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An ugly story of power and allegations of sexual harassment began unveiling in the fine mahogany-finished walls of Nigeria’s Legislative Chambers in the last week of February. Neither chamber has ever shown itself to be a sanctuary of justice, fairness, or integrity. But the recent events in the Senate have shone a light on a dark area in the chambers, which has garnered very little attention over the years.
Nigeria, as with class society in general, is plagued by gender inequality. This is usually backed and sanctioned with the written words of revered holy books, and given local credence with the “customs” of many ethnic groups which promote male dominance.
In Nigeria, from the slums to Nollywood and even the highest government offices, the discrimination and sexualisation of women is well-known and often accepted.
The saga playing out between Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, a Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial district, and the notorious Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, shows that even in the highest levels of elite fraternity, the issue of gender equality remains contentious.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has accused Senator Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment. She alleges he made inappropriate advances to her in December 2023. She also claimed that because of her rejection of the advances of the senate president, she has faced intimidation and obstruction of her legislative duties.
These unfolding events highlight the central theme of power. The relationship between the senate president and the Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan is not one of two equals. The power dynamic is key to analysing their relationship and the issue at hand. Although both are senators, they differ in experience, age, and influence.
The Senate President is one of the biggest political actors in the ruling class in the country today. He has been a governor, minister and senator several times over. Akpoti-Uduaghan on her part, has spent less than a year and a half as senator, with no prior history in government. And, while it is objectively true that the ruling class is united in its exploitation of the poor working people, patriarchy still manifests itself with the masculine dominance taken as given.
Gender-based discrimination in its many forms and marginalisation of women thrive in capitalist society. It is used to divide the working class. The relegation of women to the position of delivering unpaid labour is one of the legacies of capitalism.
Generally, women who challenge patriarchal domination and gender roles that constrain women’s rights and gender equality are faced with disrespect, condemnation and abuse, in different social spheres including education, entertainment, and politics.
In the Senate, we can see the atmosphere for imbalance and discrimination set by the composition of the current Senate, where out of 109 seats, only 4 are occupied by women.
During his speech on International Women’s Day in 1987, Thomas Sankara highlighted the double jeopardy faced by working women who are first oppressed by the system of exploitation, and then further oppressed physically, sexually and in a myriad of other ways at home by their husbands who are of the same class as them, by virtue of they being the man and lord over the woman and the home they share.
Now, with respect to the issue of Senator Natasha, we can see how even within the ruling class, women of that class are still susceptible to gender-based victimisation and discrimination in some ways.
Persons such as Florence Ita-Giwa, who is a former senator, came out to utter statements that defend the alleged action of senator Godswill. She argued that female senators should not allege sexual harassment, as that portrays weakness. Stating further that by contesting and winning elections into the senate, women are too strong to be victimised and assaulted.
These claims are false; documented evidence shows high-powered women still face sexual harassment and discrimination. What the former senator is doing, is to link proximity with an oppressor with immunity from the oppressor.
Even though they interact daily as colleagues, their colleagues do not see or treat them as equals. The alleged perpetrator of the victimization in this case is not new to such allegations. In 2020, Dr Joi Nunieh, a former acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) accused Akpabio of sexual harassment. At the time, he was the minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, which supervised the NDDC.
One of the major takeaways from this case which has seen the suspension of the alleged victim from the Senate House, and not the alleged perpetrator, is that even within spaces occupied by the political elite who have collectively ruined the country by plundering its resources, women remain sufferers of a double jeopardy.
We must now advocate for the immediate return of Senator Natasha to the Red Chamber, and ultimately for the dismantling of the system of oppression which the honourable senator herself has been a beneficiary of. Oppression is closely related to expoitation. The continued exploitation of poor working-class people emboldens perpetrators of the marginalisation of women and other oppressed groups. In struggling for justice for Natasha, we must struggle to overthrow the capitalist system which upholds discrimination, exploitation and oppression.
Poor and working women must know that although they may share the same struggles, in terms of victimisation and discrimination by men based on their gender, with rich women from the ruling class, the interests of the capitalists will always align regardless of gender; when it comes to the exploitation of poor and working people.
In the struggle to defeat patriarchy, the working class must maintain strong internal solidarity and must not sacrifice it for solidarity with any section of the ruling class. The struggle against gender-based discrimination, harassment and victimisation must continue until the hour of patriarchy’s death.
Solidarity to the working women in the struggle against oppression, and unto the triumphant emergence of true women’s liberation with the defeat of capitalism and our winning our total liberation.
by Oghenero ABU