The suspended Senator representing Kogi Central district, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has written a sarcastic apology to Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The letter has sparked new talks about gender issues and power struggles in Nigeria’s legislature.
Last month, the Senate suspended Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is the Chair of its Committee on Diaspora and NGOs. She had earlier accused Akpabio of sexual harassment. The matter is in court.
In her strongly worded letter filled with irony on Sunday, Akpoti-Uduaghan pretended to apologise for keeping her dignity and self-respect when dealing with the Senate President.
With clear mockery, she mentioned expectations placed on her, writing: ‘How remiss of me not to understand that my refusal to indulge your… “requests” was not merely a personal choice but a constitutional violation of certain men’s entitlement’.
Highlighting gender bias issues, she added: ‘Please find it in your magnanimous heart — somewhere buried deep beneath layers of entitlement — to forgive this stubborn woman who mistakenly believed that her seat in the Senate was earned through elections, not erections’.
The letter further read: ‘Dear Distinguished Senate President Godswill Akpabio, It is with the deepest sarcasm and utmost theatrical regret that I tender this apology for the grievous crime of possessing dignity and self-respect in your most exalted presence. I have reflected extensively on my unforgivable failure to recognise that legislative success in certain quarters is apparently not earned through merit, but through the ancient art of compliance — of the very personal kind.
‘How remiss of me not to understand that my refusal to indulge your… ‘requests’ was not merely a personal choice but a constitutional violation of the unwritten laws of certain men’s entitlement. Truly, I must apologise for prioritising competence over capitulation, vision over vanity, and the people’s mandate over private dinners behind closed doors.
‘I now realise the catastrophic consequences of my actions: legislation delayed, tempers flared, and the tragic bruising of egos so large they require their own postcodes. For this disruption to the natural order of ‘quid pro quo,’ I bow my head in fictional shame. Please find it in your magnanimous heart — somewhere buried deep beneath layers of entitlement — to forgive this stubborn woman who mistakenly believed that her seat in the Senate was earned through elections, not erections’.
