AKPABIO AND AKPOTI: Natasha’s Major Mistake, And How Women Should Approach Sexual Exploitation From Childhood

Senators Akpabio and Akpoti. Image credit: The Cable

Sexual abuse - of both adults and children - seems to be much in the front burner right now. For me, the most serious of them is the recent report by the United Nations that one-year-olds are among many kids falling victim of rape in war-torn Sudan. Meanwhile, it triggered us to start a campaign to better strengthen justice systems against child sexual abuse as you'll see when you click through.

Another current case showing that sexual abuse topics seem to be dominating the news is in another African country: Nigeria. It concerns the Senate President of Nigeria Godswill Akpabio and a female senator named Natasha Akpoti.

Here's a little of the story to help you in understanding my point in this article.

The Story

According to BBC,

In an interview with Arise Television on Friday, Senator Uduaghan alleged that Akpabio had made inappropriate advances towards her during a visit to his residence in southern Akwa Ibom state, on 8 December 2023.

She further alleged that Akpabio had, on a separate occasion, insinuated that she should "take care of him" if she wanted her motions to receive favourable consideration in the senate.

The senator alleged that Akpabio was behaving like a university lecturer who consistently failed his student who had refused to sleep with him.

But this was denied by Akpabio.

"At no time did I ever harass any woman. I was raised very well by my late single mother, and I have always upheld respect for women. I was even awarded the most gender-friendly governor in Nigeria," he noted.

In a separate report, BBC also said that “Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan first made the accusations…in an interview last Friday”.

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There Lies Senator Natasha’s Major Mistake👆 And A Big Lesson For All Targets Of Sexual Harassment

Assuming Senator Natasha Akpoti’s accusation was true, her major mistake that led to her getting suspended - and the suspension getting considerable public support - was making the accusation public through public media. Instead, she should have gathered her evidence first and gone legal with it.

This is to say that the public should have heard about it for the first time only via the legal system. For instance, it should have been either through the court or through an official committee of the Senate.

Some people are saying that Senator Akpoti has a history of making false claims similar to the current one. While I am yet to have any strong enough ground to agree with those claims, I am toeing this line in case her accusations are true (because it's an extremely serious issue bordering on why millions are dying in Nigeria if Senator Akpoti’s claims about Senator Akpabio is true).

As much as some women's rights activists and supporters of Senator Akpoti may want to be sentimental about the female senator’s suspension, the truth is that the Senate Ethics Committee could have hardly done otherwise without setting a dangerous antecedent. And that's because Senator Akpoti herself gave the room for this to be so.

But then, as I was already saying, this is not to discountenance the possibility of Senator Akpoti’s accusation against Senator Akpabio being true., For now, however, I don't just want to dwell on the possibility or not, or on laying blames on any of the parties involved. Instead, let this be an opportunity for women everywhere - and indeed everyone - to learn an important lesson: Go more legal than social with cases of sexual exploitation.

Parents should teach their kids early enough on how to identify and handle cases of sexual exploitation directed at them.

So, How Should People Handle Cases Of Sexual Exploitation Directed At Them?

1. Gather your evidence

Since people making sexual advances are easily vulnerable in the hands of their crush, they easily lose guard also. So, their targets should take advantage of this to play along without giving in to the act. Playing along should be used as a tool for gathering as many pieces of evidence as possible.

Whether it is a case of a lecturer - or a tutor - exploiting a student, a cleric exploiting a member of the congregation, or a family friend or relative exploiting a vulnerable member of the family, - whatever else - this can always work if done wisely. This is so important that we want to do more about it. So…

If you believe you are a victim of sexual harassment at any time anywhere, and you want to know how to play along while gathering your evidence, email your story to awakedigest@gmail.com with the subject line: A CASE OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT. We will advise you free of charge.

Now, what should you do with your evidence after gathering it? This👇👇👇

2. Seek Legal Redress Against The Predator

If you have the resources to go to court with your evidence handy, do that. Otherwise, seek legal redress by other means.

For instance, an undergraduate who is being sexually harassed by his/her lecturer can use the evidence in his/her possession to petition the university senate. A child in a family can share the evidence with his/her parents. 

As for Senator Akpoti, she should have used such evidence to petition the Senate’s Ethics Committee via the established procedure. If she had done that, the same Ethics Committee wouldn't have had any ground to suspend her as it has done.

3. Refrain From Making Public Comments About The Case Outside The Legal Circle

While the matter is getting legal attention, the would-be victim should refrain from talking about it outside the legal circle. The urge to use a case of sexual harassment directed at you for rumor-mongering is there especially for women. But, such rumor-mongering - whether via the media (social, print or electronic) or off-media interactions - can easily be twisted and used against you by the sexual predators themselves.

In Conclusion,

What do you think about these proposals👆👆👆? Do you have anything for or against any of them? Or, do you have proposals of your own that we have failed to include in this resource? Kindly share them below using your Gmail account. Or you share via X or Facebook. 🙏