Travelogue: Learning from Eyadema’s enclave

I left the shores of Nigeria on Saturday, July 30 by noon via Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos for Lome, the capital of Togo, a small neighbouring West African country with a population size of approximately eight million people. Togo has an area equal to 56,785 km2 thus making it one of the smallest countries in Africa. However, Lome, the capital, is the largest city with ports. The newest port has body of water that is as much as seven kilometres down the sea! This makes it boisterous, making the place a beehive of commercial activities as big ships, with heavy goods all over the world, patronise Lome port.

I was in the country to attend a week-long ECOWAS Election Professional Capacity Enhancement – BRIDGE – Training on Inclusive Electoral Process with 24 other representatives from all over West African countries for which I had been nominated two weeks earlier as an election expert. The nominees cut across the media, the academia, election management bodies and civil society organisations. The training commenced on Monday, August 2 and lasted till Friday, August 6, with more than half of participants being females. It was organised by ECOWAS and funded by GIZ and the European Union (EU). The Acronym ‘BRIDGE’ means Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections.

I was fascinated by the trip for one crucial reason. Having visited a number of European countries, United States of America and South Africa, I have never been familiar with the situation of things in any West African country. More so that travelling is part of education as first-hand information could melt cultural shock and the attendant misinformation. And indeed, the trip was an eye-opener.

As a first timer in Lome, I was very curious to compare and contrast Nigeria with Togo. This informed my taking note of even the minutest things as a student of comparative politics. The country is divided into five regions, which are sub-divided into 30 prefectures. It is a highly decentralised system, with devolution of power, unlike Nigeria’s over-centralised federal arrangement, with concomitant federal immobilism. The long years’ rule of Gnassingbe Eyadema for some 38 years – one of the longest serving dictators in Africa – has its own advantage, as it has succeeded in stabilising the system for development. His son, Faure Eyadema, took over in a controversial circumstance after the demise of his father in 2005!

The airport was a very clumsy place because of the small size of the facilities but officials were thorough in the discharge of their duties, as many travellers were connecting flights from Lome to other countries, both within and outside the continent. Those whose final destinations were Lome, like me, were given thorough checks. Surprisingly, COVID-19 test was mandatory before one could step on their soil from the airport despite the fact that similar test had been done few days before leaving Nigeria. I quickly realised the commercialisation of the pandemic by the mercantile behaviour of our governments. In Nigeria, particularly in Kwara State, I paid some N50,400. 00 for the test while the official receipt sent to be bore N34,000! Why Kwara State decided to leave the fate of its citizens in the hands of Shylock officials is better imagined. No government hospital could conduct COVID-19 test. The major one I contacted last when all other venues did not have the facilities quickly contacted a private lab official to come and take my sample for NCDC lab in faraway Abuja for test before travelling. The result was forwarded to me via my email box. On arrival at Lome, another mandatory test had to be done despite the one done few days earlier in Nigeria. It cost 25,000 CFAfranc (Togolese official currency). Simply, the commercial nature of the pandemic is perhaps more of extorting travellers rather than protecting the society from infections. Surprisingly, we had to pay same amount again for another mandatory test before we could depart Togo.

Juxtaposing the behaviours of officials at the two airports is another kettle of fish entirely. While the Togolese officials were cautious and meticulous, their Nigerian counterparts were soliciting for money! ‘My father, what do you have for me?’ Trust me, I assured them ‘on my return’ as if he would be the same official that would attend to me or the same gate that I would pass through. This is a country where public officials need a kind of complete re-orientation for us to get it right. The airport, no doubt, is the gateway to the country where officials interact with different nationals. But alas, the war against corruption is being fought at the top as mere cosmetic exercise rather than taking the war to the lower level for the real impacts.

For empirical comparison, I was sneaking out of the hotel to town and the interior to see how the Togolese live their lives. While Nigerians are unserious with the COVID-19 protocols, virtually everybody was wearing nose masks. From taxi drivers to Okada riders and traders, one could see everybody wearing nose mask. I was told that one should not be caught without it. It is equally imperative to note that in Lome, virtually all motor bike riders were with helmets and carried only one passenger, whereas here in Nigeria, one could see motorbike riders with three or four people on board, with no fear of arrest by law enforcement agents. Nigerian public policy makers, being politicians that they are rather than statesmen, are timid to enforce the use of helmets by both commercial and private motorcycle riders. Though, passengers were not compelled to put helmets on, it is compulsory for riders.

In the same vein, on Sunday, August 1, I looked out for a local church to preach. I was made to understand that almost half of the population in their country is Christian, with rest being either Muslims or animists. One observable phenomenon is that Togolese are far from being religious as we are in Nigeria. Many of them were not even bothered that it was a Sunday, unlike in Nigeria.The taxi driver who picked me and my guide bore Christian name but believed that his God is in his mind! After service, the resident pastor could not convey me back to the hotel. I alighted from his car at the main road. Reason: his driver’s licence had expired! In Lome, the gendermaire (police) must not arrest any motorist without valid driver’s licence. I was told that the vehicle of such a motorist would be seized for long even before payment of fine. I then imagined the number of unlicensed drivers on our roads. Similarly, all motorbikes and tricycles were with number plates and duly registered. Here, a sizeable number of them do not even bother to get registered.

The truth is that Togo is a society where law is an ass. No development can evolve from any society where laws are treated with disdain. In comparison, Nigeria is a soft state where laws are made but either selectively enforced or not enforced at all. The fear of Togolese policemen, no doubt, is the beginning of wisdom. The level of loyalty to their country while discharging their duties is enviable. Unlike the crop of morally-bankrupt ‘super corps’ we have in Nigeria, giving us the impression of two categories of police officers and men – ‘one man’s corps is another man’s thug’.

Perhaps, one other striking thing with the Togolese economy is the value of their currency – CFA franc– which is at par with Nigeria’s Naira!  With 100 coins and as high as 10,000 paper currency, Togolese carry less burden of paper legal tender in their pockets. If advanced economies could maintain coins and higher denominations in paper, then we are not doing well. The cost of reprinting currency frequently could be reduced if we have coins too. This made me wonder whether anyone is in charge of the economy here. Meanwhile, the politics of international economic relations is absurd. Despite an overvalued Togolese currency, the high cost of transportation is a nightmare to them.  A litre of fuel is as high as 500 CFAfranc. They depend on Nigeria to power their economy with fuel which is between N162 and N165 in Nigeria. Nigerians are even complaining bitterly about high price of fuel, which has encouraged criminal smuggling across the borders. Technically, Nigeria is subsidising fuel across the borders, with the smugglers making super profit at the expense of Nigeria’s economy. The visible resultant effect of high cost of fuel in Lome and Togo generally is fewer vehicles on the road. The most common means of transportation is motorcycle or bicycle. Riding a motor car is a luxury that very few could afford.

 In spite of the expensive cost of transportation, life expectancy for both men and women is, however, higher than an average sub-Saharan African! Togo enjoys one of the highest standards of living on the continent owing to its valuable phosphate deposits and a well-developed export sector. Phosphate is used to produce cement that satisfies local economy and it is abundant as a gift of nature. With affordable cement, one could notice stronger moulded building blocks and structures. The incidents of building collapse in our cities in Nigeria are unheard of in Togo because of local production of cement. Watching artisans on sites was a delight. It is surprising, therefore, that Togolese tillers are far more preferable than our boys. Few of them who migrated here have been found more competent in handling tiles and marbles than their Nigerian counterparts.

With almost 200 million population, abundant natural resources and exportation of crude oil daily, coupled with the volume of Nigeria’s GDP and GNP to have gotten our national currency so devalued is pathetic. To have our Naira become at par with Togolese currency is indeed amusing. Ordinarily, Nigeria’s naira ought to be like American dollars in West African sub-region, but alas, the reverse is the case.

Togo has taken good advantage of the sea ports in Lome with the attendant beehive of commercial activities. Many Nigerians go to Togo to smuggle cars into the country. Togolese government is so accommodating of Nigerian Jews (Ibos) to the extent that they built a large market for them to trade. Each flight carries many of them with luggage. With the rate at which properties are acquired by the Ibos in Lome, my fear is that an adversarial government should not come in future to stir the kind of unpalatable ‘Nigerians should go’ in Ghana that resulted into a retaliatory foreign policy by Nigerian government with ‘Ghana must go’. No doubt, the ECOWAS protocol is working to the advantage of these small countries benefiting from the economies of scale.

Nonetheless, the health sector made the country one with the highest life expectancy in the sub-region. The food culture too is one that encourages eating rightly. I noticed consumption of coconut water early in the morning by Togolese before breakfast. This must have greatly improved their health.

Road infrastructure is also good to behold. Official statistics revealed that three quarters of motorable roads are well paved. Most of the roads are dual carriages, with complete road furniture and setbacks which are mandatorily observed.  Traders dare not display their wares on the highway.  Moving round the city of Lome, I did not see a single refuse dump! Residents were not throwing litters carelessly. Lome is a neat city, with a sense of aesthetics, which is a nightmare for us in Nigeria. My guide told me it was like that all over their country aside from the rural areas. The physical urban planning proved that France-colonised territories were better administered with their policy of assimilation which was intended to make locals be similar to the citizens in the metropol. Britons were more exploitative of their territories than making conscious efforts to develop them and bequeath an enduring political structure, a situation that has become an albatross to us now.

Be that as it may, Togo operates like a police state in view of the general insecurity in the sub-region. Virtually all standard hotels collect and scan passport data page before allocating rooms. This is to ensure the correct identity of the guests in their country. Plain-clothe policemen, known as gendermaires, are planted all over the city, with many of them in the hotels making shift. While Nigeria is facing the greatest problem of insecurity in the sub-region, she has abysmally poor ratio of policemen vis-à-vis the size of her population as prescribed by the UN Togo seem to have recruited sizeable number of security operatives to secure their country.

My takeaway from the one-week stay in Lome is that even with high education, one needs to be, at least, bilingual, if not multilingual. In the West African sub-region, three languages are prominent: English, French (which is spoken by as many as 49 million Africans) and Portugese, as represented by the different shades of colonialists in Africa. Our government may do well to encourage learning of, at least, one other international language to get the sub-region and the continent well-integrated, using the instrumentality of language. It is, however, important to note that in Lome, Ewe language (indigenous language) is spoken by the locals, while French is reserved for government and business transactions only. The training emphasised the imperative of free and fair elections in the sub-region. Also, the need by electoral management bodies to do everything possible to ensure inclusivity in elections. This will guarantee legitimacy of new government formed after elections and the concomitant effect of political stability that will accompany carrying along large chunk of the society that are usually excluded in elections, most especially people with disabilities, the poor and the illiterates. The minority ethnic groups are usually restive when excluded in government.

• Dr. Ojo is an Associate Professor of Comparative Politics, University of Ilorin.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents

In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…

Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train

The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…

[ICYMI] Lekki Shootings: Why We Lied About Our Presence — General Taiwo

The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing the killings at Lekki Toll Gate, on Saturday resumed viewing of the 24hrs footage of the October 20, 2020 shooting of #EndSARS protesters by personnel of the Nigerian Army…

ICYMI: How We Carried Out The 1993 Nigerian Airways Hijack —Ogunderu

On Monday, October 25, 1993, in the heat of June 12 annulment agitations, four Nigerian youngsters, Richard Ajibola Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Razak-Lawal, did the unthinkable! They hijacked an Abuja-bound aircraft, the Nigerian Airways airbus A310, and diverted it to Niger Republic. How did they so it? Excerpts…

ICYMI: What North Will Not Accept About 2023 Presidency —Prof Mahuta, UDU Don And Kebbi Dev Foundation Chairman

Sahabi Danladi Mahuta, a community mobiliser and APC chieftain. Mahuta spoke to select journalists at the sidelines of an Islamic conference in Abuja recently. Excerpts…