Lagos governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is not a man always seething with rage. Gifted with a sprightly spirit, athletic frame, a handsome boyish face draped most times in broad or nuanced smile, Sanwo-Olu cuts the image of a friendly next-door guy. So, any time you see him fuming with rage, just know it’s for something very serious.

We saw Mr. Governor in this mood on Tuesday, January 2, in a trending video which captured him shouting at some traffic offenders on Lagos-Badagry Expressway.  Just what could have enraged our hardworking Mr. Governor? It was the sight of some motorcyclists cruising against traffic. They were ferrying passengers. One of the passengers, a female, was tongue-lashed by the governor for submitting herself as a guinea pig for the perilous experiment in lawlessness by the cyclists. Driving against traffic is not a rarity in Lagos, and in other states. In some cases, as in the case in hand, those who do such are men in uniform, or men who have affiliation with security duties. By this, I mean men who are supposed to enforce the law and defend the law are themselves the law-breakers.

I wager that if you travel through the airport boulevard in Lagos, between the domestic and international airport, any time today, you will encounter cyclists doing one-way in a part of Lagos where motorbikes had been banned. Should you take a step further to find out who these bikers are, you will find out they are persons from the uniform fraternity. It has become the norm, unfortunately. Those who should enforce the law are the quickest to break the same law. Such descent into the valley of impunity is the chief reason why the country is still tethered to the stump of underdevelopment.

In the case of Sanwo-Olu vs the one-way bikers, what stands out is the foolhardiness of one of the felons to announce to the governor his social status as a soldier. In the video, the soldier was seen telling the governor and his security aides that he’s a soldier.

The sight of the soldier trying to justify why he should not be arrested because he was a soldier seemed to have rankled Sanwo-Olu who fired back at the Lance Corporal; “that’s the more reason why I’m going to lock you up. I’m going to lock you up. Useless boy, you’re telling me you’re a soldier. Put him there; let your father come and rescue you. You’re telling me you are a soldier; that is the reason I am going to lock you up.”

Let’s rewind. In July 2012, then Lagos governor, Babatunde Fashola, arrested two  military men who drove on the dedicated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lane. The two military officers, who were accosted on the BRT lane at the Outer Marina in Central Lagos, were Colonel Kayode. I. Yusuf, who drove in an Army Green Peugeot 406 with registration Number BO1 – 150 NA and Staff Sergeant Adeomi. J. Aliu, who drove in a black Toyota Camry car. The BRT lane is dedicated to the Lagos bus service launched by Fashola. All the BRT lanes were properly marked and exclusively reserved for the special buses. The vision was to insulate the buses from the traditional gridlocks that define Lagos traffic. Lagos bears a special brunt. Because of the underdevelopment of many states in the federation, Lagos suffers the most in rural-urban migration with thousands of Nigerians and even undocumented foreigners thronging the already bursting state, daily.

Soon after the incident, the Army showed commendable leadership. It did not side with the errant officers. General Kenneth Minimah, then General Officer Commanding 81 Division, gave an order directing the two Army personnel to pay the N25,000 fine stipulated in the Lagos traffic statute regardless of their apology.

Minimah was unsparing in his condemnation of the action of his men: “No military personnel is above the law. No Army personnel should take the BRT lane because they are designated for buses, if we get it right it is for our common good. In this regard, we will continue to help the State Government in enforcing the law,’’ he said.

This is the type of leadership that Nigeria needs at these times. The military subjected its personnel to scrutiny, gave them fair hearing and openly punished them. Despite the hard stance of the Army on its personnel about 11 years ago, some deviants within its fold and others no where near enlisting in the military or para-military still abuse traffic laws across the nation. In the case of Lagos, the state traffic management agency, LASTMA, the police and other uniform personnel dotting the highways and byways, should share in the blame because they indulge these traffic terrorists to dare and abuse the laws for whatever reason. Commercial buses, motorcyclists and tricycle riders in Lagos openly disobey traffic rules including non-adherence to the promptings of traffic lights while LASTMA officials watch in helpless admiration of the guts of such reprobates. Lagos State government should take a closer look at the activities of LASTMA officials. Some of them have compromised their moral badge to enforce the law, unfortunately.

Sanwo-Olu’s action on January 2 is commendable. A good leader should stand to defend the laws of the land. In his now over four years as governor of Lagos, Sanwo-Olu has shown both street credibility and boardroom dexterity. He has shown that leadership is about connecting with the people; defending the weak, upholding the law and reproving felons. His show of empathy and emotional intelligence stand him out. We still recall how he connected with little Oreoluwa of the Mummy Calm Down fame; 10 years old Chess prodigy, Ferdinand Maumo, an autistic child with whom he later duelled in a tensed chess challenge; and Mary Daniel, the amputee hawker, whose pitiful plight was tracked under Mr. Governor’s radar. These are cases that project Sanwo-Olu as a genuine 21^st century leader. Add to his, his simplicity. Did you notice that as Governor of the richest state in Nigeria, he does not flaunt an intimidating convoy of vehicles? That’s how he rolls, without the vainglorious, swashbuckling aristocracy that define some governors of even poor states.

For the ‘audacious’ Lance Corporal who wears his military status as a badge of dishonour, talking back at a governor, foolheartedly, only advertised you as unfit to be in the Army, a noble profession where discipline is a premium. If you can boldly break the law as a Lance Corporal, the second lowest rank in the Army, only above a recruit/trainee, it’s easy to conjecture what you will do when you advance to the rank of an officer. You will simply ‘close the road’ to lesser mortals like us. But you have played a weird music genre, you alone should be made to dance to it. Enlisting in the Army or being part of the uniform fraternity is not a licence for brigandage and lawlessness. You are just a bad copy for the Army, a profession we hold in awe. You deserve your punishment. I’m not a soldier, but I respect soldiers. Yes, sir, I do!

Author: KEN UGBECHIE

First published in Sunday Sun