By Shu’aibu Usman Leman
When Dauda Kahutu Rarara released his latest song targeting the former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, I knew it would set the wires humming. Across Northern Nigeria, the track has unleashed a torrent of debate. Some have hauled over the coals the deeply personal nature of the lyrics, whilst others shrug it off as par for the course in our notoriously boisterous political theatre.
For me, however, the episode goes far beyond a mere musical spat; it forces us to confront some uncomfortable truths about the very nature of partisan politics in our country.
Let us be clear: public criticism ought always to be anchored in responsibility, fairness, and mutual respect. Yet, we do ourselves no favours if we ignore the gritty environment in which political actors must sink or swim.
Politics is simply not a playground for the thin-skinned. The moment anyone steps into the arena of partisan politics, they sign up for an unsparing regimen of intense scrutiny, unrelenting criticism, biting satire, and, on occasion, outright hostility.
Professor Pantami, much like any other public figure, is entirely entitled to be treated with dignity. But political engagement carries a heavy baggage of consequences. Those who choose to walk those corridors must accept that praise from loyal supporters will inevitably be counterbalanced by brickbats from opponents, columnists, and an unforgiving public. Rarara’s song is, in many ways, a crude reflection of that very reality.
That said, acknowledging how harsh our political discourse can be must never be mistaken for condoning it.
Our artists, musicians, and public commentators wield considerable influence, and with that comes a profound moral duty.
Criticism hits its mark and achieves its highest value when it interrogates policies, scrutinises leadership decisions, and evaluates public conduct. It loses all credibility when it descends into petty attempts to trash a person’s reputation through personal venom or groundless allegations.
Nigerian politics has, for as long as I can remember, been defined by fierce rivalries, raw emotions, and personalised combat. It is an arena where fair comment and unfair mudslinging tumble together in the dust.
To expect our political contests to be entirely sanitised of sharp words or provocative expressions is to blind ourselves to the reality of our political culture.
Even so, recognising that this is how things are does not let us off the hook. We retain a collective duty to champion decency and truth.
Where should our focus lie, then? Surely not in attempting to muzzle musicians or police political commentary. Instead, we must pour our energy into building a healthier political culture where substantive ideas, tangible achievements, performance records, and concrete policies take centre stage.
Music has always been a magnificent instrument for shaping public opinion; it should be harnessed to drive accountability, civic awareness, and national cohesion, rather than being weaponised to deepen fractures through character assassination.
We must also reckon with the phenomenon of praise-singing. It is utterly unacceptable for political megaphones to be given free rein to cast malicious, baseless aspersions on individuals merely because they happen to cross paths with their paymasters’ political ambitions.
Blind loyalty must never become a passport to defamation and reckless vilification. In this instance, I believe Rarara seriously misjudged the limits of responsible commentary—a troubling trend we must discourage if we genuinely desire a civil, issue-driven democracy.
For me , anyone choosing to tread the path of partisan politics must reconcile themselves with a fundamental trade-off, that criticism, including the sort that makes you wince, is part of the admission fee.
But those of us who sit in the grandstands offering that criticism have an equal obligation to ensure our words are anchored in fact, fairness, and respect for human dignity. Striking that delicate balance is the only way Nigeria will ever nurture a mature, civilised democratic discourse.
Leman is a former National Secretary of Nigeria Union of Journalists-NUJ.
