Photo credit: Nairaland forum
“Be careful because when that boy was growing up, I was being arrested from time to time. So, the only language he understood was detention and, arrest and the rest of them.” – Femi Falana
The eminent lawyer was speaking about his son Folarin, also known as Falz. Falz himself was said to have claimed he doesn’t fear death.
One of the leaders of the #endsars protest, Falz cooperated with Omoyele Sowore, Mr Macaroni, Seun Kuti, Aisha Yesufu, and others too numerous to mention in standing against police brutality.
Now, Seun was born into the several altercations his father, the late Fela was having with the security agencies. By the way, so was his uncle, Bekololari – a medical doctor and human rights activist.
In one of the incidents, Fela’s mother eventually died from the infamous Kalakuta republic crisis.
Now, the history of police and even the military forces’ injustice against the Nigerian people who they are supposed to protect is so long that it might take a lot of books to list them.
Unfortunately for the ordinary Nigerian, they’ve been so mentally disoriented that they believe that whatever the uniformed people do is right. When I talk of the ordinary Nigerians, I’m included, of course.
I can remember Fela Kuti’s words in a song, “Army man go whip your yansh, you go dey look like donkey.”
While I don’t encourage violence in a properly constituted democracy anywhere, I’m really wondering if the Nigerian youth is not ready to defend our constitutional rights.
Incidentally, our rights include the rights of policemen!
I also remember what the late Fela sang in an album: “Gba mi l’eti kin d’olowo. Slap my face make I get money!”
We don’t really need to weep for Seun because as an informed adult, he knows the consequences of his action and inaction.
051823
