In the past eight years, manufacturers of super luxury vehicles must be very happy with Nigeria for the patronage they got from government officials. The use of brand new jeep brands like Toyota and Range Rover, cars like Toyota Camry especially, have replaced the modest Peugeot 406 that was the official vehicle for high ranking public officials.
The prevailing atmosphere has also given the opportunity for reckless governors to venture into the acquisition of numerous bulletproof cars for their fleet. Many of these cars are replaced for such officials at will, without waiting for any maturity date, many times just immediately a new model is released. The old one, which might be only two or three years old, is kept with the official who, as we have recently seen, often ‘steals’ it when leaving office without paying a dime.
These brands are very costly. A bullet proof car costs from N40million and above; Sport Range Rovers cost a little bit less; Toyota Lexus and Cruisers cost over N20 million; etc. By the end of an eight year tenure, one finds the bill of billions spent on official cars alone. In my state, it was over N21 billion according to the Ministry of Finance here. When one realizes that the regime left the state with less than N20million accessible funds in the treasury, empty drug stores, three months unpaid salaries, billions of staff claims, and so on, it will be difficult not to conclude that such governors have been reckless, to put it mildly.
I am not an advocate of public servants riding donkeys to their offices, neither do I support, on the other hand, the use of the above brands of vehicles by public servants. Moderation, as exhorted by the Qur’an, is my call.
“And those who, when they spend, are neither miserly nor extravagant, but remain moderate thereof.”
Moderation, therefore, should be our guiding principle when we spend our wealth, both private and public. The old tradition of Peugeot 406 or the 504 and 505 before it fits into this. New governments, especially those advocating change, should abide by this principle, even if not necessarily by the brands. Whoever wants to ride superior cars can do so from his wealth and use them in his private trips. But as far as office is concerned, humility should prevail.
There is also the issue of numbers. The maximum of two cars, in my opinion, should be maintained per high ranking officials, except for principal officers like the Governor, his Deputy, the Speaker and Chief Judge who can have three if necessary. The three can include a Jeep, even a bulletproof one if the circumstance warrants so. The cars should remain with them for a period of at least four years before they are auctioned publicly.
Yes, publicly! We have seen how the provision of boarding vehicles has been terribly bastardized. In my state, the outgone Executive Council literally removed any attachment period after reducing it from four to three years and further giving the governor the “discretion” to approve the boarding of even “new vehicle”. Finally, the generous governor went ahead to approve a waiver of 70 – 80% of the auctioned price. Yet, the majority, including the governor, ‘stole’ the vehicles away without paying anything at all! I feel it is good to backtrack on it. Let the provision of boarding be scrapped completely. Every State has an Auctioneer’s Law. Disposal of public assets should be done in accordance with it. No preference should be given to any public official. Simple.
Now, what do we do with the dozens of Jeeps and other luxury vehicles recovered from former public officials? The moderate cars should be allocated to incoming officials, commensurate with their position. Anything above should be sold in public auction. Let the symbols of corruption and extravagance disappear. Let us save money by avoiding their high cost of maintenance. Let us teach every public office holder the moderation and humility he needs, or force it down his throat where necessary. Forget about allocating those Jeeps to incoming officials. They will demand for more and think that it is what befits them. “Give a boy a chance”, the famous poet Abu Nuwwas once said, “and he will demand for another, violently.” Use the money to buy them the equivalent of our old 504. In ba su so, su bari.
This is only my personal opinion.
Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
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