If you have never been financially independent in your life or occupied a position where you exercised considerable power, you might not fully and truly know your character. Many people who are humble today will be tyrants if they have fame, and fortune which is usually accompanied by power. The recent revelations from the founder of Human Rights Radio, Ahmed Isah are very troubling. Troubling because ordinary Ahmed as he preferred to call himself on air is a man who has positively impacted the lives of many. His interventions are arguably becoming legendary. He is one of the few individuals in Nigeria who has succeeded in using his talents to acquire a platform that is serving the masses. This is no mean feat. It is easy to forgive and wave off his penchant for slapping the less privileged whether they are members of his organization or individuals with whom he interacts outside his organization. But we will be doing ourselves and the abused persons a great disservice if we do so.

Ahmed Isah has built his fame and fortune on the premise that he is a crusader for human rights abuses. For him to be an abuser is unacceptable. And we must all call him out. We must not be blinded by his past deeds because his slapping revelations are not one-off deeds. Possibly there are many other occurrences of him assaulting different men and women. I do not know if Ahmed Isah has always abused people this way before he became famous and powerful. What I know is that power often corrupts powerfully. This has often been our albatross when it comes to leadership in Africa. Freedom fighters like Robert Mugabe and others who had the knowledge to get things done right for their people eventually became sit-tight tyrants who could not create democratic structures that can promote peace and prosperity. Instead, they devise ways to suppress the press, imprison opposition candidates and do all the other things dictators do.

Unfortunately, we know the antecedents of some individuals before supporting them. Supporters of Donald Trump have always known that he is a certified liar and scammer just like many Nigerians knew Muhammadu Buhari to be a terrorist sympathizer, yet they still voted for him. A similar scenario is playing out, many Yorubas know how allegedly corrupt Bola Ahmed Tinubu is, yet they will still vote for him if he contests in future elections. In recent memories, the only person I know who was not corrupted by power is Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. After years of the Buhari administration trying all it can to paint him black, he has remained virtually spotless. Even the EFCC cooked up headlines have not diminished his reputation. He was able to restrain himself as the most powerful man in Nigeria for 6 years. The press enjoyed a free reign in propagating fake news on him with only a media response from his aides and no arrest. Other examples abound of him not abusing the powers that he could easily abuse like Ordinary Ahmed is doing. We must investigate our character and correct flaws before becoming powerful to prevent us from abusing them.

Ata Ukuta, Editor – www.towncryyers.com