Recession: Odd things Nigerians do at National Assembly to survive

In his 1943 paper titled, ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’, Psychologist Abraham Maslow introduced the concept of Hierarchy of Needs. The concept popularly known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs proposes that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to meet higher level growth needs.

It is often displayed as a hierarchical pyramid with five levels namely: Self-Actualisation, Esteem, Social, Safety and Physiological Needs. While the physiological needs include man’s basic needs like air, food, water and shelter, Self-Actualisation represents the highest level of needs and realisation of a person’s full potential.

With increasing cases of suicide, and other expressions of hopelessness occasioned by hardship, relating to the prevailing economic recession in the country, it is not surprising therefore, that some telecommunication companies advertise their packages using meals, with over 80million Nigerians going to bed hungry.

In September 2016, a United Nations report on Nigeria’s Common Country Analysis (CCA) described the country as one of the poorest and unequal country in the world, with over 64percent of the population living below poverty line.

The report was made public during a consultative meeting on the formulation of the UN Development Assistance Framework IV (UNDAF IV) for the South East geo-political zone in Awka.

The report read in part: “Nigeria is one of the poorest and most unequal countries in the world, with over 80 million or 64percent of her population living below poverty line. The situation has not changed over the decades, but is increasing.

“Youth unemployment which was 42percent in 2016 is very high, creating poverty, helplessness, despair and easy target for crime and terrorism. Over 10 million children of school age are out of schools with no knowledge and skills”.

The National Assembly, which comprises the Senate and House of Representatives, presents a vivid picture of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs because while federal lawmakers and management staff of the National Assembly are in the Self-Actualisation category, other staff in the lower cadre literally live from hand-to-mouth as the pang of economic recession bites harder. The parliament represents two divides: the privileged and less-privileged.

Since the inauguration of the 8th Assembly and following the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy which has checked the expenditure of the National Assembly and the free money that former lawmakers used to get, legislators have had to drastically scale down their expenditure habit.

Whereas many of the lawmakers used to be as generous as Father Christmas, today, they have imbibed the habit of frugality. They no longer throw money about, except when it becomes absolutely necessary.

Below are some of the rather unfortunate ways some individuals try to beat the recession bug in the National Assembly

 Selling of bills/motions

Although the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) – the research arm of the National Assembly – drafts motions and bills to federal legislators, a senior legislative aide to a ranking senator informed BDSUNDAY that bureaucratic bottlenecks from the institute has led members of both legislative chambers to opt for alternatives.

According to him, it takes a minimum of two weeks to get a motion drafted from the institute, explaining that this informed why some lawmakers opt for other means of getting their motions and bills drafted.

Findings showed that there are some consultants and staff of the nation’s apex lawmaking body whose preoccupation is to sell bills and motions to lawmakers on cash-and-carry basis. While motions go for between N10,000 and N100,000, depending on the subject matter, bills are more lucrative or ‘juicy’ due to their complex nature.

A staff of the National Assembly who is involved in the practice, revealed that bills are sold for between N50,000 and N500,000.

This, he said, has helped cushion the effect of economic recession.

“You don’t need to study rocket science to draft motions (for lawmakers). Sometimes, I take advantage of any national issue and draft a motion to that effect. It’s as simple as that. In other instances, I look at lacuna in our extant laws and draft a bill to amend that law or propose an entirely new law on a subject matter. All these require research though,” the staff who has been in the National Assembly since 1999 told BDSUNDAY.

Hired protests

Nowadays, the National Assembly has assumed the status of protest headquarters in Nigeria. Although some protests are borne out of genuine concerns, some aggrieved politicians, individuals and organisations have employed the services of hired protesters to ventilate their anger on issues bothering them. In other instances, protests against a serving lawmaker may force the legislator to organise a counter-protest.

In what is fast becoming a means of survival as citizens devise ways of coping with the pangs of economic recession, protests at the National Assembly have become money-making venture for some consultants and individuals who smile to the bank while giving a paltry sum to the protesters.

Findings by BDSUNDAY showed that hired protests range from N300,000 to N5million, depending on the sophistication of the protest and issue at stake.

The modus operandi of sophisticated protests is to engage a consultant who in turn employs the services of the leader of unemployed citizens in the nation’s capital, who gather at Unity Fountain, receive branded T-Shirts, fez-caps, placards and get debriefed, before heading to the National Assembly, deliver results and get the protesters paid between N1,000 and 2,000 each.

Besides erecting canopies to prevent themselves from the harsh weather, some of the protesters sometimes come with musical equipment accompanied with loud speakers which they mount at the main entrance to the National Assembly causing traffic gridlock, while they sing and dance. In some cases, food and drinks are served the protesters.

The less-sophisticated protests do not require any of the above conditions. The protesters simply gather at Unity Fountain and proceed to the National Assembly.

In all of this, the biggest winners are not the protesters but the consultant or individuals who secured the services of the protesters on behalf of the sponsor.

Upsurge of professional beggars

 

According to blogger Nkem Ndem, there are seven types of beggars in the country, namely: destitute beggars, disabled beggars, mother-of-many beggars, Settle-Me road lords, stranded professional (professional beggars), entrepreneur beggars and child beggars.

However, the most common beggars at the National Assembly are professional beggars. They are not shabby-looking or haggard in appearance. Some of them wear very expensive clothes and perfumes.

They consist of individuals who find their way to the National Assembly Complex by either tipping security men or cooking up stories of an ‘appointment’ with the lawmaker representing their constituency.

Once inside, the music changes. They besiege the lobby of either the upper or lower legislative chamber and approach legislators and staff alike begging for money. Others go to the offices of their lawmakers in the hope that he/she would be in a good mood to see them and offer stipends to them.

However, a new dimension has been added as professional beggars now loiter around Automated Teller Machine (ATM) points to beg for funds from unsuspecting bank customers withdrawing from the machines. All commercial banks in Nigeria have ATM Points at the Complex.

Last week, a journalist with one of the national dailies complained bitterly that some staffers of the National Assembly at lower cadre have also joined the list of professional beggars approaching ATM points begging for money.

“They are causing nuisance and embarrassment to the parliament and it is high time the management of the National Assembly did something urgent about it. One wonders how they found their way here considering the fact that there are three security checks before entering the main building of the parliament,” the journalist who did not want her name in print told our correspondent.

Also last month when the Senate condemned the terrorist attacks on the British parliament, James Manager (PDP, Delta South) complained that the ubiquitous beggars at the complex, harassing senators, especially in the evening, could pose security threat to the institution.

Fake journalists at committee sittings

 

Activities of fake journalists popularly known as Press Centre Press Corps (PCPC) in Abuja are also prevalent at the National Assembly. The heavy presence of security men at the complex has not deterred them from plying their trade at the apex legislative body, as they gain entrance to the Complex like the professional beggars.

Ironically, these fake journalists with funny-sounding publications you cannot find on newsstands anywhere in the country got their accreditation from the Information Department.

They are first comers at committee public hearings and interactive sessions with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Sometimes, they trick unsuspecting heads of MDAs at committee’s assignments to part with money in order for negative stories about them not to be published.

With camera, midgets and other working tools at their disposal like real newsmen, some claim to be working for established media houses like Guardian, BusinessDay, Vanguard, ThisDay, Punch, Channels, AIT, TVC etc.

Last year, a lady was caught while trying to impersonate a correspondent with one of the national dailies, unknown to her that the National Assembly correspondent for the medium was standing right next to her. Although she was immediately handed over to a sergeant-at-arm, few days later, she was seen again parading herself as a real journalist at a committee assignment.