Last Thursday, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months by the Senate for violating its rules. But with the disciplinary action coming after she had formally submitted a petition alleging sexual harassment against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, it is the chambers that is now on the defensive. The highest legislative body in the country is being inadvertently perceived as aiding and abetting predatory behaviour against women, even among its own members. It is a self-inflicted problem. A more circumspect Senate would have put the disciplinary matter against Akpoti-Uduaghan in temporary abeyance by first dealing with the sexual harassment allegation against its presiding officer; after all, as a Yoruba adage says, if tree falls on tree, conventional wisdom teaches that you start the clearing process from the top.

At the Women in Parliament session held at the Inter-Parliamentary Union Meeting (IPU) in New York, United States, on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan internationalised not only her ordeal but also used the platform to speak for Nigerian women. “I was suspended illegally because I submitted a petition for sexual harassment against the President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio,” Akpoti-Uduaghan said. “I thought that by submitting the petition, he would recuse himself and both of us would submit ourselves to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for a fair, transparent investigation. But unfortunately, I was silenced, and I was suspended,” she told the gathering. “That means I’m here illegally…It depicts the crisis of women’s political representation. My suspension is not just about me. It’s about the systemic exclusion of women from political leadership in Nigeria.”

Considering what many of the male Senators have been saying on this crisis, it is almost difficult to fault Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claim that her ordeal has to do with her gender—regardless of whether her allegation against Akpabio is true or false. In asking that the suspension be reduced from six to three months, Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro—leader of her own party, the main Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that ought to be in her corner—compared Akpoti-Uduaghan to a ‘recalcitrant child’ that you sometimes ‘beat’ when they misbehave. The Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Onyekachi Peter Nwebonyi made matters worse by going on air to retort that Akpoti-Uduaghan has “six kids from six different men”, a false claim; and that her “lifestyle is blocking the chances of other women who want to enter politics.”

I wonder why the Senate cannot understand that the entire saga has gone beyond the person of Akpoti-Uduaghan or the veracity of her allegation. It is not for nothing that the United Nations has devoted several days in a year to remind the world of impediments against the female gender. The last four months provide a ready example. Between 25th November and 10th December 2024, we had the annual global 16 days of activism which basically just called for an end to violence against women and girls. Then on 6th February this year, we had the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. Five days later, on 11th February, was the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Of course, we were all aware that last Saturday, 8th March, was 2025 International Women’s Day. But I doubt if many were aware that Monday, 10th March was also the International Day of Women Judges.

To mark the event, the United Nations Office for Drug and Crimes (UNODC) published a feature story on a female judicial officer in Kenya, Christine Njagi with the headline, “‘Be the headliner, not the footnote’: Women in Justice/for Justice.” While sharing her experiences on the challenges women and girls face in Kenya, Njagi said in whatever situation women find themselves, they should strive to be the headliner and not the footnote. “Don’t be afraid at times to swim against the current—you might be the one who will change the flow of the river,” Njagi admonished. That appears to be the manual from which Akpoti-Uduaghan draws her inspiration. Whatever may be her motivation, the moment she was shut down by Akpabio while protesting the seat-change, she had elected to be the headliner rather than the footnote in the battle she knew was coming. By suspending her, after she had formally submitted her petition on sexual harassment, the Senate has only played into Akpoti-Uduaghan’s hands.

It is possible, as Senator Nwebonyi said, that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegation against Akpabio “is a case of personal, unsubstantiated, and conveniently timed accusations—claims of sexual harassment that supposedly took place over a year ago but surfaced only after the accuser was summoned for disciplinary action.” But not many people really care anymore, perhaps because of the way the Senate handled the issue. When the holder of a superior power position is accused of sexual exploitation, intimidation, or implicit threat, there is an obligation on that institution to treat such allegation, especially coming from a member, with seriousness. That perhaps explains why for many, the real issue is no longer whether Akpoti-Uduaghan’s sexual harassment allegation against Akpabio is true but rather that the Senate, in suspending her – even if for another ‘offense’ – has denied her the opportunity of a fair hearing.

My position on the former ‘uncommon transformer’ of Akwa Ibom State is well-documented on this page, and one of my recent columns on him, ‘Akpabio: A Man for Every New Season’ has been trending on WhatsApp since this crisis started. I have also received suggestive messages from readers about what I should ‘write on Akpabio’. But that is not my way. I have nothing personal against the senate president. No matter what some of us may think of Akpabio, it would be unfair to jump to any hasty conclusions based on a claim that has not been proved to be true. Besides, removing Akpabio as Senate President will not resolve a problem that is institutional. What we must ensure is that women and girls who find the courage to raise an alarm relating to sexual harassment are respectfully listened to and not intimidated into silence. We must find a way of supporting a fair and discreet interrogation of such issues, without humiliating either party. This is because we live in a patriarchal society where women who refuse to accede to sexual demands from their superiors could easily have their careers delayed or truncated with irreparable damage done to their self-worth, sometimes for life.

To mark the 2025 International Women’s Day last Saturday, platitudes eulogising women in Nigeria were offered by our men in positions of power. But the reality is that we operate a system patently skewed against women. At the Women in Parliament session attended by Akpoti-Uduaghan on Tuesday, a new IPU report, ‘Women in Parliament, 1995-2025’ was released to commemorate 30 years since the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The report reveals that the percentage of seats held by women in national parliaments has risen from 11.3% in 1995 to 27.2% in 2025. Meanwhile, in 15 States Houses of Assemblies across Nigeria today, there is not a single female lawmaker! Let’s not even talk about how a female lawmaker who was elected Speaker by 90 percent of the membership in a State House of Assembly was arm-twisted to surrender the gavel to the unpopular man she displaced. Even if the decision was not taken because she is a woman, the signaling was bad considering the overwhelming support she enjoyed from her colleagues.

The situation is only slightly better at the centre. In the current Senate, there are only four members among 108 Senators. Among the 360 lawmakers in the House of Representatives, there are only 16 female members. But the real problem is that even those few members are most often treated with disrespect. Exactly nine years ago, I wrote about this in a column titled, ‘In Defence of Nigerian Women.’ Interestingly, it is the current First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu who provoked my column at the time.

Presenting a motion to mark the 2016 International Women’s Day with the theme, ‘Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality’, Senator Tinubu (as she then was) had argued, “We represent courage and resilience; without us (Nigerian women) I don’t think this country will move forward.” The contributions that followed from some of the male senators were, to put it mildly, reckless. Eight months ago, I rehashed most of my arguments in another column, ‘For Akpabio, A Teachable Moment’, after he tendered a public apology to Akpoti-Uduaghan on the floor of the senate for demeaning her with a biting remark that the Senate is not a “nightclub”. What that episode and the earlier one that elicited my column nine years ago reveal is that when those who make laws for society act in ways that suggest a lack of respect for women, there is a problem.

That precisely is why many women, including those who may habour doubts about Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claim against Akpabio, are angry about the way the Senate has handled the matter. But it is not too late to make amends. The suspension of Akpoti-Uduaghan should be lifted. She should also be availed the opportunity to prove her sexual harassment allegation against Akpabio before the Senate Committee on Ethics. If she cannot provide evidence, Akpabio reserves the right to sue for damages. For any family man, the psychological wound of being falsely accused of sexual offense is deep and it is not something that should be taken lightly. For that reason, I am delighted by the way the IPU President, Ms Tulia Ackson, who is also the Speaker of the Tanzania National Assembly, handled Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegation. She said they have only heard one side (from Akpoti-Uduaghan) hence would also need to hear the other side (from Akpabio and Nigerian Senate) before they could draw any conclusion. Keeping an open mind is exactly what is required on such an allegation until all sides are heard and the person who asserts can prove.

Meanwhile, my counsel for Akpoti-Udughan is to return home for the new battle ahead. All the white, black and red lions she defeated to get to the Senate have launched a subterranean but well-funded campaign for her recall. However, since the larger issue that has been thrown up is about gender inclusion in Nigeria, let me also conclude with the last paragraph of my 2016 column which still resonates, especially for our lawmakers. It will serve the Senate and also the larger Nigerian society: The recent obsession of some senators with the denigration of a vital segment of our populace indicates something more sinister about the state of our legislature. In a country beset with so many pressing existential issues requiring legislative intervention, it is a negative testimonial that some of our lawmakers can only find relevance in denigrating women. I therefore do not hesitate to say to the unrepentant chauvinists in our midst: Next time you think about Nigerian women, think of your mother and please mind your language!

•You can follow Segun Adeniyi on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, @Olusegunverdict and onwww.olusegunadeniyi.com