By Ugoji Egbujo
On his way to Equatorial Guinea, Tinubu rode in a gleaming new car to the airport, leaving tongues wagging. A glamorous, armoured black Cadillac Escalade reminded many of the NPN days. Such a show of opulence in the immediate aftermath of the hunger protests seemed an act of defiance. He startled the public.
Tinubu preaches austerity, but makes no effort to curtail lavish public expenditure. A commentator said the car was the hardest evidence of his aloofness. But more patriotic people may argue that a man who leads 200 million people and who has just secured a vote of confidence from the people that matter is at liberty to thump his nose at disgruntled elements.
Other patriots may argue that the president of the Giant of Africa cannot move around like a lizard, in a jalopy, just because of hunger in the land. The president’s aides, who always find sinisterness in every criticism of their principal, might soon release data on world leaders’ use of exotic cars. They won’t see the disconnect between what they preach and what they practice.If Tinubu didn’t impose hardship on the people, this
penchant for luxury might have been pardonable. After all, a man who had
dreamed of being president for many years must have developed a ton of
fantasies along the way. So, if he promised himself he would change the
national anthem to cure nostalgia and ride in a new car that shares a fleeting
resemblance with that used by American presidents, shouldn’t we indulge him?
But since his inauguration, in all his public addresses to the nation, the
president has urged perseverance and understanding. In his last address during
the protests against bad governance, he demanded sacrifice and patience from
citizens to save the country from economic ruin. How ca the public understand
this blatant hypocrisy?
Rather than lead by personal
examples, the president and his men have continued with the routine lavish
lifestyles of our politicians. The inflation rate has burnt jobs and
livelihoods, but hasn’t stopped the president from acquiring a brand-new jet
for his travels. Now, he has a new armoured Chairman Escalade, as they
call it. For a country saddled with impossible debts, a car wouldn’t worsen our
predicament, but it would send the message that the redemptive belt-tightening
hasn’t begun.
In Nigeria, progressivism
has been reduced to blind sentimental loyalty to a political leader who
identifies or masquerades as a progressive, particularly one who once
participated in pro-democracy activities. A progressive is no longer a
person who champions social reforms. So, some of these other progressives
actually think that the public focus on a new car is nonsensical pedantry by
bad losers. In other words, since Tinubu is a rich man, we must allow him to
enjoy the cushioned life of the rich while he is president.
In essence, why are we disturbed
by a mere car when a corrupt president can move around in a rickety bolekaja
while stealing the country blind? So, to critics who wonder why the
prescription of sacrifice is good for the masses and not the president, these
fans of Tinubu will say that Tinubu is being transparent and honest by ‘doing
his little doings’ in the open. These folks aren’t bothered by manifest
policy incongruencies. He runs a bloated cabinet, but wants people to curb
their appetites. He wants the people to use Made-In-Nigeria goods, but he
spurns the chance to lead the transformation by personal example at every
opportunity.
In times past, some military
heads of state decreed that all government officials, including the president,
must use Peugeot cars, which were then assembled in Nigeria. While these
symbolic gestures didn’t stop the rampant embezzlement of public funds, they
showed that the government was conscious of the people’s predicament and could
at least pay lip service to it. Such symbolic gestures made the people feel
their military leaders were not altogether foreign conquering mercenaries. Even
military juntas who weren’t answerable to anyone cared about optics and made
some effort, even if superficial, to show empathy. Why, then, do our
elected leaders grate the sensibilities of the frustrated and famished masses
with their exhibition of sybaritism?
Since Tinubu’s black beast
became the talk of the town, many youths have besieged the internet to find out
the cost. A few government officials who now regard peaceful protests against
bad governance as subversive might think of this new virulent inquisitiveness
as rascality. They would rather have a docile citizenry that defers sheepishly
to its leaders and their wanton profligacy and waits patiently till the
elections to voice their concerns. The tragedy is that many citizens are now
disillusioned and losing faith.
Apathy and anomie are spreading.
The youths are increasingly feeling that our national problems are refractory
and only those who can’t japa are staying behind. Rife rumours put the cost of
the president’s beast at about a billion Naira. Only a few can understand why
the president removed the petrol subsidy only to buy a new jet and car for
himself when the country’s economy is still in peril. A cost-conscious and empathetic
president would have seen out his first term in demonstrable personal
austerity, but Tinubu perhaps thinks his comfort will quicken national
recovery.
It isn’t easy to imagine what
the president feels and tells his closest aides behind closed doors. It must be
arduous churning out justifications for this hypocrisy. It’s true the country
is badly divided and no longer as safe as it used to be, and therefore, keeping
the president safe should be a national priority. But if presidential security
rather than comfort is the objective, then why wouldn’t such a paranoid
president move around in an armoured personnel carrier like the president of
Guinea?
A car might not worsen the penury of rural folks and
the slum life of most in the cities, but a new gas-guzzling beast bought with
taxpayers’ money and unveiled as hunger protesters were being forced off the
streets will provoke public outrage. It’s true Nigeria didn’t become the global
headquarters of multi-dimensional poverty and child malnutrition because
of Tinubu. It’s true, he inherited a mess and shouldn’t be deprived of
the tools and trappings of his exalted office. It’s indeed his turn. But he
must remember that what he does is more significant than what he says.
The vice president
believes Tinubu has only one wristwatch. Many who have been to
Bourdillon, where he lives, say it’s spare. They must be believed, but if the
president is not a man of flamboyance and profligacy, why does he struggle to
cut a figure of frugality and run a lean government to give people hope? Why
has he allowed himself to be embroiled in a damaging conflict of interest mess
in the award of huge contracts?
The president must fashion and
announce an ambitious vision. With a concise vision, he will find urgency; he
will not waste time celebrating trivial achievements or indulge himself in
fantasies. With a vision, he can sculpt the size, attitude and morality
of the government he requires for the mission.
*Egbujo
is a commentator on public issues
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