The Small Aspects of London

The Guardian newspaper always has a reporter on vigil at Abuja House in London where President Muhammadu Buhari often retired to. What really surprised me is the economy of space about everything London; Abuja House is so small in size that one is always left wondering if President Buhari is actually temporarily resident there. The absence of armed-to-kill security guards at the entrance of the building makes another impression in the mind of the observer, plus the fact that all you need do to get attention from inside the building is press the electric buzzer at the entrance of the building. The Guardian newspaper reporter has pointed out a couple of times that two young adults who bear striking resemblance to President Buhari and Aisha (the guess is this duo is Yusuf Buhari and Hanan Buhari who, as well as Yusuf “Tunde Idiagbon” Sabiu, are intimate caregivers to Mr. President) have been seen entering and leaving Abuja House a number of times but they do not commute in bulletproof convoys; instead they commute in taxi cabs quite ordinarily. Obviously, London is another world from Abuja and other cities of Africa where our leaders live large. One lesson we all can learn from London is if we adopt economy of space in our towns here in Nigeria, we can easily implement central sewage processing and public hygiene and further save costs of upkeep of public officials and ultimately ensure that decent accommodation goes round. We should always keep in mind that the bigger a house the bigger the cost of maintenance and other associated expenses. In this respect, Aso Rock Villa, with its budgeted N5 billion per annum for the State House Clinic, is a monumental waste.