As reported in the news, there was drama at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos when Senator Adams Oshiomhole allegedly took the airport hostage. The reason was that Oshiomhole arrived late for his 6:30am flight to Lagos, and the airline decided not to make a special allowance for him and left without him. This upset Senator Oshiomhole, who reportedly blocked the boarding gate and insisted that no one would board the other flights until the airline found a way to get him to Abuja.

Videos of the incident have gone viral, showing an angry Oshiomhole and his security team, funded by taxpayers, barricading the boarding gates. The affected airline has issued a statement detailing the incident and condemning the senator’s actions. At the time of writing, Oshiomhole had not provided his side of the story.

As shocking as the incident in Lagos is, those familiar with the conduct of public officials in Nigeria will not be entirely surprised by the lengths to which the senator allegedly went to assert his entitlement.

It is unfortunate that Nigeria has fostered a culture where public officials feel entitled to bend systems, institutions, and even the country to their personal preferences.

Federal regulations are clear: passengers for domestic flights are expected to arrive two hours before departure. In some cases, airlines allow passengers to arrive about an hour prior to takeoff. By all accounts, Senator Oshiomhole arrived sometime after 6am, either 10 or 20 minutes before the flight. Yet, he allegedly attempted to hold up the airport and the boarding process for hundreds of other passengers.

Oshiomhole has always been a lightning rod and is unafraid of confrontation. Between 1999 and 2007, as president of the labour union, he vigorously advocated for workers’ rights, leading several strikes. It is, therefore, surprising to see him misuse that vigour for personal reasons at the expense of the public.

This level of impunity has become entrenched in our system, with an increasing number of public officials willing to disrupt the entire system for their convenience, jeopardising the well-being of hundreds, thousands, or millions of Nigerians.

If you think disrupting an airport is extreme, consider disrupting the governance of an entire state. Recently, we witnessed Nyesom Wike, the former governor of Rivers State and current minister of the FCT, attempting to disrupt governance under his successor, Siminalayi Fubara.

His actions have included alleged interference in state affairs, efforts to silence opposition, and attempts to unseat the state governor, leading to political crises and federal intervention.

This level of political entitlement is unprecedented in recent years, but it is not the first instance. We have seen political governors and former officials exert significant influence over their successors and create governance difficulties through disruptive practices, reinforcing a culture of impunity.

As I argued in my column last week, many Nigerian politicians view public office as a personal entitlement, leading to behaviours such as misuse of public resources, intimidation, and efforts to control state institutions for personal or political gain.

Recall how, during the 2007 elections, Andy Uba, a PDP gubernatorial candidate in Anambra State, was accused of mobilising cult gangs to intimidate opponents. Police reportedly felt unable to act against him due to his close ties to then President Olusegun Obasanjo. Similar situations occurred in Kogi State in 2019 and 2023, when former Governor Yahaya Bello caused chaos to return to office and to install his successor.

The desire of former incumbents to influence governance, including disruptive practices, has become so common that almost every political figure is involved. Even Oshiomhole, when he was governor of Edo State, was embroiled in a feud with his predecessor, Godwin Obaseki, escalating into open confrontations marked by allegations of destabilisation, disregard for government directives, and violence within the state assembly. This feud resulted in significant political turmoil and a divided legislature.

As I argued last week, this disruptive behaviour serves the political elite, not the public interest. We have become so accustomed to politicians behaving poorly that when they act normally, it is seen as a novelty.

How many times have we seen Nigerians celebrating politicians like Buhari, before he became president, and Peter Obi for queuing to board a commercial plane, as they should? These politicians have been deified for simply behaving appropriately.

For the health of Nigerian democracy, this political elitism and entitlement, where certain individuals believe that the state and its institutions must bend to their will, must be curtailed. This is not how other countries have developed, and it is not how Nigeria will develop.

Senator Oshiomhole’s conduct in Lagos reflects the entitlement exhibited by public office holders, which damages the health of Nigeria’s democracy. In other places, governments have been replaced for far less provocation.

Recently, the government of Mongolia was toppled following a wedding proposal. When the prime minister’s son proposed to his girlfriend in a viral video featuring an expensive Dior handbag, it triggered public outrage amid a cost-of-living crisis. Questions arose about how the PM’s son, with no known source of income, could afford such a luxury. Weeks of protests led to the resignation of Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene.

Before Mongolia, a similar situation occurred in South Korea when the country’s first lady, Kim Keon Hee, was secretly filmed accepting a Dior handbag worth about $2,200 from a pastor in 2022. The footage, leaked in late 2023, sparked a political firestorm and accusations of impropriety against President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration.

Nigerian politicians must learn to curb their excesses and remember that public office is not a license to exploit institutions, abuse public office and trust, hold up airports or exhibit disruptive conduct. Holding up an airport, as Oshiomhole is alleged to have done, is unbecoming of a public office holder. Taking an entire state hostage as we have seen other politicians do must stop being a part of our democratic culture.