Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s refusal to bend over Akpabio’s oppression tactics is a sign that she understands freedom. And she understands she is a free person.
Natasha was denied her rights in the Senate, leaving her with no option but to become an outlaw against the leadership. The Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions repeatedly changed the interpretation of Senate Standing Orders to block Natasha’s petition against Senate President Akpabio. Conspicuously, this committee is chaired by Neda Imasuen of the Labour Party. The vice-chair is Ibrahim Khalid of the PDP—same as Natasha.
The presence of opposition senators like this is why people say Natasha’s oppression would not have been as successful without co-conspirators. According to the document seen on social media, both the chairman and the vice-chairman of the ethics committee have signed to endorse Natasha’s suspension. Many other PDP senators on the committee also endorsed her suspension. Despite these tactics, Natasha’s persistence is succeeding, as the event has caught global attention. Renowned lawyers like Falana call the suspension illegal.
Let’s not forget that Akpabio succeeded in suspending Senator Abdul Ningi a few months ago, and the Senate chamber accepted the decision without any challenge. And it is under his leadership that Nigerians were wowed by his immoral comments. One example is his patronising joke during Mrs Ojukwu’s ministerial screening, “Who touched my Bianca?” The fact that Akpabio and the members of the 10th Senate cannot understand this shows that they are out of touch with contemporary ethical standards.
Natasha’s suspension has worryingly divided public opinion. Nigerians have abandoned morality and respect for the rule of law, choosing partisan politics instead. And when Nigerians begin questioning the oppressed rather than the oppressor, you know hope is surely lost.
Former Senate president Bukola Saraki cautioned Akpabio not to politicise or trivialise Natasha’s call for due process. But will he stop? After all, the only beneficiary of this chaos is Akpabio—who refuses to subject himself to scrutiny.
Disappointingly, females, serving and former senators like Remi Tinubu, Ita Giwa and Ireti Kingibe of LP, got involved in castigating Natasha. The First Lady sarcastically stated that the Senate is a place for mature minds, not a place for controversy, forgetting her disorderly moments with Dino during her stint as a Senator. In Bisi Fayemi’s words, their utterances were “extremely disappointing.”
The most despicable comment came from the Deputy Chief Whip, APC’s Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, who defamed her by asserting that she has six children with different men. This insinuates she lacks the credibility to allege harassment or that she is unattractive enough to be sexually harassed. He is wrong. But with unhinged individuals like this voted into power, some will conclude that Nigeria is getting the kind of governance it deserves.
Alongside these deranged politicians, some disorganised social media groups deflected the discussion by promoting a negative narrative: Natasha’s party, PDP, and the 36 out of 109 senators are to blame for not publicly supporting Natasha. No, I disagree. Of course, the PDP has released a statement and Atiku has too. On the contrary, some will point to the endorsements by her fellow PDP senators. Still, this is not an excuse to take a defeatist position as was done for Ningi.
This is a case of expecting cornfield slaves to sing while they work. In a sane society, the responsibility to support Natasha should be collective, not just left to one group or party. Blaming people’s errors or lukewarm attitudes is a distraction. Instead, people should be challenging APC and LP for shielding a person accused of sexual harassment.
People make excuses for the lawmakers that they are oppressed in the National Assembly. For example, Shehu Sani recently narrated his ordeal. Some are submissive to financial gains, some are greedy, while some are genuinely oppressed. In some cases, lawmakers fail to recognise they are being oppressed, and those who are aware are scared to act.
When people are afraid, they lose all capacity for analysis and reflection. The fear of potential loss freezes their ability to think positively. We can conclude that the system has compromised. But should that be the ideal scenario? People should never be the property of other people.
The way forward is to focus on Akpabio for refusing to face investigation and for silencing Natasha’s petition. Again, we must remember that this is not the first time someone has accused Akpabio of sexual harassment. The former acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Dr Joi Nunieh, once claimed she slapped Akpabio for sexually harassing her when he was a Minister.
As a collective, conscientious society, we must stay focused. All political parties with honourable principles must instruct their senators to support the petition against Akpabio’s harassment. Nigerians must collectively do whatever is necessary to ensure that the 10th Senate does not legalise sexual harassment. Protests should be the beginning. The emphasis must be on Akpabio’s alleged wrongdoing and the senators who endorsed Natasha’s suspension.
Allowing any distraction to lead the narrative will only embolden the oppression in the National Assembly. Yes, the ruling party has realised that Nigerians get used to anything. In this situation, they conditioned public opinion to take a defeatist approach by talking less about Akpabio’s oppression of Natasha and discussing more about her attitude. Even Reno Omokri came with his own rhetoric, forgetting the timeline he brought was when he was under accusation of identity theft as Wendell Simlin by an American woman.
As people get distracted by divisive rhetoric, tolerance for this oppression grows. Like budget padding, people will not take sexual assault allegations seriously in the future. God forbid we see that day in this lifetime. But if we let them succeed today, it could be you or me tomorrow.
Je suis Natasha—We are all Natasha!!!
