PETER OBI'S SPEECH ON "THE PLATFORM"; AN EXPOSURE OF OUR WASTE CULTURE

At The Platform yesterday, many speakers talked about many aspects of Nigeria, celebrating 56 years of independence. One speaker whose speech raised eyebrows is Peter Obi, former Anambra state governor.
He talked about how wasteful the government is with money and how he changed all that.
He reduced his convoy to five vehicles instead of the over 10 vehicles he was entitled to. He spoke about how he reduced the money he spent on fuelling his cars by personally paying for the petrol instead of giving aides who would inflate the price. He spoke about how he saved 2 billion Naira yearly by not allowing the office of the first lady to function. He spoke on how he reduced the number of people sponsored by the state to the world Igbo congress in America from 30 to one. He recalled how he slashed down the number of aides who escorted him to Abuja from Awka without playing any role thereby reducing the cost of transport from the 10 million Naira per trip it was. He mentioned how he refused to build a presidential lodge in the state thereby saving hundreds of billions of Naira. He mentioned how he refused to have a state government lodge in Abuja which would have gulped millions. He recalled how he renovated the government house with about one-fifth of the amount appropriated. He did away with about 15 redundant drivers earning salaries from the state government. These and many more examples were stated.
The bottom line is that he was frugal with resources. There is a culture of waste in Nigeria. This waste culture is even institutionalized. Laws are been made to promote wastage. The unique thing is that Peter Obi was actually allowed to spend all that money but he refused to do so. Rather, he chose to save it and use it for other purposes. How will over 100 million Naira be allocated for buying new vehicles for the governor (who already had vehicles) whereas judges and permanent secretaries in the state did not own vehicles? The presidency in the country is also an avenue for a lot of wastage. The presidency had about 10 aeroplanes in its fleet. During past eras, hundreds of dignitaries were in the president's entourage to UN General Assemblies, most of them redundant. The office of the first lady has been involved in spending a lot of money which likely comes from the government. Yet, that office is not established by any law.
It is not only through stealing and corruption that funds are looted. Leakages like the abovementioned and even more that are legal are unnecessary. Unfortunately, our past has come back to haunt us. Nigeria are currently broke and it is now that the leakages are being plugged. It is now that the government is looking for ways to save costs. Peter Obi's frugality paid off and yesterday he could boast of leaving hundreds of millions of dollars in the state coffers.
Obi's story could not have come at a better time in Nigeria. Our leaders need to learn how to manage the little resources available. Likewise, they must learn to save for the rainy day in times of plenty. This can be done by cutting down unnecessary expenses.