By Tonnie Iredia

Professor Festus Iyayi, erudite scholar and literary giant is gone forever; courtesy of the convoy of the Governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada. The University of Benin Don was killed last Tuesday when a vehicle in the convoy of the governor collided with the one conveying Iyayi and some other delegates to attend ASUU’s National Executive Committee meeting in Kano.

Those who blame the governor for the incident have a point more so as the Federal Road Safety Commission has now revealed that Kogi State failed to send nominees to the convoy drivers’ training organized by the Commission. It probably explains why the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Abdulwahed Omar attributed Iyayi’s death to “executive lawlessness/impunity on the part of the Kogi State Governor who is fast acquiring for himself an accident-prone reputation”.

On December 28, 2012, Wada was himself a victim of the insane driving of his convoy along the Lokoja – Ajaokuta road, which killed his Aide-de-Camp, Idris Mohammed. The Governor was reportedly rushing from an assignment at Ayingba to a reception in honour of his predecessor in office. This suggests that the accident occurred probably because his convoy tried to make sure he met up with the appointment.

Analysts who imagined that Kogi State functionaries would learn some lessons from the incident were mistaken, as the state was again thrown into mourning four days later. This time, it was the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Momoh Lawal that was involved in another ghastly crash which killed a police corporal, Lamidi Akeem, attached to the speaker’s convoy.

The recklessness of convoys is however not a Kogi state affair. Niger state for instance, recorded one in January when the convoy of its deputy governor, Ahmed Musa Ibeto, ran into two people on a motorcycle and killed them. The deputy governor was reportedly on his way to Kalgara area of the state for the final ceremony of the state’s Qur’anic competition. In 2012, Edo, Nasarawa and Kaduna government convoys killed seven people.

Surprisingly, the convoys do not really care about who their victims are. Otherwise, those of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and that of Senator Chris Anyanwu, representing Imo East in the Senate would probably not have rammed into each other during last year’s Christmas season. But they did and there was enough time for one group to manhandle the other in the presence of their principals making it appear that the posture of a convoy reflects its owner’s disposition.

Sometimes, it is not easy to know the owner of a convoy. Just 3 days ago, a convoy of seven vehicles allegedly shoved off a tipper at the U-turn end of the Lagos- Abeokuta express way which in turn killed two persons and seriously wounded nine others. Lagos and Ogun state governments suspected to own the convoys disowned them to the media.

The menace of reckless convoys is not restricted to the high ways; intra-city movements are not spared. Not too long ago, one writer had to use the internet to appeal to the Inspector General of Police to look into what was described as the incessant fear in the people whenever vehicles in the convoy of the Assistant Inspector General of Police in Zone 11, Osogbo were on the roads.

Painfully, the nation is not likely to see a change of heart on the part of government drivers. Although the Federal Road Safety Corps had said at its 25th anniversary that it was set to enforce the use of speed limiters on vehicles to reduce the rate of accidents, the Nigerian system would as usual make the plan inapplicable to convoy vehicles.

Nigerians may thus prepare themselves for any eventuality in the circumstance. Indeed, Abuja residents in particular have to be cautious of the multiplicity of government convoys in the federal capital territory. Oh yes, there are no less than 37 for the FCT Minister and 36 state governors who for sundry reasons spend more time in Abuja than their state capitals.

The ever long Presidential convoys are there too together with those of all political office holders listed in the Order of Precedence Act.  Now and again, the ordinary Nigerian who is going about his legitimate business in a supposedly free democracy is pushed off the roads so that the privileged few can drive as if they are en-route the world beyond.

At a recent international conference, one European journalist wanted to know from me why we have so many emergencies in Nigeria. His question was premised on his experience during a visit to Nigeria where in a couple days he saw too many vehicles blaring sirens like ambulances and fire engines to clear the way. Was I supposed to tell him the truth that they are VIP convoys and incur the wrath of those who think that washing the nation’s dirty linen in the public is the handiwork of the Nigerian media?  Who knows what the foreign journalist saw and where? What bothered him may have been the convoy of a local government chairman which in Nigeria can be longer than that of the American President!

Meanwhile many of the nation’s political office holders have expressed shock and sympathies over the death of Professor Iyayi. In order for their messages not to fall into the now familiar governance by condolence posture, it would be nice to address the following issues Iyayi raised at a public lecture before he died: “Government spent three trillion naira bailing out the banks; it spent 500 billion naira bailing out the airlines; it spent another 100 billion naira for the textile firms; it even had money to give to Nollywood and the Stock Exchange, private people who arrange deals, they had money to give them, about 350 billion naira. How come when it comes to education, government suddenly says it has no money?

It is because they have contempt for education; they want people to remain in ignorance so that they can continue to toy with the destiny of Nigerians. It is not that they don’t have the money; they have a lot of money”.

Adieu, Comrade Festus.