By Olawale Olaleye
Everyone has been condemning the recent arrest of activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi, with punches continuously landing on the police force being the enforcer of the arrest order.
Unfortunately, the sweeping pretence is noteworthy. No one has pointedly called out the man alleged to have used his influence, position, age, and perhaps money to bring this opprobrium on the police.
A few weeks ago, a certain federal lawmaker, who could not tell whether he was a senator or House of Representatives member, publicly assaulted a cab driver and openly threatened to make him disappear. He even said to the hearing of everyone who saw the video that he’d call the IG to carry out his order.
Of course, the police took that personally and immediately reacted. Well, the rest, as they say, is history. The oppression came to a notorious denouement after the oppressed was settled “bountifully” but also made to apologise to his oppressor.
Some months back, a sitting governor of one of the northern states, publicly assaulted “an upcoming alfa”, whom he made to be on his knees, while lashing out at him, as shown in the viral video. After a few generous slaps, he commandeered his CSO to arrest and take him away.
Some memories down the lane, a senator who had since ceased to represent his people assaulted a poor lady at a sex toy shop because he could not manage his temper. It became a mess, just like the cases earlier cited, and he was also made to apologise and compensate the lady, but not before the police and the public had stepped into the matter.
Many years gone, a cantankerous former governor of Edo State, had publicly told off a hapless woman during a sanitation exercise to “go and die” after the woman had pleaded with him for leniency. He didn’t expect the staggering backlash and immediately apologised. He also went on to compensate the woman.
Although the police in Ekiti have yet to issue an official statement on Farotimi’s arrest (none that is public yet), in which they are expected to state the details of the arrest, the story doing the rounds is that a prominent lawyer and billionaire businessman, Chief Afe Babalola, was behind the arrest over alleged defamation.
But how everyone has been condemning the arrest and the police, especially the fact that the police reportedly breached protocol in effecting the arrest in Lagos, without mentioning the originator of the arrest is hypocritical and says even more about the Nigerian people than words could put together.
The same Chief Babalola, who would stop at nothing to go after anyone or government, so long he feels strongly about any issue? It took former governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, to publicly even with him before he stopped harassing him and attacking the government that Fayemi had long exited at every given opportunity.
The summary of this is that, leave the government aside, since state power and force constitutionally reside with them, every Nigerian is a potential oppressor except that the opening has not availed itself. People use practically all the security agencies in Nigeria to oppress and harass “lesser Nigerians”, the monent they stand on higher pedestal in the society, even if illegally.
It’s okay to continue to attack the government for obvious abuses and misdemeanors, but before the change that everyone seeks of Nigeria comes to fruition, it must not only start with the individuals, there must also be conscious efforts to make all the institutions of state function responsibly and accountably.
Until then, Nigeria is still clowning because the struggle now is about how others, too, get into positions to be able to oppress the others. Although no nation is completely “sane”, there is a method to the madness in the supposedly more civilised countries of the world.
More importantly, there must be an irreducible nexus between character and leadership, and positions of power or influence. Once you miss the first, you can never get the others right.
