An Autocratic Democrat


Praises, criticism and condemnation are three identities with which people’s comments in politics could be described. No matter what any social commentator says, his/her standpoint must fit into at least one of the three. Even those who claim neutrality in public or/and political discourses hardly realise that their remarks do fit into one of the three aforementioned identities.

From 2014 to 2015, Lai Mohammed, as the spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) – a political party in Nigeria – vigorously applied one of the three during all his media addresses and descriptions of the presidential administration of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
Lai Mohammed
Despite the intensity of Lai Mohammed’s condemnation of Goodluck Jonathan before the 2015 presidential election, it was hardly reported that the then national secretary of APC was detained or arrested or his phones were bugged. There was no report that Lai Mohammed’s wife or his family members were detained by the police for any of his remarks about the former president and his policies.

Today, Lai Mohammed who once enjoyed and still enjoys the democratic right known freedom of expression is now an agent of oppression and Stalinism. He proves to be one with the arrest of Mrs Dorcas Jolayemi on April 29, 2020, in Ilorin while she was at her brother in-law’s home. What was the reason for her arrest? It was alleged that her husband (Rotimi Jolayemi, a.k.a. Akewi, a journalist) criticised Lai Mohammed in a poem that was broadcast on April 14, 2020.
Rotimi Jolayemi, a.k.a. Akewi



 To turn up the heat on the family of the journalist, two of his brothers (John and Joseph Jolayemi) were also arrested based on retrieved audios of their telephone conversations with the journalist. If the audio files of their telephone conversations could be made available to the police so that the family of the journalist could be attested in favour of Lai Mohammed’s quest, are we all safe in Nigeria? How were the phones of the journalist’s wife and brothers bugged? If there were not bugged, which of the telecom companies in Nigeria betrayed its customers? These are important questions.

If the Peoples Democratic Party and Goodluck Jonathan could bear the innumerable criticism plus condemnation of Lai Mohammed before his assumption as the minister of information and culture, why is it impossible for him to embrace public criticism now? Is the suppression of public opinions or oppression of the public part of the political culture in Nigeria now?

Comments

  1. Unknown3 June 2020 at 15:27

    That's Nigeria for you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown6 June 2020 at 09:10

    Well, this is one a million eye opening write up by the time we have 5% -10% Nigerians with a right thought like this we will be greater than UK or USA

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dr Yusuf7 June 2020 at 12:29

    Excellent piece, as usual. May God continue to enrich you in intellect. 👍👍👍

    ReplyDelete

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