Human rights lawyer and activist, Inibehe Effiong, has criticised the growing trend of naming public infrastructure after President Bola Tinubu, warning that Nigeria could one day wake up to find its name changed to the “Federal Republic of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Effiong made the remarks during an interview on ARISE News while reacting to the recent decision by the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, to rename the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway after President Tinubu.
He also blamed ministers, which include the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for promoting what he described as the personalisation of governance through the naming of public assets after the President.
Speaking on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Effiong questioned both the project and the decision to rename it.
He said, “which I have never understood the logic behind it; at a time the country is grappling with economic crisis, at a time that we are borrowing to refund our indebtedness, at a time that the government is almost running on a deficit.
“Why are we decipating trillions without transparency, don’t forget the company that is handling this road projects is one whose antecedents has been called to question. So when when you look at it in the light of the renaming, the way we are going, given how dubious the national assembly changed our national anthem within 24 hours, we may wake up tomorrow and it becomes Federal Republic of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Effiong described the trend of renaming public infrastructure after the President as excessive praise by government officials.
“It’s unbridled sycophancy. Is there a competition between appointees of the President and federal institutions over who is going to praise the President the most?” he asked.
The lawyer explained that under Nigerian law, there is a distinction between public institutions whose names are protected by legislation and those that can be renamed by the executive.
“There are public infrastructures or institutions whose names are statutory. Where Parliament has assigned a name through legislation, you cannot rename such institutions through executive fiat. But where there is no statutory backing, the executive has the discretion to ascribe a name.”
