Let's use a local perspective to drive home the point, shall we. Last year the Federal Government, through the Universal Basic Education Commission, allocated 2% of its consolidated revenue to support state and local governments in funding public education. There are about 25 million children supported by UBEC, nationwide, and the government provided 23 billion naira for their education. In one swoop, Mr. Speaker "chopped" half of what the FG provided for all those children for an entire year. Only in Nigeria!
The actions of our "leaders" never cease to amaze me, and the latest transgression has lead me to believe that public power in Nigeria corrupts publicly, yet leaves no sense of shame. How else can one explain the level of greed displayed - individually, and collectively - by so many "public servants"? How can one explain the recent actions of Mr. Speaker, who many hoped would be an agent of change?
Let's put ourselves in their shoes for a second - technically they are not stealing money, as it can be argued that the money is "just sitting there", and they simply help themselves to it. Big Daddy (the FG) allocates funds, and the recipients are hardly held accountable for how they spend the it (even Big Daddy is not held accountable!). It seems to me like Nigerians have encouraged such behaviour, given our implicit agreement with those who "govern" us. It is as if we have said, "we will let you enjoy the proceeds from your private business (NNPC), but leave us alone and don't try and tax us; do whatever you want with 'your' oil money." And they have, and will continue to do so, for as long as this "agreement" exists.
So while 10 billion naira can do a lot for Nigerians, and while Nigerians have every right to be angry with Mr. Speaker, the reality is the money is not being stolen from them, as it did not come from them in the first place, but originated from the oil companies. According to the CBN, oil revenue funds most of government expenditure at all three levels, which accounts for about 25% of GDP. Government expenditure in developed countries like the UK and France accounts for about 45% of total expenditure (see the Heritage Foundation's latest Index of Economic Freedom), but these governments don't get their money from oil - they get most of it taxes. The Nigerian government, when it does decide to finance public goods and services, does it from the crumbs left from oil revenue. This is part of the reason France and UK have electricity, good roads, and good public schools, and Nigeria does not (more on that in part 3).
In part 2 tomorrow, I will break down the oil revenue that accrues to the different tiers of government. Stay tuned...
