The immediate past Managing Director, Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA), Mr. George Noah, has detailed how agents of Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan, tried to eliminate him – in the build-up to Nigeria’s historic 2015 Elections.
Noah, shed light on his ordeal, in a chapter of his riveting new book, titled: 2015 Elections: The Politics of Outdoor Advertising in Lagos State.
His words, taken from Chapter 11, titled: Enemy Combatant: “The more the opposition party in the state parroted platitudes bordering on alleged bias on the part of LASAA, the more I became a target, as the head of the agency supposedly responsible for their invented misfortunes in securing outdoor sites in Lagos. But what at first seemed like harmless banter and standard criticism soon took a more sinister form. It soon dawned on me that I had become a subject of discussion among some politicians in the then ruling party in Abuja, and they had reportedly decided to solve the problem by any means necessary, including intimidation and threats.
“The grapevine gave indications of this worrying development. An old acquaintance from when I was domiciled in the UK, called me in confidence on the issue. A member of the PDP, he had attended a crucial caucus meeting at which I was identified as the person constituting an obstacle in the way of the party’s ambitions in the outdoor political campaign in Lagos State.
“Be careful. Your name was mentioned in our caucus meeting in connection with the PDP’s inability in securing billboards in Lagos. You have to be careful,” he warned. We had barely kept in touch in seven years and I was surprised he got in touch. When you are advised by a politician to be careful during electioneering, you are bound to sit up.
“You were accused of singling out the PDP’s campaign materials in Lagos for destruction, using LASAA’s apparatus, in an orchestrated bid to frustrate the PDP’s campaign,” he said. According to him, they were devising plans to put me in “check”, using every means of containment at their disposal.
“A few days later, I got a call from the then General Officer Commanding (GOC) at Bonny Camp, Victoria Island, Lagos, about the controversy surrounding the outdoor campaign of the PDP in Lagos. He warned me not to invite trouble I may not be able to contain. I got the message. Exactly two weeks after the Lagos State police boss read the riot act to LASAA. He warned that no posters or outdoor structures should be removed in Lagos State whether legally or illegally deployed. This was a wake-up call for me. It was becoming apparent at this point that I had to take security matters more seriously. More puzzling questions raced through my mind, as I wondered if it would be foolhardy to seek protection from a police force with unapologetic leanings to the then ruling party.
“I thought to myself: ‘I could hold out a little longer. All I have to do is be a bit more circumspect and extra vigilant.’ But for how much longer would I have to put up a defence? The same question was always playing on my mind as I became increasingly suspicious of my surroundings whenever I was outdoors. A sense of paranoia kicked in. Suddenly, an innocent gaze from an unfamiliar person didn’t seem so benign anymore. Every motorcycle that rode close to my vehicle on the road became suspect – just as every vehicle that kept showing up in the rear-view mirror seemed to be on a sinister mission. In the same vein, every street hawker that sidled up to my vehicle in the notorious Lagos traffic jams, appeared to have malicious intent.
“My sense of alarm was further compounded with heightened security alerts about my safety. Credible sources advised that I temporarily relocate from my place of abode and change my vehicle, so as to give any persons on my trail the slip. I complied. I had by this time come under immense pressure from friends, family members and state government colleagues to sign up for round-the-clock police protection.
“Their fear was not unfounded. The atmosphere had become very tense; I and other LASAA staff had been running the gauntlet for some time. For example, March, 16, 2015, the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) had, in an openly confrontational show of strength and support for the PDP, staged an infamous march in Lagos. In an apparent move to intimidate staff, some of the militiamen congregated in front of LASAA’s head office in Ikeja, brandishing guns and other dangerous weapons as well as charms. We shut our gates and remained indoors until the ethnic militia got bored and moved on to the next target. No doubt they regarded LASAA and myself as enemy combatants. It was a dark period at the agency. In one incident, members of our staff were assaulted, some were injured, others arrested. One of our ad hoc staff almost had his leg amputated as a result of injury, and eventually lost a toe. The agency’s vehicle they were in was severely damaged.
“I remember telling a colleague, around this time, about my misgivings about seeking personal police protection ‘I would rather you bite the bullet, by putting your inhibitions aside – as opposed to biting the dust,’ he told me unequivocally. At that moment I remembered a famous quote by the renowned Brazilian novelist, Paulo Coelho that made an impression on me. In his book, ‘The Devil and Miss Prym’, he wrote: ‘There are two kinds of idiots – those who don’t take action because they have received a threat, and those who think they are taking action because they have issued a threat.’
‘This marked that defining moment. I was assigned two mobile policemen – or gentlemen, as I often referred to them. And they truly were gentlemen in all respects, officers who discharged their duties with the utmost sense of professionalism and dedication. If only we had more of these exemplary characters in the force – perhaps the general perception of the police would be more patriotic and less negative. For sure, I found it somewhat difficult to reconcile these gentlemen’s dedication to duty with the unashamed partisan leanings exhibited by the then police boss of the state.
‘Moving about with the two fully armed men was a bit unsettling at first. But I got used to it soon enough. It may also have been the case that their obvious dedication to duty had a soothing effect on me. They had become my good friends. Suddenly, my journeys to and fro had become less boring and predictable. The two officers had become towers of support and offered a haven from the tensions of the time – tension that were par for the course at the office and at various engagements. The gentlemen and I had light-hearted discussions on various national and mundane issues – subjects ranged from politics to sports, Nollywood and the latest Nigerian music hits – you name it. Being in company of the gentlemen did ease my concern about personal safety. Much to my surprise, I felt less vulnerable. Perhaps it was a placebo effect. However, in all honesty, I entrusted my care and that of the gentlemen to God. No one could have offered better protection than God.”
Comprising 22 chapters, 2015 Elections: The Politics of Outdoor Advertising in Lagos State, chronicles the sordid intrigues and high stakes politicking that characterized events that played out in Lagos State’s outdoor advertising sector, in the build-up to Nigeria’s historic 2015 General Elections. It also looks into challenges faced by outdoor regulatory agencies during the period of electioneering, as well as the potential personal risks faced by personnel of these agencies. The book also seeks to prevent a repeat of the controversial events that engulfed the outdoor industry in the course of election campaigning – while highlighting the positive and defining narratives that unfolded.
A technocrat, and political activist, Noah was a founding member of Radio Kudirat and has over 35 years experience in virtually all aspects of the media. A pioneer member of Made In Nigeria (MAIN) Festival Group, Noah is also Publisher of Island News and Chief Executive Officer that midwifed TV Continental (TVC) and Radio Continental in Lagos.
Noah previously worked for Insight Communications Limited in Nigeria, the Greater London Council (GLC) and British Telecom International (BTI) in the UK and Media Empowerment for Africa (MEFA) in Norway. Whilst domiciled in London, Noah was appointed Chairman of the London Borough of Southwark Co-operative Development Agency (SCDA) in 1992. In June 2014, whilst at LASAA, Noah was awarded the honorary title Lagos State Man Of The Year.
