Nigerians have had more than a fair share of sordid political drama since last week from the Senate of Nigeria’s National Assembly.
At the centre of the unfortunate theatre is the Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan representing Kogi Central. Since Senator Natasha was directed to her seat in a rejigged process which she found unacceptable, there have been no peace in the Upper legislative chamber.
To say the least, Senate President Akpabio went overboard in his position in the manner in which he not only dismissed Senator Natasha, but ordering the Sergeant-at-Arms to walk her out of plenary.
The fallout of what should have been managed with tact has become a national discourse. Immediately the matter was referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges for investigation, Senator Natasha dropped a telling allegation: she was a victim of sexual harassment and intimidation by Senator Akpabio.
Before her accusation could be digested, wife of the Senate President, Ekaette Akpabio, came out swinging in defending her husband and demanding N250 billion in damages and sundry remedies for defamation.
Not to be outdone, the husband of Senator Natasha, High Chief Emmanuel Uduaghan, joined the fray and claimed to have counselled the embattled Senator President from harassing his wife.
The expectation of majority of Nigerians is for our politicians to be good persons and act morally. But regrettably, this expectation is farfetched as they continually fail to live up to our expectations.
It is no longer a matter of debate that that many of our politicians are corrupt, self-serving and, at best, amoral.
They cheat, lie, obfuscate, and avoid answering important questions and rarely, if ever, accept responsibility for their errors or the bad things they do.
There is hardly a moral paradigm by which they go by. It is no longer a subject of conjecture of the immoral and pervasive exploitation that happens in our national arena. Meetings are held at ungodly hours and female politicians are disadvantaged in this and other regards.
It has become urgent to question if the National Assembly have a policy on sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment? If it does, what does the policy spell out in such a matter? If the National Assembly does not have one, it has become urgent that such a policy is put in place after all, there have been muted allegations of pervasive sexual harassment and abuse in an institution that should be hallowed.
To do otherwise is to undermine the people as always and piss on the accountability of those who have been given the peoples’ mandate to set example and demonstrate integrity.
It is without doubt that many a politician act in ways that they know will erode their likeability, question their moral probity, and diminish our trust in them.
To remedy the ugly scenario, The Abuja Inquirer aligns with former Senate President Bukola Saraki who noted that; “Every person who has had anything to do with the National Assembly, particularly as a leader, member, or worker, should always jealously protect the values that make the institution the numero uno among the three arms of government.”
All parties ought to exercise restraint and ensure that their actions do not further damage the Senate’s image. But in so doing, we call for a transparent probe and all parties should subject themselves to the laws of the senate and most importantly, country.
Nobody should be treated as a sacred cow, and no attempt should be made to handle this politically as sex crimes are not to be treated lightly. To hold the mighty and powerful accountable serves as a more potent elixir to discouraging others from such crime and misdemeanours.
