[ajimoh]

Originally Posted by i-go-better

Now, the expenses claims scandal in Britain: in the past few days, there has been so much focus in England on the abuse of expenses claims by Members of Parliament and Cabinet Ministers. Yesterday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown suspended Labour Party MP Elliot Morley "until further notice" for collecting £16,000 for a non-existent mortgage. "Where standards are transgressed and mistakes are made we have got to take action...where there is irregularity now, it has got to be dealt with immediately", Gordon Brown said. Government, the opposition and the media in the UK are in effect currently engaged in an audit of expenses claims by public officials. And reputations are tumbling from the skies. Taxpayers are aggrieved and furious. Bracknell MP Andrew Mackay, a senior aide to Conservative Party leader, David Cameron, is accused of having claimed a second-home allowance. He has resigned his position.

"The Daily Telegraph is accusing Chris Huhne MP of claiming £119 for trouser press, Andrew George MP is being asked to return £847 and Lembit Opik MP, £40. The underlying principle is that public officials are not expected to use their positions to cheat the taxpayer. Is this possible in Nigeria?"

RA you rightly asked, "is this possible in Nigeria?" The honest answer is NEVER!! Not with the type of journalism you guys in Nigeria showcase to the public.

I have carefully underlined the meagre amounts involved and to inform you that the political establishment here in the UK is in total disarray and may never recover. The Metropolitan Police is studying the situation and are ENCOURAGING THE CITIZENS to lodge formal complaint for possible prosecution of any MP!

And the Party Leaders have openly APOLOGISED TO THE CITIZENS and have promised to sanction any member of their PARTY found culpable.

In all, there are FOUR synergised dynamics: 1) UNCOMPROMISED MEDIA 2) CITIZENS OUTRAGE 3) APOLITICAL LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCY 4) LEADERSHIP THAT KNOWS WHERE SOVEREIGNTY LIES-THE PEOPLE.

In Nigeria, the media, with the exception of AIT, are dangerously compromised. With that as the WEAKEST LINK, the remaining THREE dynamics cannot exist!

i-go-better, thank you for your honesty. Why and how has it come to this? Compromise vis-a-vis perception also appear lost to most media practitioners in Nigeria and any attempt to raise questions bordering on our perception is usually met with haughty dismissals instead of candid explanations. Considering the role played by the same Nigerian media during the Abacha darkness, it a shame indeed what is now happening!