South-South Women Group Salute Senator Natasha’s Courage

South-South Women ln Politics (SSWIP) yesterday applauded the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for her courage, boldness and contribution to nation-building.

They also advised the leadership of the Senate and the Committee on Ethics not to plunge the country into pain and tragedy.

Speaking in Asaba, the Delta State capital, chairman of South-South Women in Politics, Chief Rita Okonji, reacting to Natasha’s challenge with the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, urged the Senate Ethics Committee not to recommend decisions which have been decided by special interests.

The group condemned the alleged alienation, bullying and misunderstanding of women politicians in Nigeria, stressing that the threat of illegal actions, discrimination, victimisation and other forms of segregation based purely on gender was uncalled for.

The women reaffirmed that they will support Akpoti-Uduaghan and other female politicians in whatever difficulties they may face in the country.

They urged the principal officers and members of the Senate to treat themselves like brothers and sisters and not shy away from the central contention in the recent event.

“Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is a hero and a source of permanent and daily inspiration in Nigeria and on the continent. The Ethics Committee should identify and diagnose the crisis and its roots. We are not expecting banal and destructive recommendations on this issue.

“One of the most popular and leading labels often put on responsible and successful women by the detractors is that they are rude. That label certainly does not apply in the case of the recent incident. Even if male politicians and their female lackeys in Nigeria were to shout from the rooftops in an attempt to make the label stick, the facts of the incident will not allow it.

“Don’t resist the voice of honour and reason. Don’t insult the intelligence of the Nigerian woman. Don’t make your colleagues objects of ridicule in the eyes of the world for selfish interests. Don’t be too bitter against one another, no matter the differences,” they stated.

Specifically, the women called for complete change in attitude and drastic reorganisation of thinking habits as well as in the relationship between male and female politicians in the country.

“Our dignity and survival are seriously being jeopardised through conscious and deliberate actions by the male politicians in the country. Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recent action is very healthy and provides the beginning for a genuine change in male’s attitude toward women in the country. We hope that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s action will accelerate the efforts to achieve a strong voice and respect for women,” they noted, urging male politicians in the country to dedicate themselves to the precepts and practice of democracy.

“Another matter relating to the state of our nation today which we have to be vigilant about is the move to shut women out of the system. The dangerous aspect of this is the country’s drift into becoming a government of only men.

“How can we be led to believe that individuals full of self-hatred and contempt for women in Nigeria can suddenly become defenders of our interests?  The male politicians in the country lack any substantive reasons to give for the recent incident,” they said.