Patience And The Shut Down Of Lagos

On Thursday, 12 April, Patience, wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, came to Lagos and hell was let loose for five hours as there was traffic gridlock on the Island. Security agencies trying to protect her imperial majesty, blocked several roads on the Island thus causing traffic chaos.

Commuters and motorists were stuck in the traffic which came to a total halt. The commuters and motorists smarting from the sweltering heat inside their vehicles cursed those behind their plight and wondered why they should be subjected to such a harrowing experience because the wife of their president was in town on an ego trip or so it seemed.

The restriction of the citizens’ movement for five hours was a blatant infringement on their right. Besides, it smacks of gross insensitivity for the wife of the president to paralyse economic activities in the state for several hours while on a private visit.

It was a private visit because she is not an elected government official. She may be a very important personality (VIP) but should the movement of a VIP disrupt socio-economic activities of the area the VIP is visiting? Or should the protection of a VIP be at the expense of the vast majority of the people who are inconvenienced by such protection?

It was a gross abuse of her privileged position as the wife of the president to allow her security details block major roads on Lagos Island during her visit. It is only tin gods in Banana republics that can do what Patience did and get away with it.

Lagos is such a huge economic hub that locking it down for up to five hours could amount to a colossal loss of revenue.

At least, the First Lady’s security details should have liaised with officials of the Lagos State Government on how to manage traffic in such a manner that the visit ought not to have caused the kind of traffic gridlock witnessed last Thursday.

It was an oppression of a different kind that will be remembered for a long time. Never again should Lagosians witness this brazen display of insensitivity to their right by a visiting top government functionary or an unelected person such as the First Lady.

Of what use is power if it is not deployed for the good of the majority? She may be the wife of the president but that does not mean she should trample on the citizens’ rights whenever she or even the president himself comes visiting.

VIPs deserve all the protection they can get but not at the expense of the people who elected them or placed them in their exalted position. By now, Patience ought to have apologised to Lagosians, except she is not thoroughly embarrassed by the trauma she subjected them last Thursday.