The mentality of the African community is quite appalling or should we rather say those who work for the presidential fleet are quite egoistic about the presidential glamor or the camaraderie attached to being around a president, governor or a leading political goon. It’s normal for eye service activism around top leaders which tends to distract as against the purported ideology to please the master who in turn is expected to beam a rainbow smile on such subject.
When president travels, a lot of things revolve around such travels which includes great risk and perhaps economic fortitude depending on the nature of the travel whether local or international
The lingering question is should citizens pay dearly for the presidential visit to any part of a state?
Yesterday, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria visited Edo state for a grand campaign of the All Progressives Congress. The entire city was locked down as several access roads were blocked.
According to report, a citizen by the name Solomon Idiogbe, a former State Chairman of National Youth Council of Nigeria, Edo State Chapter who was driving along Ibiwe/Isekhere street got held up in a traffic lock-jam, an army officer who was wearing mufti came to meet him and asked him to move backward which he argued that there is a commercial bus behind him, and that the officer should ask the bus behind to move backward first.
Upon saying that, the officer became furious and dealt him blows and slaps, further threatening to deal with him, he went further by trying to handcuff him, which Idiogbe resisted while still in the car.
Let it be noted that, the President never used that road and could not have used it owing to the terrible state of the road.
Subsequently, the army officer called his colleagues who arrived at the scene in a commando style shooting sporadically into the air. They all descended on him using the butts of their guns, kicks and even wooden planks on him. He was forced to swim in the gutters.
When they were done with the brutality, they took him to the four Mechanized Brigade where another round of beating resumed there and even threatened to shoot and thereafter label him terrorist that attempted to kill the President, they accused him of attempting of killing Mr. President, cultist and several unsubstantiated accusations.
Even when a was formed to look for him, they went to the Brigade headquarters and the gate keepers denied knowledge of such, the Airforce Base was also visited which denied same. It was later he was let go when the Army PRO was called by the Coordinator General of Edo Civil Society Organizations to draw his attention to the incident.
Truth be told, although Presidents are at greater risk on foreign trips especially during any high-profile trip, president may be a target. In line with that, the United States Secret Service pressed the Indian government to make an exception to tradition and allow Obama to ride in his own bulletproof limousine to the Republic Day parade rather than accompanying the Indian president, yet when Presidents travel locally, within the confines of their country the security apparatus ought to be a bit light and security operatives ought to be oriented on the fact that the presidential movement is of the citizens by the citizens for the citizens.
A citizens dignity is embedded in his right to life, intrinsic in nature, accrued to man from birth to death, and that man’s dignity is an inalienable right to life. Subsequently the environment, culture and the law should be harnessed to protect such dignity as that is the essence of the existence of the law.
Aside that this is an abuse of Human Rights in the 21st century by the military in a democratic Nigeria. It is quite intriguing that even the military as an institution that preaches law act lawlessly firstly by beating a civilian and by further denying knowledge of his whereabouts even when it is clear that he is in their custody.
This continuous trend in civil service approach to citizens is quite unrealistic, civil servants are meant to serve the citizenry and not the other way round. Citizens should have confidence in the military and police owing that they are firsthand protectors of civil liberty and human right accrued to such citizens as enshrined in the constitution of Nigeria.
Which leads to the other part of the question, is the president not a public servant?
It could be solomon idiogbe today, whose turn would it be tomorrow.
SOLOMON IDIOGBE NEEDS JUSTICE!!!
