Senator Natasha: Game changer in the legislative matrix
“It is past time for women to take their rightful place, side by side with men, in the rooms where the fates of peoples, where their children’s and grandchildren’s fates, are decided.”
– Hillary Clinton.
SIR: She says it as it is - point blank, and musters the political will to walk the talk. That is based, of course on well thought out, articulated and unimpeachable facts and figures on the subject at hand, far above base or primordial sentiments. Good enough, she has placed her personal philosophy above self- serving antics. Characteristically, she is compelled more so, if the critical issue at hand, which she is concerned about is to advance the democratic ethic of people’s interest, not minding whose ox is gored. But why, you might ask?
Put simply, all these factors fall in sync with the typical attributes of the well- bred Ihima- born icons of morality; weaned on the milk ingredients of courage, character, candour and compassion. Unlike many members of the political elite, her driving passion is that of the national interest; to put a smile on the faces of the long- suffering Nigerian masses; still stewing in the pitiable paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty natural resources.
One is talking about Senator Natasha Akpoti- Uduaghan, who within months of being sworn in as the senator representing Kogi State Central Senatorial District and the first female senator from the Confluence State, has started to make her mark in the ever- challenging legislative process. For instance, she hit the nail on its head, with the clarion call for the host communities of solid mineral mining to maximally benefit from the revenue accruing from the operations. And this is because they are vulnerable to the vagaries of environmental degradation, the attendant diseases and sometimes the challenge of insecurity.