By Mohammed Funsho Abdullahi
I have followed some of the reactions to the recent television interview granted by my friend, the Honourable Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development in Kwara State, Dr Lawal O. Olohungbebe. One particular line of argument caught my attention: that people had always known him as a scholar, community development practitioner and technocrat, but that by granting an interview in which he expressed political opinions they disagreed with, he has now “officially become a politician” and should therefore be prepared for whatever mud is thrown at him. I find that argument troubling.
Yes, my friend is now in government. He is also a member of a political party and, by accepting public office and speaking on political issues, must expect his views to be scrutinised, challenged and sometimes strongly criticised. That comes with the territory. But when did participation in politics become consent to personal abuse?
Becoming a politician does not cancel one’s scholarship. It does not erase years of professional accomplishment or community service. More importantly, it does not strip anyone of the right to basic decency in public discourse.
I listened to the interview. He spoke about people with whom he disagreed politically without insulting them. He expressly acknowledged and showed respect for political stakeholders on the other side. People are perfectly entitled to disagree with his arguments, interrogate his claims and offer contrary facts. That is what political debate should be about. What I cannot accept is the proposition that because someone has entered the political arena, “anything goes.” That is precisely the political culture we should be trying to change.
And I say this irrespective of party affiliation. I have recently argued that our leaders and elders should be able to disagree without reducing political conversations to insults and attacks on one another’s person. I cannot hold that position when someone I disagree with is being insulted and suddenly abandon it because the person at the receiving end is my friend.
If we genuinely want more scholars, professionals and people of character to participate in politics, then we cannot simultaneously insist that the moment they do, they must surrender their dignity at the door.
By all means, criticise his politics. Challenge his arguments. Question his conclusions. Hold him accountable for his public office. But the idea that becoming a politician means becoming legitimate prey for every conceivable insult is one political tradition we should all be willing to leave behind.
