By Ishaya Ibrahim
While Nigerians are making adjustments to survive the economic hardship of the time, the presidency which runs on tax payers money, appears exempted.
At a time other countries are reducing the cost of governance, (in Argentina half of presidential vehicles and two private jets were recently sold off to keep the country afloat), Nigeria’s presidency appears to be doing the opposite.
While holidaying in Lagos, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s convoy caused a stir when it passed through the busy Marina area. The number of vehicles, pilot bikes, military, mobile police and DSS officials attached to the convoy were in their hundreds.
Traders who came out to catch a glimpse of the presidential convoy, screamed at the top of their voices in Yoruba that ‘ebim kpa wa’ meaning “hunger is killing us.”
Former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Professor Chidi Odinkalu who shared the video on his X handle, mocked the presidential outing deploying sarcasm.
He said: #Nigeria’s president, @officialABAT, really understands how to maintain a low budget convoy in difficult times & you can see the mammoth crowd of supporters who are very happy with him in his home base in Lagos, can’t you….?”