Opinion

Quo Vadis: Natasha vs The Senate: Individual vs Institution

Published

7 months ago

September 10, 2025

Eric

By Prof Mike Ozekhome SAN

Introduction

The ongoing drama in Nigeria concerning the Senate and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has once again spotlighted the uneasy intersection of law, politics, and institutional power. At its centre stands Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the outspoken lawmaker representing Kogi Central, whose suspension has since become more than an internal disciplinary matter. Yes, it has become a test case for the limits of legislative authority, the sanctity of judicial process, and the huge price of dissent in a chamber often accused of jealously guarding its own with unflinching zeal. How come it now strips one of its own naked in the public domain? What are the issues?
Discipline or Oppression?
What began in March as a disciplinary sanction for alleged insubordination has now spiraled into a serious constitutional standoff. Six months on, the lawmaker had expected to reclaim her seat with the effluxion of her suspension period only to be met with an official communication from the Acting Clerk of the National Assembly reminding her that her fate hangs not in the will of her suffering constituents, nor even in the resolutions of her colleagues, but in the hands of the appellate court to which both parties had submitted their grievances. The letter effectively extends her political exile and underscores the Senate’s insistence that its authority remains unbent, even in the face of legal challenge and public outcry.

She believes the Senate Institution is being deployed for personal aggrandisement by the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

However, beneath the procedural veneer lies a deeper contest: a narrative of alleged political victimization; a clash of huge egos at the highest level of the legislature; and a senator’s insistent claim that her punishment is nothing but a retaliation for daring to accuse the Senate President of misconduct.

More so, her suspension, initially framed as punishment for “insubordination,” has evolved far beyond an internal disciplinary quarrel. It has since graduated into the theatre of a broader conflict. It has become one that pits the autonomy of a legislator to act on behalf of her constituents against the authority of the legislative red chamber. By extension, this involves the rights of an elected representative and her constituents against the collective power of the institution that claims to regulate her.
The case is Sub judice, yes, but is that all?
Natasha’s suspension is being challenged in court both in appeals and cross-appeals. This makes it sub judice. The doctrine of sub judice is one of those subtle rules that sits quietly in the background of the law until a controversy erupts, and suddenly it takes centre stage.

Literally meaning “under a judge,” the rule simply insists that when a matter is before a competent court, the parties (and indeed the public) must exercise restraint. No parallel tribunal should decide the same issue. No authority should prejudice the outcome. No commentary should undermine the court’s ability to do justice. It is a rule of deference, born of the recognition that the courtroom must remain the final and undisturbed arena for resolving disputes.
In Nigeria, the courts have applied this doctrine in two principal ways. See Governor of Lagos v. Ojukwu (1986) 1 NWLR (Pt 18) 621First, by discouraging the multiplicity of suits; i.e the tendency to file the same matter in different courts in search of a favourable judgment. The Supreme Court, as far back as in the case of Okorodudu v. Okoromadu (1977) LPELR-2495(SC), frowned upon this abuse, declaring it an affront to judicial integrity.

Second, the doctrine of sub judice has been used to curb prejudicial commentary. In Bello v. Attorney-General of Lagos State (2006) LPELR-7585(CA), the intermediate court stressed that comments capable of influencing or pre-empting a court’s decision could amount to contempt. Thus, the rule is meant to preserve fairness, protect litigants, and uphold the dignity of the bench. It was never meant to overreach or punish a citizen unduly.

Yet, like every principle of law, sub judice can be and appears in the Natasha case to have been stretched beyond its natural contours. And when that happens, it morphs from a shield of justice into a sword of suppression. This is what looms large in the case of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. The Senate insists that because her case is pending at the Court of Appeal, she must remain suspended until judgment is delivered, notwithstanding that even its own suspension time of six months has expired. In other words, the pendency of her suit is not treated as a shield and reason for restraint on their part, but as a weapon and justification to extend her punishment. What was designed as a fence to keep justice safe is now being used as a whip to keep a legislator silent and at bay.

The problem with this posture is that it profoundly challenges decency and morality. An example: Imagine a tenant who challenges his landlord’s eviction notice in court. While the matter is being heard, the landlord bolts the house and imperiously declares: “Because this case is in court, you must stay outside; you cannot re-enter until the judge decides.” Though the man has not yet been adjudged guilty of insubordination or trespass, he is already dispossessed, punished, not by law, but by an oppressive process. He is made to suffer the very penalty he is contesting, long before the court can speak. This is precisely the danger when sub judice is invoked not to protect the legal process, but to prolong exclusion.
Where lies the fate of the innocent Kogi constituents?
At the very heart of this controversy lies not simply the fate of one senator, but the voice of an entire constituency, Kogi Central (one-third of Kogi State). Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was not self-appointed to the Red Chamber; she was chosen and voted for by the people of Kogi Central through the instrumentality of the ballot, the most sacred covenant between citizen and state in a democracy. The ballot represents the will of the people. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), (the 1999 Constitution) vests legislative power in the National Assembly (NASS); and that power is exercised through representatives elected by constituencies across the federation. To suspend a senator is, in effect, to suspend the constitutional voice of her people.

But herein lies the paradox: the Senate insists that the matter is sub judice, that until the Court of Appeal rules, Natasha must remain in political limbo. But what of the people whose collective will she embodies? Does litigation strip them of their right to be represented in the national discourse? Can the judicial pendency of one woman’s grievance become the silencing of hundreds of thousands of constituents? If democracy is truly government of the people, by the people, and for the people, (as Abraham Lincoln: once enthused at his Gettysburg speech on November 18, 1863), then the punishment of Natasha is not hers alone. It is the disenfranchisement of a whole Kogi Central, the people who invested their hope in her.

The courts have often reminded us that representation is not ornamental but substantive. In INEC v. Musa (2003) 3 NWLR (Pt. 806) 72, the Supreme Court underscored that political rights flow directly from the Constitution and cannot be lightly abridged. Likewise, in Amaechi v. INEC (2008) 5 NWLR (Pt. 1080) 227, the court went further, declaring that the electorate’s mandate is paramount, and even political parties must bow before it. If the judiciary itself recognizes that the will of the people is superior to procedural technicalities of political parties, why then should the Senate, an institution that exists only because constituencies exist, act as though it can silence a district with the stroke of a gavel?

The mandate belongs not to Natasha as an individual, but to her people. In the case of THE SPEAKER BAUCHI HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY v. Hon. RIFKATU SAMSON DANNA (2017) 49 WRN 52, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal filed against the judgement of a Bauchi State High Court in respect of the illegal suspension of Honourable Rifkatu Danna. The intermediate court held that the suspension of the legislator constituted a breach of the right of the Bogoro Constituency to be represented by her in the state House of Assembly. The court equally held that the decision of the House to withhold the salaries and allowances of the legislator was illegal as she was not an employee but an elected member of the Bauchi State of Assembly. By extrapolation, Natasha is not an employee of the Senate, but one of the 109 Senators.

Senator Natasha is nothing but a vessel, a custodian and a courier of their collective voice and will. Her exclusion from plenary sessions, committees, motions and votes translates to the silencing of that constituency in every matter of her State and national importance. Whether the subject is the budget, constitutional amendments, or motions affecting infrastructure, security and welfare, Kogi Central is conspicuously absent; not by choice, but by institutional fiat. This is not discipline; it is disenfranchisement. This is building strong men; not strong institutions.

It must also be remembered that suspension, as a tool of internal discipline, cannot override the express provisions of the 1999 Constitution. Section 14(2)(a) declares that “sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority.” Section 68 further details the circumstances under which a legislator may lose his or her seat, viz: defection, conviction, resignation, or recall by constituents. Nowhere does the Constitution contemplate indefinite suspension as a legitimate means of punishing an erring Legislator. That amounts to complete removal from her seat.

To allow this is to create a new unknown ground for disqualification outside the clear provisions of the supreme law of the land. That, in itself, is unconstitutional. The Senate may argue that internal discipline is necessary to preserve order and decorum. True. But discipline that frontally attacks the Constitution (fons et origo) and silences an entire constituency crosses from order into chaos and usurpation. The Senate institution is not greater than the Constitution that birthed it. A tail cannot wag the dog, its owner. And while Natasha may be one senator, she embodies a district. She is the alter ego of a people, a mandate that cannot be muted under the guise of procedure.
Conclusion
In the final analysis, Natasha v. The Senate is not merely a skirmish over parliamentary decorum; it is more a referendum on the very heart and soul of democratic representation. The Senate may insist on its authority to discipline; but then authority without restraint becomes tyranny. Senator Natasha may appear as one woman locked in combat with a towering institution, yet behind her stands the invisible multitude whose mandate she bears. To gag and muzzle her is to censor them; to suspend her indefinitely is to suspend their sovereignty indefinitely.

The doctrine of sub judice may counsel caution, but it cannot annul the clear provisions of the Constitution. The doctrine may preserve the status quo, but it cannot legitimise disenfranchisement. Between the rights of one senator and the prerogatives of the Senate lies a higher truth: sovereignty belongs to the people, and no institution is licensed to mute their voice.

Thus, the question is not whether Natasha has erred in conduct, but whether an institution sworn to protect democracy can justify punishing an entire constituency in the name of procedure. History’s verdict on such struggles is always the same: the individual may falter, but the people’s will endures forever. It is therefore imperative to state that the institution that forgets its source of legitimacy courts its own decay if not extinction.

In this contest of one against many, an individual versus an institution the brilliance of democracy shines in the reminder that no chamber, however august, is greater than the people whose breath gives it life. The crucial question: what does the Senate lose by recalling Natasha whose six months suspension it imposed has elapsed? The answer to this question unlocks the truth. The answer is NOTHING. It is a matter of conscience – “an open wound; only truth can heal” (Utman Dan Fodio).

Opinion

Nation Building Reimagined: Integrated Principles and Strategies for Sustainable Growth

Published

3 days ago

April 11, 2026

Eric

By Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD

“True nation building is not the work of the state alone, but a harmonious convergence where empowered peoples provide the foundation, innovative corporates generate the momentum, and visionary institutions ensure direction — together forging sustainable prosperity, social cohesion, and enduring national strength for current and future generations” – Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD

Nation building is a deliberate and continuous process of constructing cohesive, resilient, and prosperous societies capable of realising their full potential. It extends far beyond political structures or state institutions to encompass three interdependent spheres: peoples (individuals and communities), corporates (businesses and private-sector organisations), and nations (governance institutions and the state). When these spheres are strategically aligned through sound principles and practical strategies, they generate all-round exploits — inclusive economic growth, social cohesion, innovation, human flourishing, and global competitiveness.

This comprehensive framework offers actionable guidance for sustaining productive and progressive development. It is grounded in universal principles validated by international development experience, economic history, and governance studies, making it relevant for scholars, policymakers, business leaders, and development practitioners worldwide.

Foundational Principles of Effective Nation Building

Successful nation building rests on six core principles that transcend cultural, geographical, and ideological differences:

Inclusive Human Dignity and Agency — Recognising every citizen as both beneficiary and active architect of national progress through equal opportunity and rights protection.
Institutional Integrity and Rule of Law — Building transparent, accountable institutions that foster trust and predictability.
Economic Dynamism and Shared Prosperity — Promoting broad-based growth that benefits individuals, businesses, and the state simultaneously.
Social Cohesion and Cultural Resilience — Forging unity while respecting diversity to create a shared national identity and purpose.
Adaptive Leadership and Long-Term Vision — Combining strategic foresight with the flexibility to learn and adjust.
Sustainable Resource Stewardship — Balancing present needs with intergenerational equity in environmental and fiscal matters.
These principles provide a universal compass for development, as evidenced by cross-national data from the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators and the UNDP Human Development Reports.

Core Strategies Across the Three Spheres

For Peoples (Individuals and Communities): Nation building begins with empowering citizens. Key strategies include universal access to quality education and skills development, robust health and social protection systems, community-driven development programmes, and targeted initiatives for youth and women empowerment. These efforts enhance social mobility, reduce vulnerability, and foster active civic participation.

For Corporates (Businesses and Private Sector): Corporates serve as the primary engine of wealth creation and innovation. Effective strategies involve creating an enabling business environment, promoting public-private partnerships, enforcing strong corporate governance and ethical standards, and implementing talent development and local content policies. When supported appropriately, the private sector generates jobs, technological advancement, and tax revenues that fuel broader development.

For Nations (State Institutions and Governance): The state provides the overarching framework for progress. Strategies include institutional reform and capacity building, decentralisation for better responsiveness, evidence-based policy making, and strategic regional and global integration. Strong institutions ensure equitable rules, policy continuity, and effective service delivery.

Sustaining Progressive Growth in Nigeria

In Nigeria, this integrated framework offers a practical pathway to convert demographic and natural endowments into sustained prosperity. At the peoples’ level, investments in education, health, and skills development can transform the large youth population into a productive demographic dividend. For corporates, policy predictability, infrastructure development, and public-private partnerships can drive diversification beyond oil into agriculture, manufacturing, and digital services. At the national level, institutional reforms, anti-corruption measures, and evidence-based governance would reduce policy inconsistency and enhance public trust.

When these elements reinforce one another, Nigeria can achieve higher productivity, reduced poverty, greater social cohesion, and improved global competitiveness — creating a virtuous cycle of inclusive growth.

Advancing Development in West Africa

Within the ECOWAS region, the framework supports deeper integration and collective resilience. Strategies for social cohesion help address cross-border challenges such as irregular migration, climate impacts, and youth unemployment. Corporate-focused approaches encourage intra-regional trade and industrialisation through harmonised policies and stronger value chains. Institutional strategies promote policy coordination, joint humanitarian response, and shared security mechanisms.

By applying this model, West African countries can move from fragmented national efforts toward coordinated regional progress, enhancing food security, energy access, and economic competitiveness while building resilience against external shocks.

Driving Continental Transformation in Africa

Across Africa, the principles and strategies align closely with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Sustainable resource stewardship helps convert natural wealth into long-term human and infrastructure investments. The corporate strategies support regional value chains and industrialisation, while institutional reforms strengthen governance and reduce trade barriers.

When implemented continent-wide, this approach fosters inclusive industrialisation, technological advancement, and reduced external dependency — positioning Africa as a major driver of global growth in the 21st century.

Global Relevance and Contribution

On the global stage, the framework provides timely lessons for both developed and developing nations navigating technological disruption, climate change, and rising inequality. The emphasis on shared prosperity and social cohesion offers pathways to mitigate polarisation. The integration of corporates as development partners demonstrates how private-sector innovation can serve public goals. Institutional strategies of adaptive leadership and evidence-based policy making are universally applicable in managing complex transnational challenges.

Nations adopting this model contribute to global stability by reducing conflict drivers, enhancing food and energy security, and participating constructively in multilateral systems. In this way, the framework supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and helps build a more equitable and resilient world order.

Conclusion: A Practical Pathway to Enduring Progress

The principles and strategies of nation building presented here constitute a balanced, interconnected discipline capable of sustaining productive and progressive growth across multiple scales. For Nigeria, they chart a course from potential to performance. For West Africa, they strengthen regional solidarity. For Africa, they accelerate continental transformation. And for the global community, they offer practical wisdom for building fairer, more stable societies.

True nation building succeeds when peoples, corporates, and state institutions reinforce one another in a virtuous cycle. Its greatest strength lies in this holistic integration — recognising that sustainable development requires empowered citizens, innovative enterprises, and effective governance working in harmony.

In an increasingly interdependent world, embracing these principles with consistency, courage, and collective ownership is not merely beneficial but essential. Nations and regions that do so will unlock enduring prosperity, resilience, and a respected place in the global community. The framework provides both the vision and the practical tools needed to turn potential into lasting achievement for current and future generations.

Dr. Tolulope A. Adegoke, AMBP-UN is a globally recognized scholar-practitioner and thought leader at the nexus of security, governance, and strategic leadership. His mission is dedicated to advancing ethical governance, strategic human capital development, and resilient nation-building, and global peace. He can be reached via: tolulopeadegoke01@gmail.com, globalstageimpacts@gmail.com

Opinion

Dear CDS, NSA, Your Prodigal Sons, Brothers Have Killed General Braimah

Published

3 days ago

April 11, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

Almost five months since the yet to be explained killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba, another high ranking military officer, another Brigadier General, has been unlived. He was Brigadier General Oseni Omo Braimah, Commander of 29 Task Force Brigade Operation Hadin Kai, Maiduguri Borno State.

The sadness that followed the brutal killing of the Brigade Commander, can almost be touched, dear Nigerians, with special reference to the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and his counterpart, the Chief of Defense Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede. These men, have at separate fora concassed for the kid gloves handling of terrorism activities, and terrorists.

Ribadu, it was, that asked that they be rehabilitated as they are ‘our brothers. Oluyede echoed the stand, saying the terrorists was equated to the biblical prodigal son, and therefore should be received with open hands. This he said to justify his latest ‘Operation Safe Corridor’, designed to welcome ‘repentant’ terrorists and bandits, and have them reintegrated into the society.

It is still these touted same brothers, and prodigal sons that overran a military base in Benisheikh, reportedly killing 18 soldiers including the Brigadier General. According to the Army, however, the number of deaths was overhyped, claiming that only two officers and two other soldiers were killed in the battle they said the military had the upper hand, and auccessfully repelled the assailants and maintained their positions.

Much as the military agreed that they lost four soldiers, they have failed to produce casualties, or even speak on the number, from the terrorists side, in a battle they said they had the upper hand. It’s still had to believe, only that the prodigal sons and brothers snuffed the life of a general, and according to reports, he was caught like a sitting duck.

The prodigal sons with the ‘brothers’ did not stop there; they proceeded to kill Forest Guard Commander and five others in Kwara, just as they mercilessly hacked to death eight members of the same family in Bokkos, Plateau. The list is endless. Of prodigal sons and brothers. Thanks to the NSA and the CDS.

Someone once said that that the only mercy a terrorist or bandit deserve is the mercy of God. And it is the duties of the authority to send them to God for such mercy.

Why do we keep handling merciless killers with kid gloves, and turn around to call them sons and brothers. They in turn, are only looking for opportunity to strike again.

These people have gone from being brothers to becoming animals, very dangerous and ugly beasts that have lost the capacity to show, and so should not be shown any mercy caught.

Dear NSA and CDS, you muat understand that these people have been extremely radicalised, and can no longer fit into the society of sane beings, and therefore, should be put away permanently. We can’t continue to safe corridor to experiment with the lives of Nigerians. No bandit or terrorist is worth rehabilitating, talk less of being integrated into the military. Whoever does that is complicit, and should be treated as an enemy of the Nigerian state.

The NSA and the CDS should begin now to revisit everyone they have ever pardoned or reintegrated into the society for they are part of our problem. They are culpable.

General Uba died saraa, as we say in our local parlance. We should let Braimah die saraa. We must not allow this irresponsibility happen again. I’m not borrowing any words from the president because all his words appear empty, while Nigerians continue in droves, even when the country is not really at war.

Time to jettison this brother, cousin, prodigal son rubbish, and deal decisively with terrorists and bandits.

Opinion

Ovation @30: A Triumph of Vision, Courage and African Excellence

Published

3 days ago

April 11, 2026

Eric

By Dr. Sani Sa’idu Baba

There is an African proverb that says, “However long the night, the dawn will surely break.” No story embody this truth more powerfully than that of Chief Dele Momodu and the remarkable rise of Ovation International. Founded in April, 1996 at the height of the Sani Abacha regime, Ovation was born not out of comfort, but from adversity. In forced exile in London, faced with uncertainty and hardship, Momodu chose not to surrender to circumstance but to challenge it, daring to create a global lifestyle magazine at a time when Africa’s image was largely defined by negativity.

From that improbable beginning emerged a publication that would go on to redefine how Africa is seen by the world. Ovation introduced a different narrative, one of elegance, achievement, culture, and pride, documenting African success stories with unmatched consistency. At a time when global media often overlooked the continent’s brilliance, Ovation boldly projected it, celebrating milestones, personalities, and cultures across Africa and its diaspora. It became a powerful cultural bridge, connecting cities and continents while showcasing an Africa that is vibrant, accomplished, and globally relevant.

Over the past three decades, Ovation has not merely reported stories, it has shaped destinies and elevated generations. It has provided a platform for emerging talents in entertainment, business, and public life, often spotlighting individuals long before they attained global recognition. Its influence extended beyond storytelling into economic and social impact, creating employment for thousands across journalism, photography, real estate, design, and event production, while also setting new standards in lifestyle media, enterprenership and event documentation. Long before the rise of digital platforms, Ovation was already global, distributing African excellence to audiences around the world and strengthening the connection between Africa and its diaspora.

Through changing times and technological revolutions, Ovation International has remained consistent in quality, bold in vision, and authentic in purpose. Its ability to evolve without losing its identity is a testament to its strength as not just a magazine, but an enduring institution. Today, as it marks 30 years of impact, it stands as one of Africa’s most influential media platforms, one that has significantly contributed to reshaping global perception and asserting Africa’s place in the world.

This milestone is a celebration of resilience, vision, and legacy. It is a tribute to the pride of Africa Chief Dele Momodu, whose courage transformed hardship into history, and whose dream once considered unrealistic became a continental force. It is also a celebration of the entire Ovation family, whose dedication over the years has sustained and expanded this vision. Thirty years on, Ovation is not just a witness to Africa’s story, it is one of its most powerful storytellers.

A big thank you to Chief Dele Momodu for proving long ago that Africa is not synonymous with bad news, and congratulations on three decades of excellence proof that when the dawn finally comes, it can illuminate the world.

Dr. Sani Sa’idu Baba writes from Kano, and can be reached via drssbaba@yahoo.com