Connect with us

News

OPINION: Akpabio’s Senate And A Child’s Recollection

Published

on

By Suyi Ayodele

The Nigerian senate last week found Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduagban guilty of “bringing the presiding officer and the entire senate to public opprobrium.” The “presiding officer” she brought to “public opprobrium” was no other person than the big man who delivered the judgement, Godswill Akpabio. It was a first in how not to run a trial. The most clownish of circuses will bow for Akpabio and his senate for staging that abject drama.

Advertisement

Because dawn met me in one of the most traditional of the Yoruba society, I always run back to the treasure trove of memory whenever I see strange things like what Akpabio’s senate did last week.

Our ancestors had a deep sense of commitment to justice devoid of personal gains. They were people with a sense of self-worth and shame. I witnessed a traditional court sitting at an early age. The story is worth telling here because of its relevance to the strangeness of this era.

I should not have been at the palace that day. Two things took me to that day’s sitting of my town’s traditional court. One was curiosity; the desire to know things that were ordinarily of no importance to my agemates then. The second was the tutelage of a cousin and mentor who ensured that I was introduced to community ‘politics’ almost in my cradle.

Advertisement

The court sat with the full complement of Onísè-in-Council in attendance. Oba Ojo Olúyèye Òjoyèbugiòtèwó (He who ascends the throne and uproots the tree of conspiracy) was on his throne. His Second-in-Command, Aláùn was seated. Both Kabiyesi, Onísè, and Chief Aláùn, are from the same quarters, Ònà. in my native Odo Oro Ekiti.

From Òtún Quarters, my own lineage, was the Obadòfin. Seated also from Òtún were Chief Alárà, and then Ajaùbí. They all belonged to the Iwarefa (kingmakers) group.

Osin Quarters had the late Chief Alámìrò, and Chief Obamìlà in attendance. The Elú chieftaincy title holders and the Eléégbé group were also represented. The women’s group was led by Chief Olóóbùnrin Ará. It was judgment day, and the palace was filled to the brim.

Advertisement

Several cases were listed on the palace cause list. The number one case, the one which led to my curiosity about coming to the palace that day, involved an older cousin, a male. He was alleged to have put one equally known town-sister in the family way. The ‘anti’ involved is from Ònà, precisely, Ilise, the unit that produces the Onísè. In essence, being from the royal quarters, the ‘anti’ is a princess.

The Onísè (the oba) was the presiding officer, the Chief Justice of the town. The place ‘court registrar’ called the cause list. The two parties stepped forward and genuflected according to their sexes. Chief Aláùn asked the complainant, the ‘anti’, to step forward further and state her case. She knelt and greeted Kabiyesi and the chiefs.

As she was about to speak, Chief Obadòfin stood up and stopped her. He turned to Kabiyesi and greeted him, calling him by his praise name, Amélilájetùotùo (he who eats the entire cow with its horns). Then he said: “Kabiyesi, you cannot sit in judgment over this matter. The girl involved is your daughter, a princess, from Ilise. Aláùn cannot also sit because the girl is also her daughter.”

Advertisement

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: Akpabio, Akpoti-Uduaghan In Court Of Public Opinion

There was complete silence. Chief Obadòfin continued: “I too, alongside Chief Alárà and Chief Ajaùbí, can also not sit over this matter because the boy involved is our son from Òtún. I just want to point this out.” He chanted some other Kabiyesi’s cognomen and sat down.

The oba sighed. The crowd chorused “Kabiyesi!” He turned to his chiefs and said: “Obadòfin is right. There is no partiality in the palace. Alámìrò, and Obamìlà, please take over and call us when you are through with the case.”. He got up. All the chiefs did. Kabiyesi led the way to the inner recess of the place. Chiefs Aláùn, Obadòfin, Alárà and Ajaùbi followed.

Advertisement

After their exit, Chief Alámìrò took over. Together with Chief Obamìlà and other palace chiefs present, the matter was decided. Before the next case was called, a chief was sent to call Kabiyesi and his other Iwarefa. They came out and Kabiyesi was briefed about how the matter was decided. The king sealed it with the pronouncement: “Let it be as it was decided.” The town chorused “Kabiyesi”, again. Then Oba Olúyèye Òjoyèbugiòtèwó continued with the remaining cases on the cause list.

This incident happened over 40 years ago. The two principal parties involved in this story are alive. Oba Olúyèye Òjoyèbugiòtèwó was not the direct father of the female party. Still, because the female party is from the same quarters as the king, Oba Olúyèye Òjoyèbugiòtèwó traditionally ‘recused’ himself from the matter. All other chiefs who also had direct and indirect relationships with the respondent also stepped down from the traditional bench.

You can now see how shocked anyone familiar with the principle of checks and balances embedded in the black man’s well-ordered justice system would be at what the Senate did last week.

Advertisement

The black man’s judicial system was established on the tripod of fairness, equity and justice. That was long before the Romans came up with the fairness principle of Nemo judex in causa sua (no man may be a judge in his own cause).

The underpinning principle of our traditional jurisprudence is the quest to eliminate any shade of unfairness in the dispensation of justice. Civilisation began with our forebears; long before the advent of today’s ‘civilisation’.

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: Buhari’s Poverty Of Truth

Advertisement

In the story above, you will observe that only those chiefs whose judgment would not be perceived as being coloured were allowed to adjudicate in the matter. Interestingly, not even one of the chiefs mentioned above was an educated man. They were all pastoral people, the best of them was a cocoa merchant! That is the African traditional setting in its most just element. Judicial recusal is as old as humanity in Africa. Nobody teaches it; it is congenitally given!

The last two weeks have not been too rosy for the Senator Godswill Akpabio-led Senate. The Red Chamber has been in the news for the wrong reasons. The event climaxed on Thursday last week when the chamber had every opportunity to change its negative narratives to positive ones. Expectedly, the Nigerian Senate failed to seize the opportunity to redeem its battered image.

Did Senator Akpabio beat his chest after last Thursday’s plenary? Did he assemble fellow senators at the Senate President’s quarters to celebrate his victory of phallus over Virginia suppression? Did he click wine tumblers; did he exchange banters? Did he celebrate the suspension of his accuser, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan?

Advertisement

Last Thursday, Senate President Akpabio made nonsense of the dictum, Nemo judex in causa sua. It was another day that the Nigerian lawmakers scored a new low. The Senate proceedings of that day, after which Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended, were the worst ever since the beginning of this present political dispensation. It was the day the accused sat in judgment over his accuser! It can only happen in the Senate of Akpabio; an institution the Akwa Ibom senator has taken from its lofty height to the bottom of perfidy!

Akpoti-Uduaghan had, penultimate week, had an altercation with the senate President over the change of her seat. The Kogi Central senator attributed the change of her seat and other frosty relationships with Akpabio to the desire of the Senate President to pull her skirt. Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, on national television, accused the Senate President of sexual harassment. She followed it up with a written petition to the Senate.

The world waited for what the Senate would do. Senator Akpabio did not disappoint. He rallied his friends in the Senate and the petition was declared “dead on arrival” by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics. Then Akpoti-Uduaghan was taken before the same committee for violating the Senate Rules. The committee sent out a notice that it would decide the matter on Wednesday, March 12, 2025.

Advertisement

Then something happened. Without any communication with other members of the committee, the chairman, Senator Nelda Imasuen of Edo South, changed the ‘trial’ date. The committee sat on Wednesday, March 5, and found the female senator guilty of all charges! The report was presented on the floor of the chamber on Thursday, March 6, and the Senate ‘approved’ all the recommendations of the Committee.

With Senator Akpabio, the man accused of sexual harassment presiding, the Senate ‘unanimously’ adopted the prayer that Akpoti-Uduaghan be suspended, her salary stopped, her office closed, and her aides and security be withdrawn. All the senators that spoke had one unkind word for Natasha! Terrible. The same Senate, which rejected Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition on the ground that the matter was a subject of litigation before a court, went ahead to suspend the senator despite a court order that nothing should be done until the matter brought before it by Akpoti-Uduaghan was determined!

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: Gambaryan’s Flower Of Thorns

Advertisement

I watched the suspension of Akpoti-Uduaghan, and my heart bled for Nigeria! I saw how the Senate sergeant-at-arm moved to evict the female senator from the chamber. I held my breath as the Kogi senator uttered the profound words: “This injustice will not be sustained”, and how someone switched off the microphone! I wonder who we are as a people. I queried how we got to this level, 26 years after we started a new democratic journey.

The Senate said before Akpoti-Uduaghan would be recalled or her six-month suspension reduced, she must tender a written apology. Funny! My mind told me that that is as good as asking the Kogi Central senator to pull her skirt and warm the bed of her traducer! Yet, Senator Akpabio sat on the judgment seat, unmoved, unperturbed!

If for anything, the speed with which the Nelda-led Committee on Ethics dispensed with the Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio matter calls for concern. How, despite the number of learned fellows in the Red Chamber, Akpabio the accused was made to preside over the case of his accuser and made the call for her punishment is a complete aberration to common sense, natural justice and fairness. It is an act that is condemnable here on earth and nauseating to the Saints in Heaven.

Advertisement

More importantly, the conduct of the Senate in this matter has further established Nigeria’s prime position in the comity of the despicable third nations of the world. More sadly, the Senate has, by that singular act, confirmed that the Red Chamber is a huge crime scene and an entity populated by characters without the simplest sense of what posterity holds for them!

We should therefore search no further why, despite our efforts at charting a new course for Nigeria, where every citizen will have a complete sense of protection from any infraction, we have not been able to make any meaningful progress. Truth be told, our four-legged brethren in the wild would have done better than what the Senate did last Thursday!

Could the Genevan philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) have had the Akpabio-led Senate in mind when he postulated that ‘the principles of morality are largely known to us and the righteous study of them tends to corrupt more often than edify?’ Otherwise, how, in 21st-century Nigeria, would an accused be made to sit in judgment over his accuser?

Advertisement

Before now, one would have thought that the worst of predators left our legislative chambers long before the Noachian flood! As the ‘yeah’ voice vote on the Akpoti-Uduaghan matter reverberates, even now, in my hearing, the only wish I have is a voyage back to our not-too-long past, the era of Oba Ojo Olúyèye Òjoyèbugiòtèwó, when justice was dispensed with every sense of morality and fairness!

Advertisement

News

SUBEB Urges LG Chairmen To Sack Absentee Teachers In Bauchi

Published

on

The Bauchi State Universal Basic Education (BASUBEB) has called on all the 20 Local Government Chairmen in the state to sack absentee teachers.

Alh. Adamu Mohammed, the Executive Chairman, BASUBEB, made the call on Friday during the official flag off ceremony of the 2025/2026 state wide enrolment campaign in Kirfi Local Government Area of the state.

Advertisement

Mohammed, who said that the move would serve as a deterrent and make others to be up and doing, added that the chairmen only need to inform SUBEB about the decision.

He also expressed the commitment of the Board to reward teachers who are diligent, committed, punctual and dedicated to service so as to encourage them.

The SUBEB boss who lamented the lack of enrolment of school aged children in schools across the state, said the development is detrimental to the future of the children.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:Bauchi Govt Inaugurates Pastors, Imams Peace Building Committee

According to him, the state government was doing everything possible to improve the quality of education at the Basic level, saying that members of the communities were not supportive of the efforts by not sending their children to school.

He also stressed that Girl child education is important to the development and growth of the society, calling on parents to send their girl children to School.

Advertisement

“I want to call on all the Local Government Chairmen in the state to take responsibility of supervising and monitoring schools in their respective areas because SUBEB can’t be everywhere at the same time.

“The Board will not rest in its oars until Basic education becomes the envy of others in line with what UNICEF and UBEC set as guidelines,” he said.

Also speaking, Dr Mohammed Lawal, the state’s Commissioner for Education, said the aim of the enrolment campaign is to mobilise traditional institutions to support enrolment drive in the state by sensitising parents and guardians on the need to send their children to school.

Advertisement

READ ALSO: Bauchi One Of Most Educationally Disadvantaged States In Nigeria – Expert

He added that the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) would also support whatever the traditional institutions are doing to achieve greater enrolment as well as continuity in education.

Earlier, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, the Chief of Field Office, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bauchi, recalled how the number of out-of-school children was reduced from 1.5 million to 500,000 through the effort of the governor with support from traditional, religious leaders, communities and parents.

Advertisement

“This is a huge progress but still, having 500,000 children out of school is one of the main goals for us to bring them also into schools.

“Education is the right of every child. No child should be out of school and that is my humble request that as the government is putting in policies, steps and strategies to bring these children back to school, everybody should key into it.”

While assuring UNICEF’s commitment and support to the development of basic education in the state, she called on all stakeholders to work together and ensure that every child is back to school.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

News

UNILAG Honours Bayelsa Gov, Diri

Published

on

The University of Lagos has completed a book project on the leadership qualities and governance style of Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri.

The Managing Director of the UNILAG Consult, Prof John Oyefara, who disclosed this on Thursday during a courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa, said the institution has also proposed a public lecture as well as endowing a Professorial Chair in the Department of Political Science in his honour.

Advertisement

UNILAG Consult was established in 1983 and incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act in 2013. It serves as the consultancy arm of the institution, providing research-driven, cross-sectoral technical services via access to the university’s academic expertise and facilities.

Diri’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, in a statement on Friday, quoted Oyefara as saying that the university had a track record of assessing the performance of various leaders in Nigeria and that the book titled “Leadership Chronicles of Governor Douye Diri” focuses on his exemplary leadership and achievements.

READ ALSO:Diri Approves Automatic Employment For UAT First Class Graduates

Advertisement

He said, “At the University of Lagos, we have a tradition of assessing leaders in Nigeria. We use our own templates and standards that are global to measure the leadership in Nigeria.

“We identified Your Excellency to be a leading star in Nigeria, based on leadership and governance. We decided to put together all your achievements. The purpose of our visit was to inform you about our project in three thematic areas. One, is on the publication of the book we have been able to put together about His Excellency’s achievements in the state.

“We also propose a public lecture where renowned leaders in Africa will deliver a lecture on leadership and governance to exemplify the achievements of the governor. The third one is for the Department of Political Science in the University of Lagos to see the possibility of endowing a professorial chair in the name of His Excellency.”

Advertisement

The Lead Editor of the project, Prof Hope Eghagha, also stated that the idea was an independent assessment of the governor’s performance in office, either in infrastructure or human capacity development, through interviews that were conducted.

READ ALSO:Diri Raises Alarm Over Alleged Threat To Peace In Bayelsa

Responding, Diri said he was pleasantly surprised by the gesture of the institution. He welcomed the idea of documenting his achievements, saying he had been nursing the idea of establishing a leadership institute to groom those with an interest in politics and political offices.

Advertisement

The governor said, “It is really interesting when people, without your prompting, decide to do a thing for the purpose of posterity. A lot of the time, we do not document these events and activities, as we look at them as not too important. But they are.

“I have toyed with the idea that if I had the resources, could I establish a leadership institution in Bayelsa State so that before anyone thinks of becoming a councillor, council chairman, commissioner, special adviser or even governor, he knows what he is coming to do in office?

“If you are not prepared for it, then we are bound to fail as a country and as a state. So, I have been pleasantly surprised by the University of Lagos, and I think it is a good thing. Let me also state that the success in Bayelsa is not all about me. It is actually about our team. We have a dedicated team of commissioners, special advisers, technical advisers, and everybody contributing their quota to the whole.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:Presidential Amnesty Programme Needs Adequate Funding, Says Bayelsa Gov, Diri

“That is why if anyone says we have done well in infrastructure, it is because down the ladder, those who have been vested with that authority have implemented our policies, projects and programmes to the best of what we expected to be.”

Diri approved the proposals from the delegation and thanked them for recognising him in the midst of others.

Advertisement

Serving as Bayelsa State’s helmsman since his Supreme Court-affirmed inauguration in February 2020, Diri has become noted for his inclusive leadership and development-oriented governance.

Against this backdrop, UNILAG’s decision to document Diri’s leadership style and legacy through a dedicated book, alongside a public lecture series and a named professorial chair, marks a rare scholarly honour reflecting both institutional respect for governance excellence and encouragement of lasting academic inquiry.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Lagos Begins Comprehensive Assessment Of Public Primary Schools

Published

on

The Lagos State Government has commenced its maiden NEEDS Assessment Project for all public primary schools across the state.

According to a statement on Friday by the Deputy Director, Information, LASUBEB, Abe Adunola, the initiative, spearheaded by the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, was unveiled on Thursday during a stakeholders’ engagement session.

Advertisement

The NEEDS Assessment Project is an evidence-gathering exercise designed to identify gaps in infrastructure, teaching capacity, and learning resources in public schools. It provides government with data to plan targeted interventions and allocate resources more effectively.

According to the board, the project will cover 1,238 public primary schools, vocational centres, inclusive units, and Local Government Education Authorities.

READ ALSO:Diri Approves Automatic Employment For UAT First Class Graduates

Advertisement

Board member of LASUBEB, Owolabi Falana, said the exercise was a major step in strengthening the foundation of basic education in Lagos.

Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Deputy Chief of Staff, the Executive Assistant to the Governor on Project Implementation and Monitoring, Mr. Olusegun Sanwo-Olu, noted that the initiative reflected the state government’s resolve to drive education reform with data-driven interventions.

This project is about clarity and intentionality. By understanding the realities in our schools, we are laying a solid foundation for smart planning, equitable resource allocation, and sustainable reforms. It is a bold step that will ultimately improve the quality of teaching, enhance learning outcomes, and prepare Lagos children to thrive in this fast-changing world,” he said.

Advertisement

LASUBEB Chairman, Dr. Hakeem Shittu, described the initiative as the first in a series of continuous exercises aimed at transforming Lagos public schools.

READ ALSO:Diri Raises Alarm Over Alleged Threat To Peace In Bayelsa

“This maiden edition of the Needs Assessment Project is only the beginning. It will be sustained as a continuous initiative to ensure our schools, teachers, and learners are never left behind,” he affirmed.

Advertisement

Highlighting the project’s benefits, Shittu explained that the assessment would lead to safer classrooms, improved facilities, empowered teachers, and better learning outcomes for pupils.

“The future of Lagos depends on how much we invest in our children today. This initiative gives us the clarity and direction to act decisively,” he said.

He further stressed that the project was not only about identifying gaps but also about developing practical solutions that would create conducive learning environments, improve teachers’ working conditions, and strengthen administrative capacity across schools.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:Tinubu, Akpabio, Abbas, Diri, Makinde, Eno, Labour Leaders, Others To Grace NUJ @70 Celebration

Shittu also commended the contributions of teachers, administrators, and Local Government Education Authorities, while emphasising collaboration with the Project Implementation and Monitoring Unit for credible data collection.

He urged teachers, parents, and community leaders to support the exercise.

Advertisement

“The success of this project depends on our collective effort. Together, we can build a school system that empowers our children with the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to compete globally,” he said.

The initiative comes against the backdrop of several education reforms introduced in Lagos in recent years. Through the EKOEXCEL programme launched in 2019, the state government deployed digital learning devices and retrained teachers to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes in public schools.

READ ALSO:How Someone Made Me Pay $10,000 To Marabouts To Become Governor –Diri

Advertisement

The state has also embarked on school rehabilitation projects, the construction of new classrooms, and the expansion of inclusive education centres to accommodate children with special needs.

Despite these efforts, public primary schools in Lagos have faced challenges of overcrowded classrooms, poor infrastructure, and uneven access to quality teaching.

Education experts have long called for systematic assessments to guide interventions, making the NEEDS project the first coordinated attempt to collect comprehensive data for policy decisions in the state’s basic education sector.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Trending