Please
take a look at this matter. John was called a troublemaker by his
kinsman, Ugonna. John did not like that at all. He was one of the elders
in his community. He decided to seek legal redress. After the long and
tortuous legal tussle, he was proved not to be a troublemaker. He felt
happy and fulfilled. But something else happened: members of the
community began to describe John as John the Troublemaker.
That
is the type of thing Mr. Joseph Mbu, the Assistant Inspector-General of
Police in charge of Zone 7, Abuja, has done to himself. Last week he
added another controversy to his bag of controversies, thereby drawing
the attention of the entire nation to his association with controversy.
Henceforth, it would be hard not to add “controversial” any time Mbu’s
name is mentioned. And it has begun to manifest.
On
Saturday, Punch ran a story with the headline: “Journalist floors
controversial AIG Mbu in court.” Premium Times’ headline on Friday read,
“Controversial Police AIG, Mbu, detains AIT journalist for describing
him as ‘controversial.’” The Scoop’s headline said: “Mr. Controversy:
AIG Joseph Mbu drags AIT reporter to court, then withdraws charge.”
Last
week, Mbu arrested, detained and charged a senior correspondent with
Africa Independent Television, Mr. Amaechi Anakwue, to court for
describing him as controversial while presenting a programme, Matters
Arising, on AIT, which he felt amounted to defamation of character.
When
Anakwue was brought to court in Abuja on Friday by the police, news
went round the court premises that a journalist was being arraigned for
calling Mbu controversial. Lawyers, who were in court for other issues,
stormed the courtroom to defend Anakwue. Mbu, who seems to enjoy
swimming in controversy, read the message and hurriedly asked to
withdraw the case. The magistrate promptly struck out the case and set
Anakwue free.
But it is necessary that Anakwue should sue Mbu
for as many things as possible, including unlawful detention,
deprivation of right and freedom, harassment, mental, psychological and
emotional torture and trauma, abuse of office, etc, and claim damages of
nothing less than N50m. That is just to serve as a warning to officers
and so-called VIPs who enjoy harassing and intimidating journalists and
other civilians.
Recounting his experience in detention, Anakwue
said the cell was dirty, stinking, dark, and not fit for human
habitation, yet he met many people who were similarly arrested and
detained there for a long time on frivolous reasons. Unfortunately, many
of such people are not journalists or celebrities who can attract the
attention of the public to speak for them.
He said that when he
left the cell, he did not take the clothes he wore in there home for
fear that diseases worse than Ebola could infect his home.
Mbu
has every right to sue anyone who calls him “controversial,” but he does
not have the right to abuse his office by taking advantage of his
position to arrest and detain a journalist for freely expressing
himself. Being involved in the case, he should not have arrested and
detained the journalist. He should have gone to court to file a case
against the journalist.
The magistrate should have sent a
summons to Anakwue to appear and defend himself rather than Mbu making
himself the complainant and judge in his own case.
By arresting,
detaining and suing a journalist, Mbu stirred another controversy in
the country. People were shocked and angry over such an act, wondering
if the meaning of “controversial” had changed. I watched the 2010
British PM debate on TV when the then Liberal Democratic candidate, Nick
Clegg, told the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown that his argument was
silly.
The PM grimaced and the debate continued as if Clegg just
wished the PM a happy Christmas. In August of 2013, the then All
Progressives Congress interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, went
overboard and said that President Goodluck Jonathan was an
“unserious-minded president” who ran “a kindergarten presidency.” This
was in addition to other words and phrases that had been thrown at
Jonathan, including “clueless,” etc. The Presidency merely sent out a
press statement, warning Akande to “respect his age.” Nobody was
arrested, detained or sued.
If I were the one charged to court
by Mbu, I would plead that I be allowed to defend myself without the
help of a lawyer. I would use only 10 dictionaries that will define
“controversial” and then cite at least 5 incidents involving Mbu which
caused controversy in the nation.
What does “controversial” mean? The Cambridge Dictionary describes “controversial” as “causing disagreement or discussion.”
Today,
Nigerians know Mbu more than the Acting Inspector-General of Police.
Nigerians know Mbu more than any other police officer in Nigeria. Why is
that so? Is it because Mbu is more gallant than other police officers
or more intelligent or has faced and defeated more criminals than any
other police officer? No. It is simply because when he was the
commissioner of police in Rivers and Federal Capital Territory, many of
his actions and comments caused controversy. Just less than a month ago,
while handing over to the new commissioner of police of the Federal
Capital Territory, Mbu boasted that he was the lion that tamed the
leopard of Port Harcourt, a veiled reference to Governor Rotimi Amaechi
of Rivers State, with whom he had a running battle while he was the CP
of Rivers State.
The Nigerian media faced military dictators
like Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, General Ibrahim
Babangida, and Gen. Sani Abacha, who arrested, detained and jailed them
and some non-journalists for merely expressing themselves. Some were
killed; some sustained injuries that led to their eventual deaths. Some
went into exile to avoid arrest. Like the crab said, having swum in
rivers and oceans and survived, it cannot be frightened by the little
pot of soup of the old woman. The Nigerian media and the masses must not
allow themselves to be cowed by people like Mbu, especially now that we
are in a democracy. I don’t remember reading anywhere that Mbu
participated in securing this democracy that we have been enjoying since
1999.
Mbu should be happy that he was only described as
“controversial”. Football commentator, Ernest Okonkwo, coined names for
Nigerian footballers like “Gangling Yekini,” “Mathematical Segun,”
“Elastic Elahor,” “Head Master Mutiu Adepoju”. They bore such
soubriquets with pride. Mbu should thank Anakwue for coining a memorable
name for him. Let him bear it without grudges, for he earned it. If he
does not like the name, he has an option: let him steer clear of
controversy. He is not the only commissioner of police or AIG in the
nation.
Let the IG of police also show Nigerians that Mbu is not
above him and above the law. Let the IG beat him into line. Or is the
IG another leopard that is afraid of being tamed by Lion Mbu?
Since
Mbu is a self-confessed lion, let the IG promptly redeploy him to Borno
State to tame the Boko Haram. If he succeeds, we will gladly give him
any new title he wants instead of this “controversial.”
If the
wild does not like the visit of monkeys, let it stop growing wild fruits
that attract monkeys. In the same vein, the bush to which the basket is
a taboo must stop allowing mushrooms to grow in it. Our elders are
wise.
Credit: Punch/Azuka Onwuka
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