By Lemmy Ughegbe
There is something profoundly unsettling about watching a democracy erode through the slow, insidious decay of its institutions under its leadership.
In Nigeria today, the Senate, once regarded as the citadel of legislative robustness, is fast on the verge of capitulation under Senator Godswill Akpabio’s gavel.
His tenure as Senate President is turning the Red Chamber into a stage where power is being deployed against perceived opponents.
For lovers of democracy and students of legislative processes, Akpabio’s ‘mismanagement’ of the 10th Senate is nothing short of a tragedy.
In what should be an arena of robust debate, we now see an environment where ‘intimidation’ of ‘foes’ including female Senators, who have dared to challenge the status quo, reigns.
A ‘boys’ club’ now dominates where should be a beacon of fairness and equity; treating a couple of females as ‘second-class’ participants Under Akpabio’s leadership, plenary sessions often resemble a rowdy marketplace, where egos and intimidation drown out voices of reason.
Senator Ireti Kingibe had in the past had a brush with the senate president;
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has also been at the receiving end of Akpabio’s angst. In one instance, he harshly reprimanded her, stating that she was in the ‘Senate chamber and not in a nightclub,’ implying she was unworthy of a place in the legislative setting. Though he later apologised, the damage was already done—an attempt at ridicule, what observers have declared as ‘disdain for women in authority.’
A week after Natasha reportedly convinced energy companies to start LNG projects in Ajaokuta, the Senate fired her from the committee without explanation.
The clash between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senator Akpabio over seat relocation belied months of tension and grudges between them.
However, while calling out Akpabio for his perceived ‘misogynous inclinations,’ it is also important to acknowledge that people hold Senator Natasha, a distinguished senator of the Federal Republic, to high standards of conduct.
Under the Senate rules, a new seat may be allocated to any senator, with prior notice, being the minimum standard of courtesy to be extended to the person so affected. They did not extend that courtesy to her, she said
However, even if she suspected foul play and deliberate malice in her reassignment, she could have temporarily taken the seat and spoken to press her case further. Given Akpabio’s previous remarks linking her to talking as if she were at a nightclub, this could have fired her suspicions of foul play. Still, a more tactical approach could have highlighted the perceived injustice.
Meanwhile, a video showing how Akpabio disrupted the 8th Senate session, presided over by Senate President Bukola Saraki, because of his seat change has gone viral—just as with Akpoti-Uduaghan. This turn of events clarifies that Akpabio is now stewing in his juice.
Suppose he once considered a seat change an affront; should he not have allowed Akpoti-Uduaghan to enjoy the privileges of Order 10 of the Senate Rule on Privileges to protest a seat change without prior notice? Unlike Akpabio, who ordered Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s removal from the Senate floor, Saraki provided him with a well-measured explanation that exposed his lack of understanding of Senate procedures.
Nigerians will also recall his altercation with Ms Joy Nuineh, former MD of NDDC, during his tenure as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
Rather than engage with her professionally, he ‘mocked’ her personal life, questioning her marital status to undermine her authority. This act, broadcast on national television, was interpreted as a manifestation of the man’s deep-seated belief that women should not hold power unless they are subservient to men like him.
His ‘insensitivity’ reached its apogee when Nigerians took to the streets to protest over economic hardship and hunger. Instead of addressing the concerns of the suffering masses with the dignity his office demands, he allegedly declared, “Those who want to protest can protest, but let us be here eating.”
This statement, dripping with crass insensitivity and utter disdain for the plight of ordinary citizens, reflected a leader detached from the realities of the people he is supposed to serve.
At a time when families are struggling to afford necessities, when inflation is soaring, and the cost of living has become unbearable, the words laid bare his elitist and cavalier attitude.
Leadership should be about service, not control. It should not be about public humiliation, a classic tool of weak men who fear strong women.
It is an attitude that belongs in the relics of a past Nigeria, one that has no place in a country striving for gender equality and political decency. Nigeria deserves better. The Senate should make laws, not massage egos and settle grudges. It should be a chamber of intellect, debate, and progress.
Nigeria needs a Senate that claps with both hands. It requires a Senate that works.
Above all, it needs a Senate President who understands leadership is about service, not anything else, not self-interest or aggrandisement.
*Lemmy Ughegbe, Ph.D, a media scholar, critic, and development communication expert, writes from Abuja
