Why the fixation on Senator Natasha
Since she made a dramatic drop from a helicopter in Lokoja on Tuesday, Senator Natasha Hadiza Akpoti continued to dominate our media space throughout last week. Many other events that could have attracted awe or approbation from the public could not match up to the senator’s adventures. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu left for a two-week […]
Since she made a dramatic drop from a helicopter in Lokoja on Tuesday, Senator Natasha Hadiza Akpoti continued to dominate our media space throughout last week. Many other events that could have attracted awe or approbation from the public could not match up to the senator’s adventures. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu left for a two-week visit to France. His previous visits to France were trailed by wide criticisms. This time, the hullabaloo over the visit was tepid and quickly died away.
On the day he left, the president made fundamental changes in the management of the NNPCL, the federation’s cash cow, by replacing the entire board of directors, including the chairman and the group managing director. The matter drew some fuss here and there in the media space and disappeared in a matter of hours.
The focus remained on Senator Natasha. Since she butted into our consciousness that fine afternoon when her altercations on the floor of the Senate with the Senate president resonated in the global media, we have never had a quiet moment on the issue. The matter, which began on disagreement over the sitting arrangement in the Senate, degenerated into an unwholesome open fight with brickbats hurling from all directions.
Allegations of sexual harassment were freely bandied about, which added seasoning to the broil. The media made a feast on it. And since the Senate president, the other principal actor in this sordid saga, is widely regarded as a lackey of the government, you can imagine the guffaws of laughter that rang around.
The Senate rallied around their president and were able to send Senator Natasha on a six-month suspension along with other stiff conditionalities: loss of office, staff, emoluments and all other privileges. If the Senate thought Senator Natasha would just trot home, carefully lick her wounds and at the expiration of the suspension, return tails wagging, contrite, and apologise, they had something else coming.
That was what other senators suspended for some breaches or the other had done. Not Senator Natasha. Going against the grain, Senator Natasha went on a full swing media blitz and even globe-trotted to a UN event to present the sordid details of her sexual allegations against the Senate president. On her return, she never despaired, never relented. She looked for and found every opportunity to turn the heat on the Senate.
On Tuesday, her traducers decided to look towards her constituency to curtail her activities. Knowing that Sallah celebrations were on and Senator Natasha would create a show, the Kogi State Government quickly put a blanket ban on all procession in and out of Lokoja, her stronghold. The town was also ringed with checkpoints manned by fierce-looking security men.
To every onlooker, it would be easier for the proverbial camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for Senator Natasha to lead any procession from Abuja into Lokoja. Somehow, on the day of reckoning, Senator Natasha got to hoodwink and outwit them all.
When they were expecting her to lead her vehicular processing to one of the numerous checkpoints and make a scene, the senator arrived from the skies and dropped into her helipad. The helipad is in her expansive compound, where a mammoth crowd has already gathered. The entire saga of her flying into Lokoja into her compound was filmed and immediately became viral.
The reception she received from her crowd of supporters was, as you would expect, ecstatic. The speech she delivered was lavishly cheered and roundly applauded. I guess this must have caused severe anguish to those who derailed the reception.
Away from the glitz and drama, I’ve wondered how Senator Natasha got the strength of purpose to do what she is doing. I did not have to do much digging when I found an old video dating back to 2018. The video depicts a presentation she made to the House of Representatives when Yakubu Dogara was presiding. It was during a hearing on the Ajaokuta Steel Mill when the Buhari government was considering to concession the mill.
Hadiza Natasha Akpoti, as she was known then, appeared before the House as a representative of a group urging the federal government not to concession the mill to any emergency contractor but to invite the Russians who built it to complete it and run it.
Her presentation was masterful, eloquent and well-researched. You could see how she electrified the sitting with all the facts rolling. It showed that Natasha has always been a strong advocate with a brilliant legal background and a knack for hard preparation. I admit that I learnt far more about the chicanery that had stopped the realization of our Ajaokuta dreams from that video than anywhere else.
Interestingly enough, she said she is a direct product of the mill, having a Nigerian father and a Russian mother both related to the plant.
No, there will be no quiet moments for the Senate or anyone else. Senator Natasha will continue to harangue till she gets justice. For the moment, most of us are stacked on her side.