Kirikiri, the
relatively quiet town in Lagos State which gives the famous prison its
name, woke up last Saturday to a crowd that had turned out to celebrate
the release of Olabode George, the former chairman of the Nigerian
Ports Authority, who ended his prison term that day. Over 1,000 George
supporters, dressed in ‘uniform’ traditional attire popularly called
‘aso ebi’ along with elaborate headgear, flocked to the sleepy town.
Stella Onyekwere, a
fruit seller, said that there were so many visitors that it was
difficult to get through them to her home near the Kirikiri Medium
Prison.
“The number of
people that came here today, I have not seen it in Kirikiri before,”
she said. “They were plenty. You see them with different uniforms. See
the women with their gele. People full everywhere.”
A few residents said that the unprecedented turnout made them afraid.
“Come and see the
security people that came to guard him (Mr. George),” said Mrs.
Onyekwere. “They were many and they were wearing their black. That
black suit is not ordinary o. If you see the kind of guns they arranged
inside the suit, you will fear.”
According to
another Kirikiri resident, who identified himself simply as Samuel,
some of the supporters of the released prisoner had been in the
neighbourhood since Friday night to beat the restriction of movement
due to the Lagos State monthly environmental sanitation.
“In fact, they have
been busy since yesterday night; that is when many of them came,” he
said. “So this morning, they were ready. Many politicians were here. I
saw this Alao-Akala (Oyo State governor) and other PDP governors. Even
(Goodluck) Jonathan, came here in the night around 3am.”
“But seriously,
this is not good now,” Samuel went on to say. “Somebody that stole
billions of naira, they were coming to celebrate him like this, but
there are many innocent people inside there (Kirikiri Prisons). If it
was a poor man that stole money, they would have left him to die there
and they will bury him there. That’s why you can’t blame people who are
doing everything possible to make money.”
Hours later, the
release of Mr. George from prison was the talk of the town. At each
stretch of shops, restaurants, and bars, people were discussing it,
either quietly condemning the jamboree or loudly telling how they
scrambled to pick the cash that Mr. George threw in the air for his
supporters. Posters bearing the image of Mr. George were posted on
walls with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) logo and the
inscription, ‘The Joseph of our Time.’
While the fanfare
was going on, restaurant owners made a killing by doubling food prices.
Eno Akpan, who runs a restaurant in the area, said she regretted
opening her shop late after the environmental sanitation. She had sent
her daughter ahead, who sold plates of rice for N300 instead of the
usual N150.
“If I knew it will be like this, I would have prepared everything,”
she said. “I can even sell a plate for N1,000 and they will buy.”
