Lessons From Ezekwesili, Senator Nwaebonyi Shouting Match On Natasha In Nigeria
On Tuesday, March 25, 2025, the Senate Committee on Ethics Privileges and Public Petitions hosted a hearing on the petitioner in the case of allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President, Godswill Akpabio by the suspended Senator representing Kogi Central Constituency, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The petition was eventually not heard. Rather, the meeting ended with a shameful verbal exchange of insults between a witness to Senator Akpabio, Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi and witness to the petitioner, Dr. Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, a former Nigeria’s Education Minister and Vice President of the World Bank. .
Quarrel started when Ezekwesili told Senator Nwaebonyi: “Will you shut up your mouth?”. Then, Senator Nwaebonyi went haywire, throwing back insults like “You are an insult to womanhood”, and so on.
One of the verbal punches of the Senator was “This is why people like you can never be here” (with us as a Senator).
As at the time of this piece, no evidence of sexual harassment against Senator Akpabio has been established either by the Senate, a Nigerian law court or any government establishment.
Senator Akpabio, who is the accused person in this matter, has refused to step aside from office to enable a proper investigation of allegations against him from a fellow elected Senator (which is the proper thing to do). Rather, he had presided over the accuser colleague’s suspension, which came alongside stripping her of certain fundamental human rights that she ought to enjoy as a Nigerian citizen, irrespective of ever being a Senator.
There are lessons to be learnt from the March 25, 2025 altercation between Mrs. Ezekwesili and Senator Nwaebonyi. First, it was very wrong for revered Mrs. Ezekwesili to for any reason, ask a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to shut up, right before a television camera.
Because two wrongs do no make a right, it was equally very wrong for Senator Nwaebonyi to react the way he did. When he got a “shut up”, calmly, he should have said something like: “Madam. I have great respect for you but I take exception to that. Why would you ask me to shut up? That’s not acceptable.”
However, people react to issues differently. Besides, self control and emotional management is a key factor in leadership and has become a scarce commodity among some members of Nigeria’s ruling class of today.
The second lesson from that incident is that the respect for elders embedded in African culture has been thrown to the back seat, projecting indecency and illiteracy laced modernization. It was very indecent, uncultured, immature and unprofessional for 43-year old Senator Nwaebonyi, a graduate of public administration to address an international personality and elder as “a fool at 70,” in front of television cameras. This is improper for a public officer irrespective of his level of provocation.
Third lesson is from Senator Nwaebonyi’s statement that “This is why people like you can never be here” (with us as a Senator). The question is: “Which right thinking Nigerian with integrity will desire to be among a bunch of self serving lawmakers, at a time when both Senators and Representatives are doing everything to justify the masses’ negative perception about them? This shows that National Assembly members do not even appreciate the level of disdain with which Nigerians view them and their conduct.
The truth is that many Senators have had cases with the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alleging corrupt practices, while some of them got to the Senate through known questionable processes that violated moral standards and even the Nigerian constitution. Worse still, the highest level of insensitivity to the plight of their constituents has been, and is still being displayed across board.
For instance, a Nigerian Senator earns more than a member of Federal House of Representatives. Today, amidst unimaginable poverty level in the country due to leadership corruption and mismanaged economy, a member of Federal House of Representative publicly declared that he earns a total of N221,016,000.00 (two hundred and twenty one million, sixteen thousand naira) annually.
Out of this amount, basic salary ON A MONTHLY BASIS is N2.5 million, Furniture allowance-N7.5 million, Newspaper Allowance-N1.2 million, Wardrobe Allowance- N621,000.00, Recess Allowance- N248,000.00, Accommodation Allowance- N4.9 million, Utility Allowance- N828,000.00 and Personal Assistant Allowance- N621,000.00.
Meanwhile, many Nigerians who they claim to represent can barely feed once a day. Insecurity is on the rise as a result and unemployment status projects hopelessness. Yet, the lawmakers (or is it law breakers?) expect the mass majority that they oppress to still hold them in high esteem.
The other day, one of them told a mail dispatch rider that “I can make you disappear and nothing will happen.”
Nigeria’s House of Representatives members and Senators! You must all learn a lesson!
By ALBINUS CHIEDU- 08038117704
