Pastor Fatoyinbo, Senator Abbo and their like: Who would serve us well?

The two truisms: ‘There is nothing hidden under the sun’ and ‘Every day for the thief, one day for the owner’ were more pronounced these past few weeks in Nigeria’s existential and media spaces. Thanks to the ubiquitous social media that has proven more efficient in fishing out criminals than the security and judicial apparatuses of the country. These days, social media is the last hope for the common man as long as truth and social justice are concerned.

Unfortunately, the General Overseer of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), Abiodun Fatoyinbo, and the senator representing Adamawa North, Elisha Abbo, came under the prying eyes of these restless media. Interestingly, these two men seem to have undue inclination towards women. Basically, this rendition is not aimed at judging these men and others like them. Rather, it is aimed at condemning their acts which were not only crimes against humanity, but have also put a lingering question mark on Nigeria’s common morality.

Abiodun Fatoyinbo, the dashing COZA pastor, was the first to stir up the national dust. Actress Busola Dakolo, in collaboration with her husband Timi Dakolo, was the reason the pastor met his pastoral waterloo after being accused of raping Mrs Dakolo twice when she was a teenager, and later attempted another rape on her when she was babysitting his son. It is not easy for a woman to exhume her excruciating past just for publicity sake, which made the rape allegations against the pastor more real than fiction.

Unluckily for the pastor, the allegations of Mrs Dakolo against him were tips of the iceberg. In 2013, Ese Walter confessed that the pastor manipulated her sexually, but nobody seemed to believe her then. In fact, she was accused of trying to destroy the church. However, with the recent development, two other women have surfaced with similar sexual assault perpetrated on them allegedly by Fatoyinbo.

First, was a lady identified as Franca E. Franca told a sordid story of how the pastor wanted to have sex with her in a hotel room in Lagos, after telling her defamatory stories about his wife. Second, was a lady identified as ‘X’. According to the story, Ms X once took care of the pastor’s children abroad where the church has a branch. Ms X, who regarded the pastor as a mentor and spiritual leader, said the alleged rape shook her and forced her to re-evaluate everything she knew about God and Pentecostal Christianity. One hopes another woman would not come up with another rape allegation against the pastor.

The worrying aspect of these allegations is that the pastor has not come up publicly to announce to his church and to Nigerians where he stands in these allegations. On the other hand, Mr and Mrs Dakolo, and the other women accusing the pastor of rape, should go to the police and to the court to seek justice. This should not be another rape accusation that would be swept under the carpet. This case should be one that would help Nigerians understand the dangers rapists—clergy or not—pose to the society and why the perpetrators should not be at large.

Up North, Senator Elisha Abbo surprised Nigerians in a CCTV footage where he was caught physically maltreating a nursing mother in a adult toy shop in Abuja on May 11, nearly three months after he became a senator-elect and a month before he was sworn in on June 11. His victory in the last election was a sign that there is hope in the Not-too-young-to-rule struggle. The viral footage—despite his alleged threat to the nursing mother and to the shop owners not to go public with his barbaric act—has dwarfed any hope the elites and the elderly have in youths’ political and leadership capabilities.

It seems the damage the footage did to the senator was not enough. Just one week after the footage satiated the media space, reports have emerged shedding floodlights into his past. First, was story by the immediate younger sister of his late wife who alleged that he battered his late wife. Second, was a story by Tayo Owolabi, a one-time official photojournalist to former Governor Fayose of Ekiti State and former business associate of the embattled senator. Owolabi alleged that Abbo, who owed him 2.8 million naira, refused to pay him his money, threatened his life, ordered his orderly to beat him up and locked him in a police station.

When the footage hit public space, Abbo immediately denied his actions in it, saying it was doctored. Which part was doctored? Was the part he was slapping the nursing mother or the part he was bullying the shop owner or the part he ordered his robotic security personnel to arrest the women? Recent reports about the senator suggest he has a questionable past. It is good news that the Senate and the police are investigating the matter. One hopes that justice would prevail and not averted.

When Mohandas Gandhi was asked what his message to the world was, he answered, “My life is my message.” These days, it is almost impossible to find any Nigerian clergy or politician who is humane and whose life is worthy of emulation. They think they are above the law and live as if they have nothing to lose. In ‘The Fire Next Time’, James Baldwin wrote, “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to loss. You do not need ten such men. Only one would do.” If, to a greater extent, Baldwin’s quote encapsulates many Nigerian public servants, then: Who would serve us well? When clergies and politicians perceive themselves as demigods and abuse the trust and hope the citizenry invest in them, then: Who would serve us will?

It is unfortunate how power, money and sex have occupied important positions in public leadership and service to humanity. Many Nigerian clergies and politicians are not only serial abusers of the commonwealth, but are also serial abusers of their congregations and electorate. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” Mrs Dakolo’s confessions and the sex shop footage are the best things that have happened to Nigeria’s contemporary society. They have started a movement, like the #MeToo Movement, that would give women the courage to expose barbaric men and women alike. And, thanks to social media that gave unparalleled momentum to their voices.

It is imperative to conclude this reflection by quoting Jules Ormont, who said, “A great leader never sets himself above his followers, except in carrying responsibilities.” Nigerians have suffered a lot in the names of religion and politics, and women are usually the victims of these religio-political interplay. If Nigeria has in short supply the kind of leaders Ormont had in mind and in large supply the likes of Pastor Abiodun Fatoyinbo and Senator Elisha Abbo, then: Who would serve us well?

Kingsley Alumona is with the Nigerian Tribune