Thus saith the Lord; execute justice and righteousness, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor and do no wrong, do no violence to the foreigner, the fatherless nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place” Jeremiah 22:3
“I will encamp around my house against the army, that none pass through or return and no oppressor will pass through them any more for now I have seen with my eyes” Zechariah 9:8
“He {God} will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy and will break the oppressor in pieces” Psalms72:4
“The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor” Job 15:20
“These six things doth the Lord hate. yea, seven are an abomination unto Him; a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies and he that soweth discord among brethren” Proverbs 6: 16-19.
Contrary to the conventional wisdom of two-sidedness, there are actually three sides to any dispute, including the popular two-fighting, the kind rocking the Senate and by extension, the polity and political discourses, in form of Pull-Skirt-Syndrome {PSS}. There is always the accuser side, the defendant side and then the side of Truth. Majorly driven by emotions, lucre, ethnicity, religion, culture and gender biases, when supporters take sides as they are doing in the Godswill Akpabio/Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan sex-fight, the shortest queue is always behind Truth, that is even if anyone is desirous of aligning with that unpopular side of the battle-field.
Yet that doesn’t make Truth a liability. If anything, Jesus calls it the liberator, but for politicians, it is about na who truth hep. The senate president and the suspended Kogi senator know who is lying between them and since those who should conduct a semblance of inquisition have already concluded on the guilt of parties, the available consolation for whichever party in the dispute, closer to the truth, is God’s promise to pay everyone according to his/her deeds.
On the believability index, Akpabio and Natasha are locked in what football pundits would jocularly call 1-1 goalless draw. Akpabio has the yet-denied slap-for-sex scandal of Joy Nunieh standing against his name, while Natasha has the successfully-debunked Reno Omokri-wants-me accusation as a stain on her credibility as a truth-teller. But the mix-up in dates that obviously exonerated Omokri of Natasha’s accusation of sex solicitation, would not make the self-appointed political marabout a saint. Though he got off the public opinion court, there is still the Great White Throne judgement.
“Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” says Revelation 22:14-15.
The acquittal by men isn’t heavenly clearance. Since Omokri says he is a born-again child of God, he should search his conscience and allow the Holy Spirit to convict him if he actually did offer Natasha unwanted love and just graced to have the dates mixed up, instead of luxuriating in public adoration and offering himself as the golden calf of evidence for the Akpabio crowd. If I were Akpabio, I would simply ask my aides to release CCTV footage of the day Natasha and the husband came to my home, since the place would be littered with cameras. The accuser said the accused was conducting them on a tour de splendeur of his home. Cameras must have captured some moments. Why can’t security agents start from there. Well Natasha can still subpoena the cameras in either her case against the SP or the case instituted by Ekaette Unoma, the wife of the embattled Uyo strongman against her husband’s accuser.
In a place like America where a semblance of public accountability is always put on display despite the numerous shenanigans in Washington, by now, FBI would have raided the home of the Senate President and confiscate his electronic gadgets especially phones and computers in search of the truth. But this is Nigeria. Until something grievous happens to the polity, the multiple standards would not abate. The men of power control nearly everything. Yoruba will say if your mother’s concubine is older than your father, you call him daddy. But God is always on the throne, watching the children of men.
Three of the four main characters–Reno, as usual, has thrust self into the main plot of the tragicomedy–in the thickening sex-for-seat scandal in the senate, are thankfully Christians, but will only address Unoma, the pious-visaged. When you consider stuffs that have been linked to Akpabio in public service since his days as Commissioner in several ministries under then-Governor Victor Attah, Unoma would indeed be the better-half of the union. She avoids controversy like a plague and whatever missing money allegations against the husband since his governorship days, have never really involved her and it would not be because searchlight has not been on her. So, why would a waka-jeje like her just jump into a burgeoning sex scandal even when all cards were yet on the table? Was she playing the supportive wife celebrated in Proverbs 31:10-31?
Is Unoma so confident in the fidelity of her husband to their union? Can she stand in the witness-box and place her hand on the Bible to swear to truthful defence of him, without injuring her Catholic calling and the scripture? Does she still remember the injunction of God hating false witnessing and lying? Does she remember Jesus admonition that before the throne of judgement there is nothing like marriage, with everyone answering personally for his/her deeds? Is she ready for a risk not only in the court of law but also in Divine’s, where there are no conflicting rulings?
I personally feel that Unoma was likely not comfortable with the closeness between her husband and Natasha before the bubble, and plunged with minimal thoughts for consequences, into driving them completely apart. As good as that may sound, there are inherent risks. One, if both are determined to do stuff after the drama of the public spat, only God can stop them. Attraction can be fatal atimes. Two, when proceedings begin in the suit she filed, the unwanted, the uncomfortable might be out. Terribly-embarrassing cross-examination might come up just to knock her claim SP is straight with his libido and discredit her claims on oath. She might end up hurting her husband more than saving him. Damaging family truths may also seep out. Big men have big wahala under their agbada. It was when a former South West governor was leaving office that the issue of twins with another woman spilled into the corridor of power. It cost a favoured aide whose cousin was the mistress, the long-standing succession plan, because the then-outgoing First Lady would not have the family who stole her husband, enjoy the government house.
Natasha seems a truculent person. That is likely from the combo of Ebira DNA and Ukrainian blood in her through her mum, Ludmila Kravchenko. The oyinbo pepper of Okehi appears to be a real unripe pepper that is even more hurtful. It would hurt to see Unoma hurt. Is there a way she can sit this out and allow those adept at political gutter slugfest sort themselves out?
READ ALSO: ‘Sexual harassment’: Akpabio threatens to sue ex-NDDC acting MD, Joy Nunieh
and then