By Abdullah Abdulganiy
He is a frontline advocate of the EndSARS campaign. He has spent years railing against violent intimidation of citizens by the powers-that-be and men in uniform. He calls the President, Muhammadu Buhari a tyrant and all sorts of name. But he’s no better in anyway. He’s the real tyrant. The big oppressor. Lawless brat. The SARS himself. His name is Seun Kuti.
It beats my imagination how the so called activists fail to practise what they preach. Most of them are no different from the politicians they take turns to vilify. What they just need is a little push to get power and in no time, the animals in human skin which they are would be unveiled to the public. This is with due respect to genuine, patriotic activists. “Eyan buruku lo ba eyan re je,” as the Yorubas would put it.
That’s the case on our hands with one Seun Kuti. A young man who has not even been trusted with power but is already intimidating, bullying fellow citizens in his little capacity. What if he gets power? God forbid bad thing!
It was on the eve of Saturday, December 12. Some socialites had organised a party they dubbed “Facebook Hangout”. It was well attended and cars littered Allen Avenue where the party held. Allen Avenue is Kuti’s “hood” to use his words. According to Kuti, cars were indiscriminately parked and it was difficult for residents to gain access into their homes. Very wrong!
In his own reaction however, “SARS” Kuti reportedly accosted some of the party attendees, nagged at them, and recruited thugs to give them the beating of their lives. It didn’t stop there. He, alongside his thugs, also pounced on the “bouncer” whom eyewitness accounts say was pacifying him to “calm down”. Multiple unimpeachable sources present at the party agreed with this narrative.
Kuti who took long to present his side of the story has however been spinning the narrative. He made it appear as if the party attendees were after his life. That’s just trying to save face. Yes, the party attendees were wrong to have blocked the way to people’s home. But is this not the same thing we told the EndSARS campaigners in the height of their madness when they were blocking roads? So, this is what it looks like!
Does Kuti know how many casualties we had when EndSARS campaigners were blocking roads? Main roads, for crying out loud. But he, like his ilk, can’t take a bit of what they dish out. If the Federal Government had ordered that security agencies assault protesters blocking main roads, I doubt if he would be spared.
Seun Kuti also fired live rounds into the air to disperse the party attendees. Same thing soldiers were crucified for at Lekki. The slight difference here is that Kuti is not a law enforcement agent. Whatever argument he pushes forward, the fact is that there’s no justification for him to open fire over a simply civil matter. Again, two wrongs do not make a right.
If anything, what Kuti has successfully shown us is that he lacks emotional intelligence and is therefore not qualify to be a leader. He would always react at the slightest provocation. He took the laws into his hands.
Even though the party attendees might have wronged, it’s not for him to judge. He should have allowed the law to take its course. This is the same misbehavior we nailed SARS officials for. Is it therefore not an irony that a high ranking EndSARS campaigner is acting like a SARS? The Police should swiftly investigate the matter. There’s no justification for throwing weight around to oppress fellow citizens.
