President Bola Tinubu arrived in Lagos State on Tuesday from his private visit to London after a successful outing at the Paris Finance Summit.
The PUNCH reports that it was the first time he would be in Lagos since his inauguration as the 16th president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and expectedly, thousands of his supporters and political dignitaries, including Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu were on the ground to give him a state welcome.
However, what should have been a “quiet” arrival, quickly became a spectacle of some sort with the long motorcade that followed the president to his new private residence.
In a video that surfaced online, which was captured by a roadside admirer, multiple SUVs were seen speeding ahead and behind the president’s official car.
The video immediately drew reactions from Nigerians who frowned at such a show of opulence, while many masses have seen their standard of living erode as a result of the government’s newly introduced policies.
First, human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, in a tweet, questioned the rationale behind the long convoy when Nigerians are groaning under the effect of fuel subsidy removal.
He wrote, “Why does the president of the poverty capital of the world need to ride in a 120-car convoy and the same people remove subsidy, asking the poor to make sacrifices?”
In the same vein, another tweep, @OpeBee said such display of convoy shows the insensitivity of political office holders to hard times currently faced by Nigerians
“I feel very constrained to speak out on issues like this. Yesterday it was the speaker with 34 aides; today it’s the opulent display of convoys. You can’t ask the masses for austerity and live ostentatiously. I personally would not support any policy that further inflicts pain,” he lamented.
He further declared that Nigerians will be forced to resist any further pain as a result of new policies if the government won’t cut down on waste, asking what sacrifices are they also making in this austere period. (Punch)
