When the Nigerian President Travels, the world stands still
Mr Mohammad and his photographer, Bayo, walk across a tarmac in Aso Rock presidential villa, Abuja one Friday morning, He taps Bayo’s shoulder and points towards something, showing him the world, or at least his version of it.
What a place.
They are about to head to Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport to fly on Eagle One to England for the Queen’s burial.
Streets will be blocked off, fueling stations, malls, shops, offices etc… leading to the major road locks it’s gate. And standing on opposite sides of the road will be officers from every security outfit in the country, lined up like kernels in a row of maize up to the airport. Until the president and his entourage are safely in the air, the FCT (including the airspace) halts. Their motorcade will glide through the airport road. They will run red lights. Along the way, people cheer, people will curse out of frustration because of the stand still inherently caused by the most important citizen of the country.
It’s a fantasy, one of the perks of Mr Buhari’s job. He travels in a security zone, a “bubble” as it’s known – a tightly managed network of aircrafts, vehicles and communication that lets him move easily around the world.
The presidential bubble is thick – and pricey. Mr. Buhari rides in the motorcade in a Mercedes Benz Maybach S650 hoisted by the Nigerian flag and coat of arms, which is designed to withstand bullets and chemical attacks.
Mr Buhari flies on a customized Boeing 737 jet that costs Seventy-three billion, three hundred million Naira (N73.3bn) per year to operate – and can be refuelled in the middle of a flight. Electronic equipment on board is designed to withstand all kinds of duress, including force from an electromagnetic pulse.
On the aircraft Mr Buhari has a suite with its own bathroom, a conference/dining area, a living area, as well as an office and a conference room. He has access to classified material, and he can communicate with military officials if Nigeria is under attack or is facing another kind of emergency.
I’m a content writer for an agency that handles PR and branding for the statehouse and presidency, hence I’ve had the opportunity to be in the same space with Mr Buhari a few times. Everything in the bubble looks scrubbed.
Even my colleagues and I are “clean”, since we’ve been “wanded” (swept by hand-held metal detectors) and inspected by bomb-sniffing German shepherds and security personnels. Once you’re in the bubble, you can’t chat with those who aren’t “clean”, once Mr Buhari enters a place, you can’t leave, those outside the bubble cannot come in either. This keeps the president safe – and shows the cloistered nature of the one he inhabits. It also cuts you off from the world as most cellular networks are sucked up by the heavy bomb detectors that accompany the president.
Every box, drawers and cabinet has a padlock and a red sign: “This collection box has been locked.” This makes it harder to stuff it with explosives. Outside, Secret Service officers wade through the grass, checking for bombs and assassins.
I’m fascinated every-time by this protocol. Power fascinates me, extraordinariness blows my mind. Albeit the inconvenience caused by the number one citizen of Nigeria, I am always more flabbergasted than upset.
I once caught Mr. Buhari cracking a dry joke, and it dawned on me that this man may be a slightly boring geek like myself, a feeble mortal that combats mundane activities like mosquito bites and mental stress like myself yet he commands so much power!
I knew I wanted that power also. I resolved within myself to never live an ordinary life. I made it my DEFINITE CHIEF AIM in life, and I will never stop trying, until I have developed sufficient self-confidence for its attainment.
There has been a paradigm shift after working closely with the presidency for a while. It has spurred me to want to make a difference so badly, I want to do so much more, I want some ramification of power. Definitely not in the same magnitude as the president of a country but God forbid that I live an ordinary life void of relevance to my generation and to posterity.
Being young is a gift, a temporary one. More chances when you make mistakes and more time to fix those mistakes. Relatively good health and more energy also means you can do most of anything you want to do. Young minds learn faster, picking up new languages, skills, and knowledge is easier and faster.
I want to use the remaining years of my youthfulness well. To make a difference. Our world has complex issues and very complex relationships. Everyone is searching for something – for meaning, for authentic friendships, for truth, for beauty – but we often do not know where to go to find these. Can we find these on Facebook? We young people are restless and dynamic. We are presented with an ever-changing world that is rapidly advancing in technology and culture. We are told that we are now in the modern world. I wonder how those in the year 4000 A.D will remember our time.
Our role as young people is one that holds the great gift of dynamism: we have the opportunity to be useful. Our times are the best to be born in, because there are things to do – things to change, to discover, to learn, to reaffirm. If we want to, we can change the world. I am not proposing that we create some utopia. The immediate world that lies around us is the world that matters. When a person is determined to live in truth and by example, friends and colleagues see this dynamic example of a life. This person helps to shape the next generation with worthwhile values.
The future is in our hands; let us not avoid that responsibility. One day, you could be the next Secretary General of the UN, internationally acknowledged. Or, your path could lead you towards being an excellent gatekeeper like, known to just a few other people. Both these roles give meaning and give to the common good. The important question to ask now, is, how do I take what has been given to me, and use it to contribute my quota to humanity? We must choose truth and goodness always. If we do this, we will secure the future generation to come. Otherwise, what is the deeper purpose to what we are doing now? Amidst the challenges of looking for a good job, a nice spouse, a quality education, food, and the basics of life, we should remember that both innovation and initiative are requisite for us. We should read more, so that we can know more, and so that this knowledge can guide us. We are the youth, and that means that we can give a great gift of ourselves. We can be of use to others. We can bring innovation and creativity to society. We can bring the love and integrity that will shape the future generations that are to come.
Anyone who dreams of an uncommon life eventually discovers there is no choice but to seek an uncommon approach to living it” Garry Keller
If you want to live an extraordinary life, you must burn the mediocre playbook. always think about how you can do something differently. Don’t blindly follow the crowd, and never be afraid to defy the rules by which most people operate in order to create new rules to live the life you want.
Spend Your Time Creating, Rather Than Consuming
“Entertainment is all well and good. But only when that entertainment is an investment in your relationships or yourself. You’ll know if it was an investment, if that entertainment continues to yield returns over and over in your future. That may include positive memories, transformational learning, or deepened relationships.” — Benjamin .P. Hardy
After watching hours of other people vlogging or just showcasing their life on social media, I discovered you can either follow the life of someone else and watch them become successful, or you can focus on you and watch yourself become successful. Consume the things that are going to help you get where you want to be and leave the rest behind.
Nice piece .