2011 elections : Politicians spend billions on armoured vehicles

By Daouda Aliyou

A quelque semaines des élections générales d’avril au Nigeria dont la présidentielle est prévue pour le 9 avril, le compte à rebours a commencé. Les politiciens se ruent vers les blindés pour leur sécurité. C’est le contenu de l’article ci-dessous que j’ai décidé de rediger en Anglais.Cependant, l’inspecteur général de la police, Hafiz Ringim promet des élections sans violences. L’interview qu’il m’a accordé se trouve dans le No 8 ( Février ) du magazine Notre Afrik. Dans le No9 ( Mars ) vous aurez tout, sur les enjeux de cette présidentielle surtout les forces et les faiblesses des quatre principaux favoris ( Goodluck, Ribadu, Buhari et Shekarau ). J’ai été pris à ‘’contre pied’’ par le directeur de publication délégué du magazine, Serge Mathias, au moment où je m’apprêtais à publier ces articles sur mon blog.

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Some government officials and politicians have started placing orders for armour-plated vehicles in anticipation of violence during the 2011 election. Although ‘ordinary’ bullet-proof vehicles are becoming assets of choice among high profile Nigerians now, Saturday Punch gathered, the armoured vehicles that are being ordered for the 2011 elections are not only capable of stopping bullets, they are also built to withstand certain categories of explosives. These vehicles have a range of unusual features including electric shock door handles and radiator protection.
An American company that specialises in producing armoured vehicles, Texas Armoring Corporation, disclosed this in an e-mail.
The disclosure came on the heels of a recent admission by at least one governor, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, that he had placed an order for an armoured vehicle in preparation for governorship election in the state last year. In the mail, TAC’s Executive Vice-President, Marketing, Jason Forston, said his company was working closely with “high-profile Nigerian government officials and key business leaders to help implement security plans.” Forston, however, refused to confirm if Governor Obi bought his armoured car from his company.
When asked to reveal the identities of the government officials and politicians that have placed orders for armoured vehicles, Forston replied, “Because of privacy and security concerns, we can’t release names of individuals who have placed orders. “However, our clients are generally wealthy businessmen and women (MDs/CEOs), diplomats, politicians, government officials, celebrities, or other at-risk individuals,” he wrote.Forston wrote that about 100 vehicles were being processed for Nigerian government officials.
This, he said, were in the range “of a $10,000,000 - $20,000,000 purchase. Most orders are for 2-3 units, which ranges from about $400,000 - $600,000 .” Analysis shows that one of the implications of Forston’s disclosure is that government officials alone had committed between N6bn and N9bn to the purchase of different grades of armoured vehicles. He was, however, silent on the amount that politicians who are not in government were going to spend.TAC had posted a statement on its website, in which it called on potential clients in Nigeria to place their orders early. TAC, which is said to have supplied multiple armoured vehicles for numerous West African heads of state, also announced that it had taken orders for the 2011 state and federal elections.
Some of the vehicles that are to be supplied to TAC’s Nigerian clients include Toyota Camry and Mercedes-Benz S550 cars; and large Sport Utility Vehicles like the Toyota Landcruiser and Cadillac Escalade.“Our passenger vehicles can also be armoured up to levels B6 (AK-47 & M-16 protection) and B7 (Armor-piercing rifle protection),” Forston wrote.TAC also revealed that some of Nigeria’s top bankers formed the company’s client base in the country.“We have sold vehicles to nearly all of the top Nigerian banks. Again, I never release client names, but if you look at the top five banks in Nigeria you will see our clients.’’“We’ve sold cars to nearly all of the large multinationals in Nigeria and large domestic companies. I can’t give names, but if you look at BusinessWorld 100’s recent list you will see many of our clients,” the TAC boss further explained.TAC, however, warned its Nigerian and other clients that it will not replicate the type of armour in the official vehicles of the United States of America President, Barack Obama.“With Barack Obama’s ascension to the White House, there has been a great deal of talk and speculation with regard to the new presidential limousine. Since the vehicle was officially released for duty, we’ve had numerous inquiries as to whether we could produce something similar,” the President/CEO of TAC, Trent Kimball, said in a statement.
The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information, Strategy and Orientation, Chief Asara Asara, said that there were only two armoured vehichles on the governor’s fleet in the Government House, but he didn’t say when they were bought.