Inibehe Effiong is disgusted. The human rights lawyer posted about his ordeal on Tuesday. He arrived late for his Abuja flight because of a military and police roadblock. The roadblock was mounted in anticipation of President Bola Tinubu’s return. He arrived in Lagos to find the airport on lockdown. “This is the kind of madness that is going on at the Lagos airport,” he wrote.
Presidential movements in Nigeria routinely disrupt public infrastructure. In 2021, Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Lagos shut down major roads for hours. In 2022, motorists were stranded when his convoy passed through Abuja. In 2023, Tinubu’s inauguration caused gridlock across the capital. The pattern is consistent. Security agencies prioritise the president’s convenience over public access. Citizens bear the cost.
Effiong asked a series of pointed questions. “How can the busiest airport in the commercial capital of a country be put on lockdown for hours because an absentee President is on his way back to the country?” He noted that Bayo Onanuga announced Tinubu will land in Lagos later in the evening. “Why subject citizens and foreigners to this long horrendous treatment when Tinubu’s plane is not even on the ground yet?” He asked whether this is the best way to protect him. He asked whether there is no better way to manage presidential movement.
He described the broader context. “The whole of Lagos will be on lockdown for a man whose disastrous regime has ushered in nothing but terrible policies, mass poverty and corruption.” He said he did not know when he would reach his destination. “I’m so disgusted.”
The post captures a recurring frustration. Presidential security is necessary. The methods are disproportionate. Airports are economic lifelines. Locking them down for hours disrupts thousands of travellers, businesses and families. The president’s plane had not even landed. The lockdown was pre-emptive. It paralysed the city for an event that had not occurred.
Tinubu has been on leave abroad since 30 August. He has been in London and France. His absence has drawn criticism. His return triggered the lockdown. The contrast is stark. An absent president returning briefly shuts down Lagos. A present president would presumably do the same.
Winners: Security agencies, which demonstrate protocol. Politicians who benefit from the security apparatus. No others. Losers: Effiong, who lost hours. Thousands of travellers, who faced delays. Businesses around the airport, which lost revenue. Foreign visitors, who saw Nigeria’s dysfunction. Lagos residents, who face gridlock. The economy, which absorbs lost productivity.
Bottom Line: A president’s return shut down Lagos airport. His plane had not landed. Citizens waited. The lawyer asked why. Nobody answered.