This David Is No Giant-Slayer

By Abubakar D. Sani, Esq.

No, he isn’t – not by any chance;
And, who, precisely might we be talking about?
That is, beyond the myth as told in the Bible and Quran?
David Hundeyin, of course, our self-appointed crusader

Operating from the rarefied precincts of cyber-space;
And physically detached from his homeland – Nigeria;
His latest polemic is against the makers of Nasco Cornflakes
Which he disingenuously titled ‘Cornflakes for Jihad’

In it, he audaciously challenged his readers;
By alleging that the Nasco cereal they consumed as kids –
Might have indirectly funded the terror group, Boko Haram;
This was laid out his social media handle, “The West Africa Weekly”

A startling allegation, indeed – and it piqued my curiosity;
Prompting me to examine the bases of David’s belief;
They consisted of 5-odd online articles, reports and documents;
Unfortunately, upon perusing them, one came away disappointed

This is because, the said articles and documents –
And a variety of other material freely available –
Simply show that David’s conclusions are untenable;
They lack intellectual rigour and the expected depth

Preferring, instead, a mish-mash of half-truths and outright lies –
He defiantly courts the laws of criminal and civil libel –
By peddling allegations which are as injurious as they are unfounded;
Namely, that Nasco has been sponsoring terrorism overtime

One of the most brazen and destructive allegations ever –
That assertion – first made on the 3rd of October this year –
Had, by the end of that month, gone viral;
With thousands of likes, re-tweets and quotes on Twitter

That was not all – traditional media was not left out;
As Mr. Hundeyin was courted by both TV and radio stations –
Eager to hear directly ‘from the horse’s mouth’;
The media frenzy prompted calls for the boycott of Nasco products

Unsurprisingly, the damage he wrought was incalculable –
In terms of business goodwill, reputation and patronage;
Perhaps, Nasco’s deceased founder even turned in his grave;
It certainly distressed his heirs who are still alive and available

Unfortunately, David did not bother to contact them;
At least, to hear their own version of events;
As he simply went to town as if out to do a hatchet-job;
Well, it is time for him to walk his talk

It is time for his likes to realize –
That the fundamental right to free speech –
Is not a license to destroy other people’s integrity;
No, and that, if you do, be prepared to pay the price

A plethora of laws are available to that end:
The Cyber-crime Act and other criminal laws against defamation;
Not to mention the common law – or judge-made law;
All of which aim to provide victims with redress

For a long time, David has operated as if beholden only to himself;
He has courted controversy and attacked others at will;
And – somewhat surprisingly – he seems to have gotten away with it;
Nasco needs to teach him that it is different from the rest

In other words, if David’s supposed giant-killing skills –
Have emboldened him to think that he is beyond reach –
That illusion needs to be shattered post-haste;
He is simply not a latter-day version of his mythical namesake

Written By Abubakar D. Sani, Esq
8th November 2021