAHIM
Posted to the web: 10/13/2006 11:58:32 AM

WHO CORRUPTED THE PUBLIC SERVICE?

The reigning idea is that of the fact that public service is corrupt, inept and totally bankrupt, but one just wonder how striving corporations like NITEL, Ajaokuta Steel Mill and other mills in the country, NICON, NNPC and several other striving businesses which were rated as best in Africa. One wonder how the workers of the 1960’s, ‘70’s and early ‘80’s, who played the central role in building and operating these public corporations, suddenly become inept and corrupt. However, with the revelations coming from the presidency and other public officers, where the number one citizen and his VICE have been fingered in monumental fraud, corruption and bribery which in natural situation would have required taking them to firing squad. This again gives credence to belief of many Nigerians, that it is the presidency, the ruling class and the so-called entrepreneurs that are the parasites who are eating up the whole gains of public service. It is furthermore ironic how they are shifting the blame on innocent working people of the country.

From these revelations, it is clear that it is the politicians (along with their ex-general collaborators), who have no other source of wealth than looting our public treasury that should be held responsible for the rot in the public service and not the workers who have sacrificed several years of toil in maintaining the public service. As a result of the neo-liberal ideology, workers have been victimized, the wealth of the country have been stolen away by the parasitic capitalist class which hide under the guise of entrepreneurs and foreign investors to buy up the public corporation – which they themselves destroyed thanks to their nepotism, capital flight, looting and misappropriation – at token charges.

Consequently, workers are sacked, economy liberalized thus killing local peasants. Furthermore, the politicians in power under the fraudulent neo-liberal ideology commercialize education, health, pension, road maintenance, even police which make the huge wealth accruing to the country to be available, not to the whole population, but to the super-rich in the corridors of power and to give the so-called business gurus opportunity to extract huge profit from the pains and pangs of the common man thus making social services like education, health, pension, etc inaccessible to vast majority of the people. We have heard of cases of multinational telecom companies amassing billions of naira as profit in the country which dwarfed their profits elsewhere in the world, yet their services are inferior to even the remotest country in the world. This is the gain of neo-liberal reform.

It is also on record that the so-called privatization policy and its twin sister – deregulation, aside inflicting terrible injuries on the working people, have been enmeshed in brazen form of corruption. The example of Daily Times is striking where the politician businessmen who bought it sold one of its buildings to settle the debt used to buy up this once thriving media organization, and till date no single copy of Daily Time newspapers can be seen on the vendor’s stand. This is aside other open cases of big companies bought over by these same set of people in power. One then understand why just one percent of the population is amassing over 80 percent of the nation’s oil wealth. In a situation where the nation has got not less than $200 billion from oil since 1999 and yet the Niger delta continue to rot in poverty (forget the propaganda of NDDC which comprises of politicians and contractors), the education sector has collapsed, pensioners have to die on queue, medical services have either collapsed or inaccessible to the people, prisons have been collapsed, more young people are participating in lotteries, while many young people are dying for politicians. While all these are going on, one could hear from Transparency International that over $55 billion are stashed outside the country by corrupt military men and politicians, majority of whom are now in power or are planning to clinch it.

While many people have called for the removal of the president and /or his vice, it is important to see issues beyond them. While both of them, in a desperate mood to safeguard their privileges and ill-gotten wealth, have exposed the rot in the presidency, it should be noted that none of the political structures – national and state assemblies, state governments, even judiciary – are different from those in the presidency, while those who want to take power also have been strategizing on how to loot treasury in grand style when they get to power. Therefore, any attempt to turn the present misfortune of the presidency to the fortune of the other section of the elite either by calling for the presidency dissolution or supporting one camp against the other, will spell doom for the working people who will be at the receiving end when they take power.

According to Fela in his popular song Suffer Head, “suffer head must go, jefa head (better life) must come”. Furthermore, he said “if we have to jefa head, we must be ready to fight for am”. This is where the working people through their organizations at grassroots, state and national level, must organise along with other oppressed people like the pensioners, unemployed, peasants, market women, students, academia, etc and start to tackle this rotten government at all levels on issues that affect the working and poor people like campaign committees against privatization, retrenchment, casualization, commercialization, living wage and job, etc. Ultimately, they must be ready to form their own party which will champion these demands and endear itself to the poor people who are in the majority and are looking for alternative; and also struggle for power and make the wealth to be the common property of all as against the present IMF/World Bank/WTO inspired neo-liberal capitalism which have privatized the wealth of the country in the hands of the tiny few and their multinational backers. Great minds like Nyerere, Walter Rodney, Rahaman Babu, Fanon, Obafemi Awolowo, Bala Usman, Gani Fawehinmi, and others have reiterated this very much but it is unfortunate that our own Oshiomole, who came to limelight as a result of his leadership role in the struggle against these neo-liberal policies, is now selling out the poor people because of power and privileges. Working people must beware of their leadership .

Kola Ibrahim (08059399178)

Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife

ibrolenin@yahoo.com