Japanese coy designs bullet-proof vehicles for politicians - Sales reps storm N/Assembly, Niger Delta states
Idowu Samuel, Abuja
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The rest of the world may have started envisaging bloody electioneering campaigns by political office seekers in Nigeria ahead of the 2011 general election, as smart Automobile Industries have started manufacturing customised bullet-proof vehicles for all categories of politicians in the country.




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Against this background, a top Japanese automobile company had deployed its sales representatives to strategic political circles across the federation, with emphasis on the National Assembly and the Niger Delta states.

The sales representatives were in the National Assembly, all through last week, distributing fliers that contain catalogue of customised Japanese vehicles, branded as bullet-proof, which they said were built specially for campaign period in 2011, while luring top officials to purchase.

Legislators contacted by the sales representatives, comprising a Japanese and two Nigerian assistants, were told in clear terms that the specially designed bullet-proof cars are AK-47 resistant, thus indicating that that type of arm is being used commonly by hoodlums in Nigeria.

The prices of the vehicles, mostly Jeeps, luxury and backup cars, pilot cars and others range from N7 to N14 million naira, as the sales representatives urged interested politicians to indicate interest in the purchase by subscribing through a form designed by the vehicle manufacturing company.

The sales representatives, who were seen moving from one office to the other in the National Assembly, told Sunday Tribune that their colleagues had also bombarded Niger Delta states with a mission to convince interested politicians to place orders.

It was however apparent that the auto mobile companies had taken the unrest in the Niger Delta and the spate of kidnappings and politically motivated murders in Nigeria into consideration while designing vehicles to engage the attention of security conscious politicians who indeed, could be targets of attacks during electioneering campaigns.

However, there has been a dramatic drop in the spate of militancy in the Niger Delta areas of the federation, occasioned mainly by the speedy embrace of amnesty extended by the Federal Government to the hitherto armed youths in the area.

Some states in the South-East are considered as hot beds of political brigandage and crisis at the moment, given the sustained incidence of kidnapping to which many prominent citizens had fallen victim.

Most prominent politicians from the area have been refraining from travelling home, having been scared stiff by the kidnapping saga, while the most daring ones have been visiting their respective home states armed fully with private and police guards.

It was not clear, as at press time, the number of Nigerian politicians who had subscribed for purchase of the bullet-proof vehicle but Sunday Tribune noticed that about three legislators contacted at the close of last week indeed had signified interest.