By Yusuf Mohammed
I have always been of the view that Nigeria is an exceptional case and exceptional cases require exceptional leadership. This country is in dire need of exceptional persons at the helm of affairs. Speaking of exceptionality, I usually mention the likes of Lee Kuan yew of Singapore and Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan as examples. As a huge fan of the latter, I prayed for a Nigerian version her. And God answered my prayer, and that of many others, by bringing forth Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. The icing on the cake for me, is that she is from Kogi, my state of origin.
Before I continue Natasha’s story, let me state the obvious: Nigeria is where it is today because many people are in power for the sake of being in power. From their body language it can be easily deduced that there’s no sense of urgency because they either don’t understand how far we are behind, or they are too absolved in amassing money they wouldn’t be able to exhaust in their lifetime.
What are the causes many in power today lent their voices to before they assumed their current positions? In most cases, nothing. Governance isn’t a joke. It isn’t meant to be a tea party. That is why it requires people who really understand the issues at stake to be at the forefront. Unfortunately, Nigeria over the years has made political leadership an all comers affair. Any Tom Dick and Harry with money (irrespective of the source) is home and dry. And we wonder why we are where we are today?
Back to Natasha. Some people have accused women of playing identity politics. They say they fight for representation simply because they are women. But not Natasha. She didn’t ask them to vote for her because she is a woman. She simply went around telling the people what they stand to gain if she’s elected. And the people heard her message loud and clear. They demonstrated it via the ballot on February 25, 2023.
When she became vocal about public issues and decided to throw her hat in the political ring in 2019, I thought that every decent person irrespective of any affiliation would lend their voices to her campaign. I thought the feminist groups would see her as a rallying point, especially as a woman who wasn’t using the woman card but proving she could stand with men toe to toe in this very rugged arena.
Akpoti who was 39-year-old at the time, faced intimidation that was enough for her to quit politics. She cried out loud about physical harassments and threat to her life, but only the masses could hear her voice. The elites turned deaf ears and looked the other way.
Not deterred by the lack of elitist support, the irrepressible woman who was buoyed by the backing of the ‘ordinary’ people kept on marching towards uncharted territory. She trod where women feared to tread. In fact, it should be noted there are many men, according to reliable sources who ran away from Kogi State since Yahaya Bello took charge in 2016. Out of fear, those who aren’t based there who used to visit in the past, haven’t visited the state since 2016.
Also, Kogi is second to Rivers State in terms of violence. You wouldn’t expect someone in her mold to be in the murky waters of the state politics. But she has defied the odds and continues to lead the charge for more women to poke their manicured fingers into political pies.
Armed with sound education and the zeal for good governance, she has been noticed beyond the mascara. It is evident from her trajectory that she has been able to bulldoze her way through the road blocks of ‘patriarchy,’ without playing the gender card like I mentioned earlier. She is well aware of the issues bedeviling the people. And her connection with the grassroots is a huge leverage.
Kudos must also be given to the good people of Kogi Central who put aside religion, ethnicity and gender to vote competence, because at this juncture in our national life, competence should trump primordial sentiments.
Some may ask: who was she before today? Well, Akpoti-Uduaghan didn’t emerge from the cradle. Akpoti-Uduaghan was born on December 1979, as the second of four children of a Nigerian father and a Ukrainian mother. She studied at the University of Abuja from 2000 to 2004 and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree. She was called to the Nigerian bar in 2005 upon graduation from the Nigerian Law School in Abuja. In 2011, she proceeded to the University of Dundee and graduated with a Master of Laws degree in 2012. She holds a Master of Business Administration in Oil & Gas Management from the University of Dundee.
After graduation from the Nigerian Law School, she worked with Brass NLG as a legal counsel from 2007 to 2010. In 2015, she established Builders Hub Impact Investment Program (BHIIP).
What endeared Akpoti to the people was her consistent advocacy for social and infrastructural development in the state. Over the years, she’s backed her words with actions by empowering hundreds of people in the state. They also love her because of her advocacy for the resuscitation of Ajaokuta Steel mill. From 2015 till date she has been relentless in her call for the revival.
Due to the resilient manner she has been going about her advocacy to get Ajaokuta steel up and running, she was dubbed the ‘’Queen of Steel.’’
She became famous nationwide on March 1, 2018 when she presented an investigative report to the National Assembly on corrupt activities in regards to the Ajaokuta steel mill. The report detailed the repetitive waste of government funds and embezzlement since the initial construction of the steel mill which has remained moribund despite multiple attempts to get it running. The rest is history.
Those who have been following Kogi politics weren’t surprised when the court ruled that she won the Kogi Central senatorial district election instead of Abubakar Sadiku-Ohere. Political observers are well aware that what happened on February 25, 2023 was a daylight robbery.
She has warmed her way into the hearts of many people from Kogi irrespective of gender, ethnicity and religion. It remains to be seen if she will be able to maintain the love.
Going forward, the ‘woman of steel’ has proven that beyond their bag of cosmetics, women can also bag top political positions.
The merited triumph of Mrs. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (brain and beauty) against the odds, should be a catalyst for more women to add politics to their ever expanding frontiers.
Yusuf Mohammed is a journalist based in Lagos
Email: yusufcolumnist@gmail.com
