THERE is an inverse relationship between the overall quality of governance in Nigeria and the way in which people in authority embody and project their power. The relationship goes something like this: the more the quality of governance is degraded, that is, the more government distances itself from the welfare of the citizenry, the greater the emphasis on the externalities of power. Nothing captures this perverse logic of the power formation in contemporary Nigeria more than the phenomenon of official convoys. The more dismal the performance of those saddled with the business of making government work for the people, the longer and more convoluted their official convoys. This observation applies to power holders at every level of governance in the country— local, state and federal— though it would appear that the more resources are available to a particular state official, the more they go out of their way to ‘make a statement’ with their official convoys.
Worryingly, the observation seems to apply irrespective of the event that the affected public official is attending, a fact that speaks volumes about the virtual disappearance of the public/private distinction in Nigerian politics. For instance, in 2019, Cross River State governor Benedict Ayade needed all of his 20-SUVs long convoy to attend classes at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), where he was apparently studying for a law degree. Ironically, in May this year, the same Governor Ayade was moved to tears by the extreme poverty in certain parts of his state, no doubt oblivious of the fundamental connection between his displays of ostentation and widespread immiseration, and, crucially, how the latter is often an effect of the former.
We cite this example not to single out governor Ayade or pile on him, for, as earlier noted, the “My convoy is longer than yours” culture is not a preserve of any governor from any region of the country, nor, for that matter, of any level of administration, but a problem that illustrates the moral bankruptcy of the political elite within the context of the country’s Fourth Republic. While the country’s previous attempts at establishing a liberal democratic culture were far from perfect, the fact remains that previous cohorts of politicians could at least boast of leaders like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Aminu Kano, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Bola Ige, Lateef Kayode Jakande, and Balarabe Musa, who saw personal austerity as an extension of public service. Casting a glance across the contemporary political landscape, one is struck by the absence of their equivalent in any part of the country. On the contrary, we see governors who are owing their workers several months in salary arrears parade about in exotic convoys.
Being attentive students of society, we know of course that no political elite is an island, and that the prevailing norm at the highest levels of politics is more often than not a reflection of the order of things at the substructure. Accordingly, any attempt to understand this phenomenon with a view to eliminating it must start by acknowledging the socio-moral economy that makes it possible. In our view, the phenomenon of long convoys is produced by two mutually reinforcing dynamics, namely the epistemic insecurity of the elite and cultural expectations regarding the ‘consumption’ and display of ‘display’ power. On the one hand, leaders resort to long convoys as a cover for their intellectual insecurity; on the other hand, they find validation, if not approval, in a social norm that fetishes power to the point of unaccountability.
One takeaway from the foregoing is that the phenomenon of long convoys is not one that can be effectively addressed through the passing of legislation, though a law limiting the number of cars a public office holder can have in an official convoy would most certainly help. Yet, like many things in a liberal democratic system, norm tends to be weightier than law. Nigerians should hold their rulers’ feet to the fire, and demand not only slimmer convoys but also more prudent management of resources. More important, they should look inward and ask themselves honest questions about the culture that oxygenates and legitimates such flagrant displays of ostentation and abuse of public office.
It’s not just leaders. It’s Nigeria as a society and moral community.
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