A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili says Harvard University in United States of America paid her 90 per cent higher wage as a staff above her salary while serving as a Minister in former President Olusegun Obasanjo cabinet.
Ezekwesili who served in the then Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led-government of the elsewhile Nigeria leader spoke during an interview Channels Television Politics Today’.
The human Rights activist for accountability, transparency and good governance, described criticisms against her for publicly opposing the National Assembly decision approving a multi billion jet for President Bola Tinubu years after she left office as ‘beer parlour talks’.
Ezekwesili said she accepted her appointment for the sake of patriotism, stating that “I took 90 per cent pay cut of my salary when I was going into government compared to what I was earning as a staff of Harvard University”.
Ezekwesili who is also Nigeria former Minister of Solid Minerals lamented the profligacy of the ruling class in President Tinubu-led government and alleged lackluster on the part of the legislature in holding the executive arm of government to account.
“What are you complaining? In this Country (Nigeria). Is this not a matter of profligacy in governance? When your priorities are all going in the direction of things that do not add in anyway to your productivity and competitiveness of the economy that you are responsible for.
“And your people are sliding more into poverty. When you are young and you are looking up to the future, It’s bleak, and all you are saying is I need a new aircraft. I need new vehicles that cannot stop on the road. Because we are Senators and members of House of Representatives.
We cannot sustain this kind of behaviour. We do not have the bandwidth for substance. The kind of divergence that exist now. The political class thinks that they are more important.
Ezekwesili who said she had to resign due to her passion to serve her homeland, noted that “there is nothing about leadership that gives advantage over the people”.
According to her, “The greatest risk and danger to sustainability and viability of Nigeria is a political class of this Country. These are rascals by every definition of the word about it when you look at the choices our political class are consistently making.
“You can see that they do not care about the Country. This Country can go to ruin at anytime as long as they are able to feed on the avarice, unending appetite. So, if citizens are fine with it, so be it”, Ezekwesili said.
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