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Nigeria stands at a crossroads where hope is overshadowed by the very institutions designed to safeguard our nation’s future. In a startling revelation from the National Assembly, the staggering allocation of ₦393.29 billion for just 1,477 streetlights raises the pertinent question: what has happened to our leaders? Instead of illuminating our cities and brightening the lives of our citizens, our borrowed light reveals an alarming truth about the moral decay entrenched in our governance. There is rampant industrial-strength looting disguised as legislative duty, and the ominous truth is that our future is being pilfered away while we, the citizens, watch in impotent disbelief.
How can it be that in a country where children learn on bare floors, where hospitals lack basic amenities like oxygen, and where families go to bed hungry, our legislators have seen fit to design a budget that allocates a pretentious ₦266 million for a single streetlight? This is not mere statistical madness; it is a cynical joke at the expense of the everyday Nigerian. One must wonder if our lawmakers have become so detached from reality that they do not recognize the suffering that their choices perpetuate. The allocations extend further into sheer madness: ₦114.53 billion for 538 boreholes, ₦505.79 billion for 2,122 ICT projects, and hundreds of millions for community town halls and education projects all of which ought to cost a fraction of what has been proposed.
The list is a disturbing litany of inefficiency at best, and outright avarice at worst. It is clear: this is not budgeting; it is sabotage in suits. The silent complicity of our elected representatives serves only to deepen the chasm of trust between the government and the governed. The very essence of leadership has warped into a vehicle for unchecked greed, leaving the people in darkness, both figuratively and literally.
This horrendous betrayal cannot be allowed to continue. It is imperative for the Nigerian people regardless of ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation to awaken from their stupor and confront the reality of this situation. The National Assembly’s outrageous appropriation is not an isolated issue but a symptom of an underlying malaise that threatens the very fabric of our society. As concerned citizens, we must muster the will to demand accountability.
We owe it to ourselves to demand transparency regarding the allocation of our resources. What projects are truly being funded? Where are they located? And who are the contractors benefiting from this largesse? Every kobo of the national budget must be handled with the sanctity it deserves, reflecting the struggles faced by millions of ordinary Nigerians.
The Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu Support Group (AATSG) articulates a clear call to action: We must reject the passive acceptance of this farce. Our demands are straightforward yet vital for the reclamation of our national pride and resources:
1. A complete list of all projects outlined in this budget, specifying locations and contractors.
2. A forensic audit of all budgetary insertions.
3. Empowering anti-graft agencies to probe these allocations line-by-line.
4. Full transparency from the National Assembly concerning its financial dealings with the people it represents.
We must galvanize as a unified front against this orchestrated scheme of theft and betrayal. Every concerned Nigerian must raise their voice in unison: Enough is enough! The future of our children hangs in the balance; they should not inherit a legacy of debt, dysfunction, and despair.
If we allow this level of corruption to perpetuate, we safeguard not our future but our doom. But we can change this narrative. Let us embody the light we so desperately seek through truth, justice, and unwavering courage. Let us together demand answers and accountability in the face of this national disgrace. If we stand together to challenge this feeding frenzy that our National Assembly has become, we can steer Nigeria back towards a path that leads to hope and prosperity for every citizen.
**Signed,**
Otunba Abdulfalil Abayomi Odunowo
National Chairman
Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu Support Group (AATSG)
SB E-news
SB events magazine
Efficiency magazine
Efficiency award for Excellence EAE.
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