October 31, 2019

The arrest and public humiliation, via parading in handcuffs, of two ladies for claiming to be pregnant from Davido, the singer, is a clear abuse of power.

Davido is a public figure, a celebrity and an artist. He placed his private life in the public domain through his endless public displays of his private life, such as his romance with his girlfriend, Chioma, his buying of an expensive car for Chioma, the giving of birth, presumably out of wedlock, by Chioma to Davido's son. Davido made and caused to be made endless posts on social media about his life, including exaggerated and false claims about his fame and success.

It is normal that such celebrities and performing artists excite all manner of reactions from fans and followers on the stage and outside. Fans fantasize about them. There is really nothing extraordinary about young women claiming to have had liaisons with stars - rock stars and movie starts. Thousands of women claimed that Michael Jackson visited them in their dreams. Indeed, that is part of the standard experience of celebrities.

There is no harm caused to Davido by a mere claim on social media by a girl that she had an affair with him. The sisters did not accuse him of raping them. They did not accuse him of committing any crime. They did not demand money from him. They did not blackmail him. They did not file for child support. They did not provide any factual details to try to convince anybody that they were telling the truth. All the sisters did was to make a joke about a rock star who was occupying their social media space. At the very best, the only person to be mildly irritated by this joke is Chioma. And Chioma's irritation would come either from her sense of insecurity with Davido or her belief that he is so promiscuous that the joke might not have been a joke.

To place a bounty on the heads of the ladies is a sign of exceptional readiness to flaunt power and money. To have them arrested when no clear crime could be said to have been committed is a violation of their rights. To parade them publicly as criminals is an extreme abuse. And to do all this just to please Chioma is a callous display of arrogance, power drunkenness and insensitivity.  These women had apologized publicly for any inconvenience caused and they said it was a joke. A mild rebuke on social media would have been enough.

It is particularly troubling to realize that the parading of the women was done, not by the police, but by a private citizen. That is unlawful.  The fact that Davido is related to a political family is further disturbing because inevitably one must wonder the environment in which Davido was raised. Is this the kind of behavior his Senator and Governor uncle would consider proper?

If Nigerians allow Davido to get away with this, more people who feel they are powerful enough would repeat it in other varying circumstances. And if this continues unchecked, time shall come when ordinary citizens will become too afraid to make jokes about public figures and officials. Yet we know that the right of the common man to make jokes about public figures is an indispensable part of any free society.

For the above reasons, DPA condemns as wrong the sequence of power display that culminated in the shaming of these sisters. Also, DPA reaches out to those holding and intimidating these girls to cease and desist. DPA will gladly assist these girls if they request help with the enforcement of their fundamental rights.

NOTE:

 

This is to be shared on Twitter and DPA Rambo Facebook page, in case you want to share it. Also, DPA will provide support and assistance to the sisters to end the ordeal they are currently going through. At the same time, we warn people to be careful about the sort of claims they make on social media. If you want to joke about things like pregnancies, let it be known it is a joke, especially when you know that people are taking you seriously.