ON TINTED VEHICLE GLASSES

The ban should be enforced scrupulously

In one of his first decisions following his confirmation as the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Usman Baba has ordered the suspension of indiscriminate use of tinted glasses and Police Supernumerary (SPY) plate numbers by those he described as “unauthorised person or persons”. The ban, according to Baba, became imperative because “several individuals have of late turned the use of SPY number plates and tinted glass into a status symbol and have fraudulently obtained such” while there have also been “reports that some criminal elements are utilising them as cover for their nefarious activities.”

Ordinarily, we would have considered the measure a welcome development especially in the face of the clear and present danger posed by the activities of terrorists, kidnappers, armed robbers, and sundry criminal elements. However, it is one thing to issue a ban order as in the present case and yet something else to implement the ban without consideration for some sacred cows. We are aware that many of Baba’s predecessors made similar ban on tinted glass, sirens, and revolving lights. Were the previous ban orders rescinded by the appropriate authority or simply allowed to fizzle away?

There is no doubt that in a status-obsessed society like ours people who consider themselves as “Very Important Personalities” would always seek to flaunt their “importance” by appearing different from the rest of society. This explains why all manner of “VIPs” procure the use of sirens, revolving lights, and “SPY” number plates. Ironically, the police have made itself a willing collaborator by obliging all these requests and backed by a so-called “Special VIP Protection Unit” which is available on cash-and-carry basis.

Local government chairmen and their spouses, traditional rulers, councillors and their wives; even “419ers” and indeed anyone who can afford the fee do apply for and obtain these special police courtesies and privileges. In the long run the system is corrupted with the result that it is difficult to separate the chickens from the pigeons. It is therefore no surprise that criminals have equally leveraged access to these privileges and now hide under them to perpetrate heinous acts. The new ban is therefore an admission of failure on the part of the police authorities that they could not properly ensure the implementation and thorough monitoring of these courtesies. In fact, the system was abused, we dare say, with the knowledge or even the connivance of many of the people in positions of authority.

However, it is police operatives who enable some motorists cover their number plates across the country. This inhibits our law enforcement agents from doing their job and has helped many criminals to escape from being caught. A scrupulous enforcement of this will help, but if recent experiences were any guide, it will be flouted by top government officials.

Meanwhile, whatever may be the justification for the new ban, we would like to offer a word of advice on tinted glasses. There is absolute need to distinguish between factory-fitted tinted glass and locally improvised ones. We are aware that during the last ban exercise, owners of factory-fitted tinted glasses were allowed to obtain special police permit to use their vehicles without molestation. It is equally necessary this time to also make that distinction. Occupants of such vehicles must however stop and wind down their window glass for identification as and when necessary.

That said, unscrupulous police officers should not see the new ban as opportunity to make illegal earnings by extorting money from innocent motorists.