Adeseye Ogunlewe, a former senator, says Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s good looks may well be working against her in the upper legislative chamber.
Ogunlewe represented Lagos east in the senate from 1999 to
2003. He was minister of works in the Olusegun Obasanjo administration from
2003 to 2006.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, had
accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of making sexual advances towards
her.
The allegation was preceded by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s outburst
against Akpabio over seating arrangement.
The female lawmaker was suspended on March 6 over the seat
reallocation altercation.
Speaking on Arise TV on Monday, Ogunlewe said
Akpoti-Udughan’s beauty is now a problem for her in the male dominated 10th
senate.
Only four lawmakers in the 109-member senate are women.
“The beauty of distinguished senator Natasha is a problem
for her. You know men, when somebody who is pretty passes by you, your attitude
will change. You can smile, you can wink, but you may not talk to her,” the
ex-minister said.
“Her beauty is a problem. There is no doubt about that.
“To men, when she is passing, there is no way a man would
not look at that woman. It is a natural thing for a man to look at beautiful
women. How can you be a man and a beautiful woman is passing and you close your
eyes?”
Ogunlewe said past female senators never perceived
themselves as inferior to their male counterparts.
Speaking of Florence Ita-Giwa, his former colleague in the
senate, he said: “If you even mentioned that Ita-Giwa is a woman, the response you
were going to get would make you ashamed of yourself because they would stand
up to you,” he said.
He lamented that Nigeria’s political terrain does not allow
for competent individuals who lack financial resources.
The politician noted that for most women in politics,
running for federal legislative positions is prohibitive because of the
associated costs.
“For a woman to fight to be a senator in Nigeria, we are
talking about N50 billion to start with,” he said.