How Nigeria’s government spent N60 billion on Lavish SUVs

In Nigeria, the juxtaposition between the lavish spending of the government on SUVs for legislators and the grim reality of its citizens living in poverty is stark. The recent revelation that N60 billion was spent on luxury vehicles for lawmakers has sparked outrage and disbelief among the general populace.

The question on everyone’s mind is how can the government justify such extravagant expenditure on cars when basic amenities like healthcare, education, and infrastructure are lacking in the country.

The disconnect between the leaders living in opulence and the citizens struggling to make ends meet is not only disheartening but also highlights the misplaced priorities of the government. It is imperative for the Nigerian government to reevaluate its spending habits and redirect funds towards investments that will improve the overall well-being of its people.

Nigeria as a nation has been clamoring for such ilk of leadership devoid of hedonism and enshrined in altruism. Nigerians have been panting for the replication of the Singaporean form of leadership piloted by Lee Cua Yew, which was the brain behind the radical revolution of the once economically dwarfed Singaporean nation to a socially and economically robust and globally enviable nation today.

It was on the fulcrum of the quest for the emancipation of Nigeria from the fangs and pangs of heinous leadership Nigerians navigated to the poll in the 2023 general election to elect new henchmen to pilot the affairs of the nation for the next four years. Much hope was placed on the newly elected political officials to ameliorate the excruciating plights of Nigeria and salvage her from the pitiable state which the immediate past leaders headed by Former President Muhammadu Buhari plunged her into before the emergence of the current leaders headed by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

In the 2023 election, President Tinubu was declared winner of the presidential tussle, the declaration which hitherto, is a source of dissatisfaction to many Nigerians, and other Presidential aspirants, who tagged the result as a flawed and rigged result. However, many Nigerians accepted the unexpected fate, and gave Tinubu and the new leaders the benefit of doubt to prove the authenticity of their election and clear the doubts of Nigerians on their capacities to lead productively, but the new henchmen have so far, proven to Nigerians that what they have to offer is the replication of the horrendous pattern of governance obtainable in the previous administration in a more terrible form.

On May 29th, 2023 President Tinubu was sworn in as the fourth democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. During his inauguration speech, he announced total removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria and assured Nigerians that it was a vital measure to revive Nigeria from economic mayhems, and that both leaders and citizens should make the sacrifices.

In his speech, he said, “subsidy is one decision we must bear to save our country from going under and take our resources away from the stranglehold of a few unpatriotic elements.”

“The decision to remove the subsidy will free up for collective use the much-needed resources, which had hitherto been pocketed by a few rich.

The removal of fuel subsidy consequently triggered a geometric hike in the price of fuel from #180 per Litre to 570 and then to 617 per Litre. The hike also caused a multifaceted hike in food items, transportation and everything in the nation, and ushered Nigerians into another era of pains and  sighs.

In the face of the pains, the President bought SUV cars worth 60 billion naira for law makers. How could a nation passing through a turbulent economic period spends lavishly on few individuals on what has no economic value to the nation? This is an outright show that the leaders are not concerned about the pains of Nigerians but their own comfort alone. It is callous when Fathers are eating sumptuous meal while the children starve to death.

Leadership is more effective when leaders live by examples. When the flag bearer of the Labour Party for the 2023 Presidential election, His Excellency, Peter Obi was sworn in as Governor of Anambra State in 2004, bulletproof cars were ordered for him, and other cabinet members but he rejected the offer. He ordered for sixty 406 cars from Innoson at a very cheap cost for himself and other cabinet members, and used the heavy remnant of the money earlier budgeted for the bulletproof cars to fund education, Primary health care and other vital sectors of the economy. This exemplifies leadership by example.

Tinubu cowed Nigerians that fuel subsidy was totally removed to take the resources out of the claws of few hedonists in the corridor of power and free-up the resources for collective use. Unfortunately, the unscrupulous purchase of the luxurious SUV vehicles for legislators, is one among lucid proofs to Nigerians that the old wine is still in the wineskin. The few unpatriotic elements are still the ones feasting on our component largesse as usual.

 In a turbulent period when the citizens are in sighs like an adult experiencing the pain of forceful circumcision, it’s expected of the leaders to put on the same sackcloth and join the mourning, but sadly, the leaders went ahead to adorn themselves with golden regalia, and feed on sumptuous delicacies  while the citizens groan and writ in pains. Our founding heroes willfully donated their bodies to bullets to shield the citizens from bullets, and gave up all they had to ensure the Nation got all she lacked, but the current trajectory in our leadership is a direct opposite of the glorious and selfless days of our our founding fathers.

Nigeria has all it takes to be a globally revered nation, but at the moment, she’s yet to have a date with fortune by having selfless leaders who put altruism above tokenism and personal treasury. The current leaders have held  on tenaciously to the existing anachronistic patterns of governance that has been the bane of backwardness in our nation. 

The humongous money wasted on these few emperors is far larger than what’s allocated to primary health care and Education, which are undoubtedly, the fulcrums of a nation’s growth. If anaesthetizing the pains of Nigerians was on their mind, they would have injected that huge sum of money  into relevant areas of the economy to cushion the unbearable effects of the unexpected fuel subsidy removal.

It is painful that the humongous largesse have been chenneled into meeting the needs of the already wealthy leaders while the poor masses are left to waste away in sufferings. Thus far, it is clear to Nigerians that the beautiful promises made by Tinubu to them are mere political charades. 

We were liberated from European colonialism, but at the moment, we are trapped in ‘indigenous colonialism’ and kakistocracy. With this unproductive yet stereotyped pattern of leadership that has carved a niche in Nigeria, one can say that Nigeria is sitting on the keg of gunpowder swinging towards explosion if nothing is done to change the narratives with immediate alacrity.