When I watched the interview of the senator recounting how Dr. Oby Ezekwesili told him to shut up, the first thought that crossed my mind was: This is the kind of national memory that gave us Saidaboj, Nkechi Bianze, and Blessing CEO. But then I thought it through. No, the senator is a younger man. He should not have behaved like Portable, Speed Darlington, or even Tuface Idibia. The way he pointed at Oby Ezekwesili depicts arrant moral degradation. Even if respect begets respect, should two people be mad at the same time. A senator should lead by example.
Yesterday at the Senate, Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, senator representing Ebonyi North, stood in for the Senate President as a witness to counter allegations of sexual harassment leveled by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. In a shocking display, he publicly called Oby Ezekwesili a fool after she referred to him as a hooligan. A senator should know better. Your constituents are watching when you speak. You’re in office. Silence isn’t weakness. Decorum isn’t timidity.
Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi is just 41 years old—a first-time senator. He could have handled the situation with more maturity. But this is one of the problems with Western education: it prioritizes individual growth over collective cultural consciousness.
Perhaps that’s why a seasoned elder like Dr. Oby Ezekwesili would tell a sitting senator to shut up.
Let’s not forget, she also criticized former President Goodluck Jonathan during the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) campaign. Yet, in the end, the APC rejected her.
This appalling incident unfolded during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions. The hearing was convened to address a fresh petition submitted by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Oby Ezekwesili volunteered to join the Abiola Akiode-led legal team representing Akpoti-Uduaghan and the petitioner, Zubairu Yakubu, at the hearing.
The tension began when Yakubu attempted to speak while Neda Imaseun, the Senate Committee Chairman, was addressing the room. Yakubu was asked to turn off his mic, and the abruptness of the shutdown didn’t sit well with Ezekwesili. When she tried to intervene, Senator Nwaebonyi cut her off.
Dr. Oby, in turn, told the senator to “compose himself and stop making noise,” which triggered an outburst from Nwaebonyi, who was visibly enraged.
“You’re a fool. What do you mean? Why are you talking to me like that? I will not take it. You’re an insult to womanhood. People like you cannot be here,” Nwaebonyi lashed out at Ezekwesili.
In the video that followed, Senator Nwaebonyi reiterated his demand for Dr. Oby Ezekwesili to withdraw her statement.
Ezekwesili, however, didn’t back down. She called him a “hooligan,” escalating the situation further. The hearing descended into chaos, with no real control over the proceedings.
And that’s how the hearing came to an abrupt end.
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