Kogi Central: Should this Loss of Voice Be Sustained? »

By Shaibu Ajanaku

It is evident that the self-imposed crises of ego that engulfed the suspended Senator who ought to represent Kogi Central Senatorial District have exposed the real enemies of the constituency. These enemies are those who encouraged her to fight on and flagrantly disobey the rules of the Senate. While the crisis which has taken a novel dimension to the detriment of the constituents was at a budding stage, there was a plethora of voices of reason that called for caution on the part of the Senator who seemed to have given up herself to be used as a pawn in the larger political chess game of the country.

A former Governor of Edo State and now Senator, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole (APC) had at the time joined voices with Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue) to enlighten Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on the need to apologize to the Senate as an institution which she has desecrated through her unruly attitude and uncouth utterances. These politically sagacious lawmakers spoke not from the position of political affiliations, but from a standpoint of the need to maintain the sanctity of the Senate which is more powerful than any individual. Their appeal fell on dead ears and haters of Kogi Central Constituents who are now called “Gullible and Hungry” cheered her on for self-damnation.

Indeed, she alleges must proof and time have exposed the real reason for the unnecessary drama that is being implemented by Senator Natasha. From mindless accusation of the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio of attempting to copulate with her in the presence of her husband, to public declaration that the same Senate President has perfected plans with former Governor Yahaya Bello to eliminate her, the Federal Government has found it obligatory to sue her to prove her allegations with ‘concrete evidence’ which she claimed are in her possession.

In all these, I am at sea as to whose interest was she representing at the Senate. It is almost three months that Kogi Central Senatorial District has no representative at the Senate and gullible supporters seem to be at peace with it. Should this loss of voice be sustained as our suspended Senator continues to dwell on pettiness and unsubstantiated claims? Nobody is infallible and what a simple ‘sorry’ can solve rather than a thoughtless childish satirical apology, has now snowballed into rendering the Kogi Central Senatorial seat vacant at the National Assembly. Senator Natasha threw caution to the wind and forgot that in a battle where “rights” and “peace” are options for resolution, a good representative of the people is supposed to embrace peace if the ego is not at work. This is because he who fights and runs to fight another day is a rational fighter who has skillfully displayed his strength in humility.

At a point in the political history of the country when Kogi State is blessed with a Minister for Steel Development, is it appropriate for Senator Natasha to continue to chase shadows that have no direct benefits for the constituents? As the Ajaokuta Steel bill progresses, the Kogi Central Senator is nowhere to be found for her input and her gullible followers continue their daily rituals of praising her to high heaven for picking fights without caution.

Now, the die is cast and the Federal Government through the Attorney General of the Federal is seeking redress. Former Governor Yahaya Bello, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and others who Senator Natasha maliciously maligned have been listed as witnesses because they are the two major complainants and the people accused of assassination plots.

Let the news making the rounds that the embattled Senator has absconded from Nigeria not be true because this is a golden opportunity for her to prove all the allegations with evidence and possibly retain her army of headless online mobs who have been hynoptised by her mendacious tactics. I urge her to make herself available to authorities for scrutiny because this discreet weaponisation of gender may negatively rub off on women’s participation in politics.