Senator Benedict Murray-Bruce is everyone’s favourite legislator who just wants to make common sense. No he’s not? Okay then. Senator Ben Murray-Bruce currently represents the Bayelsa-East local government of Bayelsa State in the Senate and he regularly does this thing he calls “making sense”. While this post is hardly about the merit (or lack thereof of) what he does, we had to admit after reading his latest in the sense-making series, that the man made a whole lot of sense.

This time, speaking about the health care sector, Senator Murray Bruce said:

“A leader opens himself to ridicule when he preaches made in Nigeria at a conference then is escorted to board his convoy of foreign cars! The recession is caused by the mentality of our leaders. If we want our healthcare to improve then let us stop paying politicians like me jumbo pay and instead pay doctors jumbo pay. If we want our education sector to improve let us stop paying politicians like me jumbo salary and rather pay teachers maximum allowances.”

It’s hard to tell whether it was the state of mind we were in just before we saw this or this just truly makes sense.

So earlier we were considering the awful logic behind the salary structure within the different departments and government offices in Nigeria. How doctors earn way less than many paper-pushers (not that paper-pushing should be a thankless job). And nurses, who even when the world announces them to be on any one of their many strike actions, still take the pains to go attend to their patients -because they really are super heroes.

For example, what is it that a staff at the Federal Judicial Service Commission liaison office does that entitles such person to more pay than a resident officer at the Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital in Yaba? Same level officers!

Or why should a staff at the Legal Aid Department ever be underpaid? And why in God’s name should police officer – forget how annoying these ones are – complain about her salary being owed while we haven’t ever heard such from the National Assembly -not even their travel allowances. And we haven’ even got around to the teachers yet.

It’s a horrifying situation really.

And that’s why we agree, and not for the first time, that Mr. Murray-Bruce does make common sense!

Roqeebah

Creative mind. Enthusiast. Learner. Multipotentialite. And here, an assistant editor.