Hon. Barr. Barakat Odunuga-Bakare intensifies her grassroots consultations across various wards in Surulere, formally declaring her intention to contest for the Lagos State House of Assembly, Surulere Constituency I, under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
With strong community presence and growing support, her consultations reflect a commitment to inclusive governance and meaningful change at the grassroots.
📍 Surulere, Lagos
@thebbaproject
#LeadershipTalks with Dr.Muiz Banire
Distinguished readers, you are welcome to our weekly leadership discourse. Today, I interrogate the conduct of certain so-called Very Important Personalities in our society, individuals who, by their actions, are better described as vagabonds in power. This troubling behaviour is not limited to those in public office; it extends to actors within the private space who lay claim to influence and status. A disturbing trend has taken root: the notion that the mark of a “big man” is to drive vehicles without registration numbers. Across our roads, convoys move freely without any form of identification. To the best of my knowledge, as a lawyer and former Commissioner for Transportation in Lagos State, no law exempts any citizen from registering a motor vehicle and affixing a valid number plate. This obligation applies to everyone, including members of the executive, legislature, and judiciary. On what legal basis, then, do some motorists ply our roads in anonymity? Because a few irresponsible public officials indulge in this unlawful practice, criminal elements have adopted it as a shield. Drug traffickers, fraudsters, and other offenders now move about without traceable identification, emboldened by the precedent set by those who should uphold the law. More troubling is the sight of security personnel, some genuinely, others merely posing, accompanying such vehicles. These are officers charged with enforcing the law, yet they appear to legitimise its violation. The consequences are grave. Hit-and-run incidents go uninvestigated. Victims are denied justice because offenders cannot be identified. Only recently, I witnessed a convoy of eleven vehicles arriving at an event centre, none bearing registration plates. After striking the vehicle of an elderly woman, they sped off with impunity. Such incidents are not isolated; they reflect a pattern of lawlessness enabled by anonymity. This brigandage must end. Every motorist must be compelled to display valid registration plates at all times. Any vehicle found operating without proper identification should be stopped, impounded, and the occupants investigated in accordance with the law. Security personnel who aid or participate in this illegality must face disciplinary and criminal consequences.
Public officials, in particular, must lead by example. Leadership is demonstrated not by convoys or privilege, but by obedience to the law. Violators should be named and sanctioned, for the rule of law loses meaning when those entrusted to uphold it are the first to disregard it.
Let us be clear: true importance is measured by integrity, not by the ability to evade accountability. A society that tolerates anonymous power invites anonymous crime.
Enough is enough. The law must be visible on our roads, and those who break it must no longer hide behind status or sirens.