Yinka Olaito
A story was told of a masquerade who chose to go out during the rain. A masquerade as we know in Yoruba land is an honourable being, from the great beyond. A masquerade brings messages from the forerunner of families. Great as this may be.
A masquerade is not expected to fall down as the being must be seen standing and given direction for its followers. So this particular masquerade decided to go out during the day when the rain was falling. This is a bad omen as the ground could be slippery and signalled the fall of the masquerade.
Having made this choice, followers began to drum and sing a song of warning “Egungun, ara orun, ma sora ile n yo’’. Which literally means, the masquerade, the great one from beyond, be very careful as the ground is slippery. They knew as an elder his (egungun) sense ought to tell him his choice of going out when rain is falling when the ground will be slippery has greater implications on the honour bestowed on a citizen from beyond.
After a careful monitoring of imbroglio between Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio, which had led to the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan while the Senate President, Senator Akpabio still retains his seat, I am beginning to think is time to drum and sing this same song to Senator Akpabio.
The issue of sexual harassment is often a messy one and often time without a strong evidence and argument, one or the two parties involved never live to remain the same. This is especially so in this age of social media where the internet never forgets.
I mean what it will cost a public figure, to clean up the image on the internet alone. That is if the person comes out clean. The challenge is that the troll and bashing on the internet where many busy bodies would have made the issue viral will not be a joke.
As an individual, the little information I have about the two honourable individuals involved are those we read from the news or shared by the parties.
In an ideal situation, a man who knows the huge implication of what this accusation means would have recused himself from office and allowed an independent panel to look at the issue critically or provide strong evidence outside.” I think Mr uduaghan is my friend”. A statement credited to Senator Akpabio. That to me is adding insult to the injury.
If per adventure, there has been an iota of truth that could have compromised Senator Akpabio’s position, please mark my words, if there has been. One would have thought the best solution would have been to acknowledge and say sorry, which I strongly believe will reduce the damage that is likely to be coming in the near distant future.
I quite understand in Nigeria; we always think we can win all the battles because we are in power but this kind of battle has an international edge and dimension where the outcome can smear Senator Akpabio more than that of Natasha Akpotti-Uduaghan.
Senator Natasha Akpoti to me seems to have been fully prepared for this battle and had gathered her evidence in advance, if what we are hearing and seeing is anything to go by.
Unlike her (Natasha Akpoti) accusation of Reno Omokri of the same offence, where Omokri showed more valid evidence of not being in Aso Rock when she said the offence was committed,
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan had documented dates and times when Senator Akpabio or by extension his emissaries were calling her on unholy hours to threaten her allegedly. While Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan allegedly is coming out with facts, Senator Akpabio is wiping up on emotion..
Yes, the big rod had been applied, suspension of Akpoti from the senate, at the local level where the power of senator Akpabio is very strong.
My fear today is that the battle is shifting ground, Senator Akpoti has taken the battle beyond Nigeria. This has an implication on the national image. The way Nigeria is painted may have serious implications on its leadership. Not many ladies had gone that far, at least that I am aware of, who had taken their plea to such a high level meeting.
It is like a case of ‘he that wants to die has collided with he that wants to kill’. Like Senator Akpoti said “This injustice will not be sustained”. It seems she is ready to get her pint of blood.
So Senator Akpabio should be ready. I am also a bit concerned with everyone who had stood with Senator Akpabio on this matter till date to also thread carefully. They should fight and make informed decisions based on fact.
Anything shot of this will smear their image beyond any present gain, if there is any at all, they may be imagining.
