Few days ago, an amateur video captured from mobile phones the arrival of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Honourable Aminu Tambuwal to the National Assembly without his regular retinue of security guards. The video started circulating on social media and instantly went viral.
The video clearly shows how this administration keeps making its opponents popular by resorting to self-help and underhand tactics when faced with serious questions of democratic responsibility. Last week, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba had treated the Speaker like a criminal by ignominiously stripping him,Tambuwal, of all his security guards. Tambuwal had as a consequence driven himself into the Three Arm Zone and seemed obviously to be enjoying the moment. And it was the reception that he received from the people around that got me thinking. Many applauded and cheered. Many more waved at the man who the Inspector General of Police exposed to bodily danger just to serve the wishes of Oga at the top.
Tambuwal appeared unfazed when he alighted from his car and soon enough, there was a cry of shame Ole shame from the onlookers when another dark automobile, which was supposedly bullet-proof, turned the corner. It had in tow a loaded convoy of armed security men brandishing those types of weapons that are needed badly to bring insurgency in the north east to the end of its wits.
As one bystander voraciously stated, “It’s been going on since independence and it’s enough”, others booed and said “go to the North East,” go to war. This particular incident did not occur out of the blues but because it is a result of the accumulated desperation and agony in the public caused by Nigeria’s humiliating VIP culture. And again Tambuwal has set the pace.
However Tambuwal’s feat is registered in this dispensation alone because General Buhari has shown the same attribute over time. Since his release from prison by his captors, Buhari has driven himself around Kaduna and jettisoned the VIP culture except in instances where he would require help by his staff. Indeed the attack on his life last July 23 proved without doubt that Buhari remains one of the most courageous VIPs in Nigeria.
This country went through a tempestuous start after independence in 1960. From the outset, Nigeria witnessed the concentration of power in the hands of those who governed, whether they belonged to the political class or the military. And this, as a consequence, led to the destruction of core democratic values and principles.Those who enjoy power indulge in bending and twisting the democratic practices and methods of governance to suit their whims and caprices.
The VIP treatment in essence which was denied Tambuwal is derisive and antithetical to the principles of democracy. It negates the idea of popularity. If Nigerians voted for you, you should be able to mix with them without fear of being attacked as the Speaker demonstrated during the week. But by its virtue VIP culture creates a class of citizens that are superior to the others. A very small section of society is escorted by large police motorcades and given a special treatment. This affects the self-esteem of the ordinary citizens adversely. It also shields the rogue politician from the public who put him in office but who remain perpetually alienated from their taxes by overzealous police escorts. This alone, in my opinion, is the reason why “VIP culture” should be torn apart and discarded.
Some may argue that government functionaries, be it the president, governor or minister, enjoy special privileges around the world. But they fail to factor in an important argument that this treatment is not accorded to the individuals but to the offices they hold. In Nigeria we have effectively subverted this logic in creating a special breed of people who enjoy a well-appointed lifestyle at our expense. This phenomenon is not limited to the individual office holder, who derives his status from government or state assigned duties alone but to their friends and families as well.
The VIP culture in Nigeria is widespread. Parliamentarians, bureaucrats, police officers and top government officials wave flags on their cars and blare loud sirens as a reflection of their privileges. Citizens frequently witness gunmen in large caravans clearing the roads for the VIPs. This shows the arrogance of government functionaries. This behavior disconnects the public and its servants. There are reported incidences where ambulances got stuck in traffic jams due to the VIP movement causing loss of lives as these patients could not make it to the hospitals in time.
Nigeria as a country currently experiences a great shortage of policemen and what is even more disturbing is the fact that a woefully small proportion of cops is made available for the defence of the ordinary citizen. That’s because a major share of police resources is mobilized to provide VIP security, rendering the citizenry vulnerable to insurgents. The ordinary man remains unsafe both on the street and at home. It is ironic that a common man pays for the security of the VIP while he himself is left at the mercy of gangsters. The VIP culture in Nigeria has to go. Our representatives and government officials should ride public transport if they dare or drive their own cars as it is practiced in advanced democracies.
A common man wants the VIPs to go through the treatment that they have to face when they break a red or are over-speeding. It’s time we apply the fundamentals of a functioning democracy in this country, where all her citizens are treated equally before the law, irrespective of their political affiliations, class or economic status. Dismantling the VIP fortress is necessary because without doing so the VIPs won’t realize how they are undermining the values and principles of our democracy.
They too have to understand what a common citizen goes through in his life to delineate the thin line between spending 75 percent of the national income on serving the luxuries of politicians and the provision of dividends of democracy and embellishing stomach infrastructure. They should be made to experience public transport, government schools and general hospitals.
The time has come to bring about urgent changes in how this country is governed. The VIP culture is a curse which only adds to mass misery. Tambuwal has only proved that if you are good, popular, decent and sincere to your oath of office you don’t need guards.
