Politicians’ Convoy: Nigerians' Death Trap

Akon-Itam community in Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State is the latest to be thrown into mourning and unhappiness. A convoy belonging to the senator representing Eket Senatorial District (Akwa Ibom South) and the PDP deputy gubernatorial candidate in 2023, Senator Akon Iyakenyi, going to Uyo, the state capital, from her campaign tour, reportedly killed a couple whose three children will now live the rest of their lives as orphans.

Driving in a convoy is a global norm worldwide. Public officers and influential personalities appear at events in teams and with support staff.

Some say it is a show of dignity. Others identify it as an unnecessary global practice.

The practice even transcends into the life of musicians, transport services chairmen and even individuals who only want to announce themselves to the world. 

The goal of this piece is to focus on politicians because they are public servants usually in convoys.

After all, they occupy political positions because the generality of the people wants them to be there.

Makinde Kehinde, who has voted consistently in the last four general elections, tells our reporter that the excesses of these convoys by political officeholders show the irresponsibility and abuse of the privilege of occupying a public office.

“An official position comes with a sense of responsibility but most of these people occupy these seats but fail to embody the required nuances for the position as we have it in saner climes”, Kehinde submitted. 

Many convoy users have become a nuisance to their compatriots as they endanger the lives of others through over-speeding and violating traffic rules.

These behaviours have irreparable consequences because even if the victims are compensated, it does not remove the pain of losing specific personal values to undue recklessness. 

A former member of the House of Representatives in Oyo State who spoke to our correspondent only under the condition of anonymity reveals that even though he condemns the excesses of most of the convoys, he believes that the workers of the public office holders do not perpetrate most atrocities committed by convoys.

"They are always acts of followers who join us in public gatherings to show us love.

"Most of the time, I give my team special training on driving and other conduct.

"But I cannot provide training to that follower who only joined me on a tour because he saw my team and he knew them”, he detailed.

The lawmaker added that he takes responsibility whenever his men act contrary to communal norms.

But he failed to respond to whether the duties are capable of cleansing the sorrows of families affected by the responsibility of his convoys.

The package offered to victims is handicapped. Even if it gets to victims, it is unlikely to affect them positively, as submitted by Johnson  Badmus, a public affairs analyst via text message.

This reality triggered the Akwa Ibom youths to protest over the killing of a couple along the Calabar-Itu Highway by a convoy of Senator Iyakenyi, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Deputy Governorship candidate and running mate to Pastor Umo Eno, the party’s flag-bearer in the upcoming polls in 2023.

According to Comrade Utibe Inyang, the convoy ran into the couple recently on a motorcycle while trying to navigate the ever-busy highway connecting the neighbouring Calabar, Cross River state.

After the deed was done, the unacceptable manner of handling the compensation package of a meagre N2 million the senator gave to die the case made the youths in the community come out in their numbers in disapproval.

Unexpectedly and an action that would have been avoided, the couple breathed their last due to the senator’s convoy rendering three young children parentless.

According to John Ubong, another angry youth in Calabar, the Deputy Governorship candidate in 2023 has failed to consider the lives of the children who could lead unstable lives forever.

When our reporter reached out to the angry youth to know whether the family had been duly compensated while compiling this report, he was told that everyone was still downcast hungry for justice and matching compensation.

Despite contacting the senator for her side of the story several times, she did not respond.

Many Nigerians live with this horror, and as high-profile people take their lives with their convoys, they face zero prosecution, and life goes on. 

The family of the diseased are not only sad but has not received the compensation promised by the senator.

These inhumane acts make most sources our reporter contacted wonder to question the calibre of government functionaries we have in Nigeria. 

How, then, will innocent Nigerians free themselves from the overzealousness of the agents of public officeholders who drive recklessly on our dilapidated roads?

Makinde Kehinde said every Nigerian should.d be extra vigilant and not move any close to any vehicle attached to the public office holder in Nigeria. 

The convoys are wreaking havoc that nobody cares to abate. People suffer from convoys’ inaction and cry for what they hardly get. 

The perpetrators merry with their families and wait for their next trip to be at the wheel to enjoy their driving by driving recklessly while victims wail uncontrollably.