The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has just betrayed the Nigerian tendency. Nigeria, more or less, approximates to a cult group. It is a country run by a tiny cabal whose stock in trade is to coerce and co-opt as many outsiders as it can into its secret den. The typical Nigerian, not governed by any known abiding standard, usually falls prey to the machinations of the cult culture that rules and reigns in Nigeria.
If there is anything that has exposed the underbelly of the Nigerian Senate, it is the running battle between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio. Natasha and Godswill have not been the best of friends for reasons that were best known to both of them. But the cold war that had been brewing between them graduated into a drag-out fight recently. Natasha had, against all odds, called the bluff of Akpabio and his shenanigans. But rather than deal with Natasha’s defiance in line with the rules of the Senate, Akpabio chose to make lewd remarks that called Natasha’s integrity and moral standing to question. Consequently, Natasha, the hitherto caged bird, could not be contained anymore. She blurted out. She told everyone that was paying attention that the bone of contention between her and Godswill was that of sexual harassment. Thus, a covetous Godswill, as packaged and sold by Natasha, was stripped naked in the public.
If the Nigerian Senate were to be a public institution, which it is supposed to be, the spat between Natasha and Godswill would have been disquieting. It would have given the legislative chamber an opportunity to look at itself in the mirror.
Natasha blew the lid on Akpabio and that should have provided the Senate some raw materials to work with. Was Natasha right or wrong? A proper public institution ought to be interested in a matter that impinges on the integrity of its leadership.
Again, the Senate should have taken interest in why Akpabio chose to talk about the anatomical features of a female senator rather than disagree with her on matters of principle. Was it decent for him to have indulged in such ribaldry? Seeking answers to questions such as this would have given the Senate an opportunity for self-cleansing.
But the Senate did not do any of these. In fact, it was not interested in them. It brushed the cobwebs woven around Akpabio aside and chose, instead, to focus on what Natasha had done to its rules. By so doing, the Senate left the substance of the matter before it and chose to chase shadows. In the end, it made Natasha an orphan. Everybody deserted her.
If no senator stood by or with Natasha publicly, it is because the typical Nigerian politician is a fair-weather personality. Certainly, there must be one or two senators who have sympathy for Natasha. But none was bold enough to stand by her. Such wholesale desertion is in the nature of the Nigerian. He must jump unto the victory bandwagon. He does not identify with the losing side, no matter how genuine the cause.
What is happening at the Senate is a reflection of the present state of affairs in the country. The Nigerian state is under acquisition. It was acquired, by whatever means, by Bola Tinubu and his men. Godswill Akpabio, the President of the Senate, is a frontline member of this club of conquistadors. He was there when the plot to acquire Nigeria was hatched. As a matter of fact, the position he occupies today at the National Assembly was already reserved for him before the voodoo of February 25, 2023. They know members of their gang, wherever they may be. They are the people for whom Nigeria is working today.
But there is a struggle by those outside the group to belong. That frenetic quest for relevance was what played out on the floor of the Senate recently. Anybody who did not support the plot to shield Akpabio from the weighty allegations levelled against him will be branded an enemy of the Tinubu administration. In the Tinubu disorder, injury to one is injury to all. To injure Akpabio is to injure Tinubu. Who wants to confront the menacing squad that is leading Nigeria to its preferred destination? Therefore, if Natasha has to be abandoned for the army of senators struggling to gain entry into the inner room to have their way, so be it.
The conquistadors are not only at the centre, they have spread their tentacles to the states. In the states, governors are falling over themselves to be identified with Tinubu.
Those who do not belong or are suspected to be disloyal to the administration are getting the Siminalayi Fubara treatment in Rivers State. The plot is to teach the governor how not to be independent-minded in a country that is being presided over by hounds. In the same way, if Osun State is unstable, it is because the governor, Ademola Adeleke, does not belong. Disloyal chief executives like him can never be allowed to sleep with their two eyes closed.
Let us recall that, before Natasha, we had Senators Ali Ndume and Abdul Ningi. Their collective experiences point to one thing. Senators are being taught a lesson in when and how not to be disloyal to the ruling clique. Since Ndume and Ningi got the baptism of fire for saying what they were not permitted to say in a regimented order such as Nigeria’s, they have gone into their shells, having learnt their lessons the hard way. But there is a difference. Unlike Ndume and Ningi, Natasha’s case borders on the institution of the Senate. Akpabio, strictly speaking, has a case to answer. If ours were a proper country, the Senate would have investigated the allegations against him. But who can dare that? Who can pry into the affairs of the secret club that is holding Nigeria hostage? Nobody. Instead, Akpabio, in the manner of a peacock, is prancing about, making a joke of the whole incident. He has relegated what is supposed to be a serious national issue to the level of comedy.
The fortress that Akpabio occupies today reminds us of what obtained during the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidency. As President, Obasanjo toyed with the institution of the Senate. He plotted and removed presidents of the Senate at will. The likes of Evan Enwerem, Chuba Okadigbo and Adolphus Wabara lost their positions at the pleasure of the President. Today, Tinubu’s approach is different from Obasanjo’s musical chairs. Tinubu’s is to ensure that the soul of the acquired entity remains firmly in the hands of the conquerors. Natasha, from what we have seen, has revolted against this perfidious order. Is anybody paying attention to what she is doing? Will anybody ever listen?