Die-hard disciples of this column will give me a thumb-up when it comes wading into matters that centre around men and women, especially in relation to swimming in another’s river. Swimming in another’s river is a euphemistic phrase for bedding someone else’s spouse. Call it wifenising. This is also my coinage for men that run after other people’s wives.
The last time I treated the topic in this column was on February 22, 2025, where I detailed some men that had taken law into their hands by killing the swimmers… a step I have always kicked against. Rather, I advocate that such men married to adulterous spouses should borrow a leaf from a typical Yoruba man who would lace his wife with charms to teach the swimmer(s) a lesson regrettable in death. By so doing, the lacer will escape any culpability since juju is not known to law. Nothing can be more deterrent than these deadly traps.
Lately, the media space has been swarming with reports about the happenings in the Upper Chamber of our National Assembly where a first-time female Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, married to a Delta chief, has accused the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, of making advances to her in what can be dubbed as the Akpo-Akpa Gate. The Senate’s helmsman flatly denied the allegation in its entirety and traced the origin of the accusations to Senator Natasha’s removal as the chairman of a juicy committee as well as changing her sitting position.
Since the matter is before adjudication, I will not want to dwell on the issue beyond this point. In fact, the social media space in particular has been having a field day on the drama and I do not intend to asphyxiate the space with repetitive commentary. However, what has seduced me to dabble into the kerfuffle is the fresh dimension introduced to it by Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe. Weighing into the imbroglio, Ogunlewe, a former Minister of Works, hit the bull’s eye when he argued that men naturally notice attractive women and that the instinctive reaction can be a challenge for female politicians… and even non-politicians
Referring to Senator Natasha, who is currently in the eye of the storm, he said, “Her beauty attracts attention in a way that may distract others from her political capabilities.
“When she is passing by, there is no way a man will not look at that woman. It is a natural thing for a man to look at beautiful women.”
He then followed up with a rhetorical question: “How can you, as a man, see a beautiful woman passing, and you close your eyes?”
For emphasis, Senator Ogunleye noted that those reactions are not always intentional but are deep-rooted in human nature. Her beauty may cause many men to struggle to separate her appearance from her political acumen.
In a Senate of 109 members, there are only four female representations; Natasha is one of them. And she stands out. Curiously, while handling her case, her other two colleagues threw her under the train. They aligned with their male colleagues and returned the “guilty as charged” verdict. Wither women’s solidarity?!
Without any fear of contradiction, the National Assembly has not been blessed with a paragon of beauty like Natasha since the return of participatory democracy in 1999. The one that came close to her was my sister from Kwara, Senator Gbemisola Saraki. And I wonder how she escaped the kind of loop that the Kogi Senator has found herself in. She too was an eye-catcher.
Incidents of sexual harassment are not alien to our political environment alone. Remember the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the White House that almost consumed the Bill Clinton presidency? Even George Bush Senior could not resist the temptation of pumping the pistoning backside of a White House staff as a sitting president.
There is always a burden that beauty comes with. Such a burden often stirs the beast in men into action. And I agree with Senator Ogunleye in toto. The sight of a beautiful woman can push a eunuch to commit suicide over what he is denied of.
Describing a pretty woman in my novel entitled, “Between Survival and Annihilation”, I painted the beauty of the fiancée (later the wife) of the main character named Hela in this manner and I quote: “No hegumen will allow her to pass by or come close to his monastery for fear that the monks would revolt, renounce their vows and troop after her!” In the plot, the refusal of Hela’s boss to back off from his pursuit of his beautiful junior colleague eventually led to his death during a scuffle with her fiancé (later the husband).
Now that Senator Natasha has been suspended for six whole months, I expect a respite in the Senate unless the court rules otherwise. There will be no distraction; no heads will turn when she is passing. By the time she returns, I believe her male colleagues would have overcome the allure of her exceptional beauty.