2Face Idibia: Musician turned protester

If the legendary Afrobeat King, FelaAnikulapoKuti, were alive, perhaps, he could have teamed up with TwofaceIdiabia to press home the essence of good governance by those currently in power.
Fela, in his  hey -days , was always a lone ranger and he took on the military from his KalakutaRepubic under OBJ’s regime. During that bloody encounter the buildings housing his Shrine were torched and burnt down, with his mother thrown down from the storey building.
Today, coming from an innocuous corner from a young man who has become a pop-star in his own right, the Benue born TufaceIdibia had summoned the courage to organise what he called sensitization protests in Lagos and Abuja over the deteriorating quality of life of Nigerians.
Looking slim and clean shaven, this fragile looking music maker, hails from Benue State.
Despite the Lagos state government’s threat to ban his protest, 2Face had told Nigerians to be dressed in green. And that the protests will take place almost simultaneously in Lagos,8 am and 9am in Abuja.
In a previous video TufaceIdibia has mentioned the lack of electricity, and joblessness saying ‘There is plenty of money in this country for everybody to chop and belleful’
The protests have no political colloration but to tell the governments at all levels to provide for the basic needs of the people.
The Commissioner of Police Lagos state, Mr. FataiOwosenia said that 2Face does not have the capacity to control hoodlums who might hijack the protests and cause mayhem, promising the police will not fold its arms and allow misguided miscreants to cause trouble.
Legal minds quoted sections of the Constitution-section 39 of the 1999 Constitution granted freedom of expression, the right to be heard  and  to disseminate information,even as section 38 gave the right to Nigerians freedom of association and peaceful assembly.
All in all, it is the patriotic duty of the police to ensure a hitch- free peaceful assembly and protests and fish out the trouble makers from the crowd of protesters.
Any attempt to have clamped down on such peaceful protests would tantamount to a breach of the fundamental rights of citizens to peacefully protest their grievances.
It was heartening to hear that the Presidency had agreed that it was not against the right of Nigerians to peaceful protest.
The scenario where former musicians, many of whom had been friendly to the former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and today are in disarray, it would have been impossible for the entire body of artistes to team up with TufaceIdibia.
For whatever the protests are worth, it is the symbolic significance of the display by a musician, who has fires in his stomach, cannot be held back until he has done what his mind tells him.
In fact, it does not need a TufaceIdibia to alert the authorities that there is hunger in the country.
In a democracy, fundamental human rights might not permit law enforcement agencies like the Police to want to stop a peaceful protest. But if criminals infiltrated such protests, the Police will be justified to fish them out and deal with them appropriately.
TufaceIdibia, by this pronouncement for a protest had written his name in letters of gold and whether the security operatives would truncate the protests is a matter for February 6, 2017 to decide.
And if he is arrested by the security operatives they would only make a living martyr out of him and great dent on the image of the country where dissents are promptly torpedoed.
Coming from the Middle Benue, especially, Benue state where the killings at Agato farmers and their villages had been overrun by Fulani herdsmen , there could be some ill- feelings by a distraught TufaceIdibia, whose meteoric rise to stardom and fame had  brought him wealth  and mass popularity.
Over the past few years, he has become a popular ladies man and fathered many children. Such is the life of a music star and when compared with ‘EbamiEda’-FelaAnikulapoKuti, who married 27 wives in one fell swoop on same day, TufaceIdibia, is happily married to his one wife.
When one recalls the lyrics of ‘THE AFRICANQUEEN’ we know he is a lover boy liked and admired by the ladies and the younger generation.
The best thing for the security to do is let him be. TufaceIdibia is no threat to the system rather he is a friend to all who loves the good things of life.
If we love democracy we should not put hurdles on the path of TUFACE IDIBIA a rising star whose time had come for him to stand up and be counted.Let the Lagos and Abuja protests be peaceful to honourTUFACE IDIBIA, the Afro pop singer and crooner.