Can we talk about Diddy for a minute or two?
Or, maybe, let’s forget the hip-hop icon with the larger-than-life influence on popular culture and talk about Sean Combs, the man who fell to his knees, mouthed ‘thank you’ to the jury, and walked out of a federal courtroom in the US, acquitted of the most damning charges that could have seen him spend the rest of his life behind bars.
After months of speculation and six weeks of trial, Diddy’s expensively assembled defence team, confident the government hadn’t built a strong enough case to prove he was a racketeering kingpin, spent only 30 minutes in closing to convince the jury. Two lesser counts of transportation to engage in prostitution might still land him in prison for a few years, but it’s a far cry from the life sentence many think he deserves.
Some of his supporters are cheering, claiming vindication. Women’s rights groups are rightly concerned. But here’s what should keep Nigerians and Africans who followed the story up at night, the one that should be screaming from every headline in Lagos and Accra and Jo’burg: Why can’t this happen here? When will this level of accountability become a thing on the continent?
Our leaders, both politically and culturally, are role models, whether they want to be or not, and it is a disservice to society if they remain utterly, completely, infuriatingly untouchable.
While allegations of rape and sexual assault as in Diddy’s case require victims to come forward, what investigations do the authorities conduct? What about the laws they blatantly break in public? Marijuana is still illegal in Nigeria, and God bless you if the Nigerian police catch a gram of weed with you or smell a whiff of smoke during a stop and search. Yet, the likes of Wizkid, Davido, and Burna Boy smoke marijuana openly, in public spaces, without a single repercussion.
We’ve seen accusations of assault and abuse, from regular victims like Seyitan Babatayo who accused the pop star D’banj in 2020; only to back off and disappear after being harassed and humiliated; to the powerful like Senator Natasha Akpoti who continues to fight for her life and career while the actual accused continues to preside over the Nigerian senate. Ghana’s Shatta Wale literally confessed to an alleged rape, in a tweet spree during a Burna Boy fisticuff, and the whole continent laughed and moved on.
You know it, and I know it. We all know it. The anecdotes circulating about specific producers, executives, and celebrities. The truth no one dares say in public. The issues everyone is aware of, yet no one dares speak out, because those who spoke out yesterday only have themselves to blame. It’s taken America quite some time to get to the level of accountability we are now seeing, truth be told.
Am I in a hurry to expect Africa to get there sooner, rather than later?
The government, the society, and the fans – all played a part in allowing Diddy to be prosecuted, even if the outcome wasn’t what many expected. But in Africa, we don’t even get to the prosecution stage for our own “legends” accused of the same or far worse.
This isn’t about pulling down our own; it’s about building a society where justice isn’t a luxury for the privileged few. It’s about demanding accountability, not just from politicians, but from everyone, especially those who shape our culture and influence millions.
Until we demand better, until we hold our own accountable, we will continue to be a society where the law is a suggestion for some and a hammer for others.
And that, friends, is a crime far greater than any single individual offence.
