Mahdi, the message or the messenger?- Bala Ibrahim

From the Mahdi Shehu saga of recent weeks, a big brouhaha is brewing, and one that is capable of putting a question mark on the credibility of the president’s war against corruption. The way and manner the issue is handled can make or mar the meaning of integrity, at least as understood by some Nigerians.

Mahdi Shehu is making headlines in the news now, after blowing the whistle against the governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, of squandering a large chunk of the state’s resources.

But miffed by Mahdi’s message, the governor took the matter to the court of legal opinion for adjudication. And Mahdi has since been in detention, pending when he meets the bail conditions given to him by the court.

On the other hand, by virtue of Mahdi’s manifest melodrama in court, which has since graduated to slapstick, the issue is concurrently under trial at the public court, where many, including yours truly, are taking part either as the prosecutor, the judge or both.

Here, no bail conditions are given, but a faceless group has come forward to secure his bail, under the hashtag, #FREEMAHDI#. Their campaign reads, He exposed high-level corruption but end up in captivity. Why is the government that is fighting corruption silent?

As a participant in the trial at the public court, I have passed a verdict of guilty on Mahdi, because his displayed conduct in court, vis a vis some comments, have combined to put him short of my own meaning of morality.

Read Also:The morale in the message of Mahdi’s mischief-Bala Ibrahim

If the dictionary says morality revolves around the principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong, or good and bad behaviour, then my marking for Mahdi on morality is zero, going by what I saw of him in the hyped videos circulating on social media.

A friend inboxed me thus, “Although I may not necessarily join the chorus of those who might allude some hard-line stance on Mahdi, there is no doubt it betrays our deep-rooted resentment of the person.

I haven’t yet seen any of the referred videos & may not even want to, but truth is, I haven’t ever read you carpeting public Officeholders alleged to have committed more grievous wrongs, often bordering on corruption, than Mahdi. People who committed serious alleged criminalities. You often have been very soft on officeholders, to the point of soothing their egos. Mahdi’s wrongs, if any, were civil, not criminal.

The normal procedure is, if he is believed to have made a wrongful allegation against Masari, his SSG & other functionaries,  they should go to court to seek enforcement for wrongful character defamation. What brings in the issue of needless detention by Police & DSS?

It’s undoubtedly an assault at his fundamental right. It is wrong & unacceptable, regardless of how much writers who see things differently will want the world to believe.”

While I commend and show admiration with respect to this friend, whom I know to be very uneconomical with the truth, I must also draw his attention to what I hear from some of my lawyer friends. One told me that, prosecution of offences is conducted by government-employed or appointed officials on behalf of the State.

And in Nigeria, the police are the ones empowered for arraignment, where recent legislation introduced into one of the 21 states of the country, has partially abolished the right of private prosecution, except in relation to the offence of perjury.

So going by the above, if truly that’s the case, no one but the police is to arraign and prosecute Mahdi, for slander, libel or defamation, all of which fall under illegal acts.

Another group is accusing me of mixing the message with the messenger. In other words, they want me to look at the message conveyed by Mahdi, which they believe is unimpeachable, and ignore his antecedents of ignominy.

Here again, comes a case in conflict with the principles of fair play and the maxim of equity, both of which have the ambition of preventing any recovery for the person with “unclean hands,” no matter how unfairly the person’s adversary has treated him.

If I understand the English language well enough, it means baring relief for anyone guilty of improper conduct is at variance with the aim of equity. And if indeed Mahdi Shehu’s character is improper as alleged, then he cannot escape from the obligation or liability imposed on others. The message must be read through the prism of the messenger.

Like religion, it is a pure and sacred message from the deity, conveyed through pious messengers, to put the public on the path of purity. If the Quran had questioned the purity of Jesus(AS), real Muslims would not believe him as the precursor or forerunner to the Islamic prophet Muhammad (SAW). Had any of the prophets been charged with the failure to observe standards of honesty or modesty in the conveyance of the words of God, non of the messages would have been accepted as the Revelation.

Such is the ill of improper behaviour or character, and Mahdi is mentioned as a certified custodian of misconduct. Why then should one take his message and disregard his misconducts?

If indeed the allegations against the governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, and all the officials there mentioned can be proven by people of credible characters, I would be on the forefront of those that would call for their prosecution and ultimate conviction.

But from what I hear about Mahdi’s antecedents, I cannot buy a second-hand car from him, because my conscience would not be comfortable with its history.

Until brought forward by a person of superior integrity, Mahdi’s message against Masari is in the same mess with him as the messenger.

Ibrahim, a media advisor writes from Abuja.