Fighting Words

Prince Harry has recently been flagellated in the media for using a racist term: he called a colleague a ‘paki’ a supposedly derogatory term of reference for people from Pakistan. At first, I thought ‘what’s the big deal’, after all ‘paki’ is merely short for ‘Pakistani’, besides I also felt sorry for the young Prince who always seems to put his foot in it and has barely been forgiven for wearing a swastika armband to a party in 2005. “What about his freedom of expression?” I wondered especially since in the video he obviously used the term without malice and in the statement released by the Palace, ‘paki’ was the nickname for this particular highly popular member of his platoon.

But on further thought, I realised two things. One: the word ‘nigger’ is generally accepted to be derogatory even though it is a derivative of ‘Negroe’ and two: when it comes to freedom of speech or expression, public figures such as politicians, royalty, public officers, celebrities, et al are held to higher standards of responsibility.

However in Nigeria that is rarely the case. Although ‘freedom of expression’ is guaranteed in Section 38 of the 1999 constitution and has been a feature of all our constitutions, the truth is there has not been enough jurisprudential and social development of this particular right.

There are two aspects of freedom of expression which we do not scrutinise enough. The first is the actual protection of this right of expression which has been trampled upon for a long time, most recently and publicly in September 2008 when the operating license for Channels Television was suspended for the allegedly false report that President Yar’adua might resign from office.

There was a lot of media attention – but only because the rights of a member of the Nigerian media had been trampled upon. However when bloggers of sites like Elendu Reports and huhu online were detained by the SSS upon their entry into the country in late last year, allegedly for sedition and not for what they say about the President or his administration on their blogs, there was hardly a murmur. Similarly, when in response to a question the Chairman and Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria alluded to the slow pace of the current administration - an issue which is widely referred to by local and international media and serves as easy fodder for cartoonist, he was flayed by the oil and gas sector unions for being disrespectful about the President of Nigeria and made to apologise.

The second aspect of freedom of expression which needs more attention is the category under which Prince Harry seems to be doing badly – the responsibility of public figures in influencing public perception or behaviour with their speech. If he can get into trouble for playfully calling his colleague a paki, then when public figures, leaders and the media say things which are likely to inflame or distort – then they too should be held accountable. The Rwandan Genocide rode on the use of words to raise suspicion, cause hatred, divide and eventually incite violence – what I call ‘fighting words’.

On our own shores, the war of words currently being played out in the media between two former governors of Oyo, a state which seems to be troubled by political issues can only serve to incite violence. Likewise as we, a people plagued with religious violence and intolerance, watch the federal versus state power tussle arising from the recent tragedy Jos, a statement by the President of the Northern Christian Elders Forum that the Federal Government’s officials and members of the probe committee have ‘clearly exposed its bias against Christians’ could rightly be seen as inflammatory. Yet the media merely reports these facts without castigation or analysis and unlike in Prince Harry’s case where the public is generally outraged, we just calmly go about our business, oblivious of the power of words to erupt into chaos.

Our jurisprudence and public discourse on the rights and obligations which come with the freedom of expression could be a lot more robust and only more debate and challenge can aid this development. I saw a fridge magnet sold in a store in the United States which had a picture of George W. Bush and the words ‘daddy’s little war criminal’ underneath. Can you imagine anything similar being sold in Nigeria? In thriving democracies, TV shows such as Spitting Image, Saturday Night Live, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart are heavy with content taking on politicians and public figures – using the freedom of expression banner to criticise and make fun of them, helping them to see a more realistic picture of themselves than their public relations officers allow. In Nigeria, there is very little in the media apart from the occasional cartoon which gives politicians and public figures a true idea of how the public sees them or perceives their actions and utterances. Maybe when Nigerian politicians stop taking themselves so seriously and stop arresting bloggers for highlighting the foibles of family members, we can start to really express ourselves and begin the debate required for balanced and responsible freedom of expression.

Published January 20 2009