Bloated Remuneration of Political Office Holders as a Violation of Human Rights: The Case of Right to Health in Nigeria

Abstract

Corruption in office is traditionally and exclusively defined in terms of misappropriation or embezzlement of public resources by people charged with their stewardship. This definition can be faulted on the ground of its parochialism; it leaves out one of the most damaging aspect or dimension of corruption – excessive compensation of political office holders. Using the right to health as a proxy for the impact of the rape of public resources on the citizenry, this paper argues that unjustifiably high remuneration scheme concocted by politicians for their benefit is a violation of human rights of the rest of the population.