By M.O Ene
Senator Natasha Hadiza Akpoti has become a hot political petrel. A maritime myth about storm petrels is that the seabirds predict weird weather. Mariners imagine them as possessing the souls of sailors lost at sea. Natasha may be forecasting a politically stormy season and embodying the souls of some Nigerian political amazons.
We have given flowers to just few great women of colonial struggles: Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Margaret Ekpo, Gambo Sawaba, Janet Mokelu, Alimotu Pelewura, Oyibo Odinammadu, Kofoworola Ademola, etc. They starred alongside our “founding fathers.”
Onyeka Onwenu gave vent to what many knew but kept mute about the reelected Shagari-Ekwueme administration before Buhari-Idiagbon cabal struck. Her findings featured in _“Nigeria: A Squandering of Riches”_ (1984), an acclaimed BBC/NTA documentary.
The Obasanjo-Atiku administration registered great economic successes because of the coordination of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iwuala. Where many men would have melted away or joined the feeding frenzy, she stood firm and made Nigeria Africa’s economic giant.
Before President Yar’Adua gave up the ghost in May 2010, many politicians painted the truth with strange colors. Hardened by her great battles against adulterated drugs as DG, NAFDAC, Dr. Dora Akunyili spoke out and stabilized the polity.
The number of women in power dwindled steadily. In 2022, NASS rejected the gender-inclusive bills. Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, an ardent gender-equity promoter, urged Nigerian women not to give up, that all was not lost. The bill is making its way back.
With some successful sociopolitical squabbles under her belt, Senator Natasha Akpoti did not only disrupt the stillness of the Senate, but she has also internationalized an ongoing scandal. It is no longer about her accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment, nor the silly six-month suspension from her colleagues; she has made women participation in politics a hot-button issue.
At the UN Inter-Parliamentary Union, she made it obvious: “I am not here to bring shame to our country; I am here to seek help for the women of Nigeria.” In an emotion-laden presentation, she spoke about political representation, sexual harassment as a form of gender-based violence, hostility in place of accountability, campus sex-for-grades scandals, harassments in workplaces, etc.
Whenever a woman wades past patriarchal pomposity, things happen. Recall the story of Rosa Parks and her critical role in the American civil rights movement. Unlike Rosa Parks who just wanted to rest her tired legs on a bus, Natasha was out for this fight. Akpabio clumsily stumbled onto the allegorical _‘Aboki kaka’_!
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement boarded the bus. Rosa Parks became a course for the cause. Natasha is like Rosa Parks without the bus. She needs an organized opposition behind her, not only ‘he said-she said’ sexual harassment. The burning issue to address is the poor representation of women in government and the proverbial dogs feeding on their collar bones. It will take many more women getting on the bus. Alas, for now, few women are waiting; no bus is stopping.
Nigerians must be enlightened about the dangers and the hurt of sexual harassment. On campuses, in churches, offices, and schools, the riling rumors need just one slighted woman to peel off the veil, rock the boat, and wreck many lives. It took just that to unleash Natasha.
Anita Hill, a professor, accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment when she was his adviser. It was a 1991, live-television show of shame. Joe Biden chaired the committee of 14 male USA senators. Thomas survived the confirmation: 52-48. Anita was vilified, but Clarence was dented.
American activist Tarana Burke started the #MeToo movement in 2006 to address the rampant sexual violence and help survivors. It started small in high schools. In 2018, during his Senate confirmation, Justice Brett Kavanaugh was driven to tears when Christine Blasey Ford, another professor, accused him of sexually assaulting her at a 1980’s teenage party. Other women also accused Brett of sexual misconduct. He was confirmed but forever dented.
Famous actor Bill Cosby could hide no more after a Pennsylvania court convicted him of sexual assault. Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was up to no good. #MeToo caught up with him. By 2020, a court convicted him of sexually assaulting an assistant in 2006 and raping an actress in 2013 and sentenced him to 23 years in prison.
Natasha may not win, as in prove conclusively that she was “sexually harassed.” Many still do not get the buzzing. One fellow said at a community klatch: “I beg you, you say no, eh hee?” Natasha has lowered the bar a bit. Hopefully, our politicians, pastors, professionals, and professors are listening.