As  Nigerians eagerly turned into the formal commencement of campaigns for the various elective offices up for contest in the 2019 general elections, there have been diverse opinions as to how the political pendulum would swing and the voting pattern across the geo-political zones.

Barr. Natasha Hadiza Akpoti

Beyond the much anticipated presidential contest which would see the opposition parties challenging the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, in Kogi State, the major focus is the shape, form and intellectual content of the next National Assembly.

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By Boluwaji Obahopo, Lokoja

One of the most interesting Senatorial Districts in Nigeria is Kogi Central. The district holds the State governor, Yahaya Bello with five local government areas (Okene, Okehi, Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/magongo).

It accounts for close to 20% of the State’s registered voting population, and predominantly Ebira speaking people aside Ogori/Mangogo council area which incidentally, remained the smallest LGA in the state with just two communities of Ogori and Magongo.

Any individual that must be elected to the senate from the zone must be capable of building pro-development consensus amongst colleagues in Parliament with a view to constructively engaging the Executive so as to make laws for the prosperity, peace and good governance of the nation, especially his or her primary constituency.

Most importantly, the representative must understand the complexities and intricacies of contemporary legislative craft especially as it relates to rule-making, appropriation and oversight of executive actions.

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Though, there are about five persons currently seeking the mandate of the people to represent Kogi Central in the Red Chambers come 2019. One of them is Barrister Natasha Hadiza Akpoti, the Candidate of the Social Democratic Party, (SDP).

Political pundits who had initially narrowed the race in the zone between the APC candidate, Yakubu Ocheni and PDP candidate, Senator Ahmed Ogembe have begun to recant following the recent development in the area. Natasha, though the only woman in the contest is best regarded as the third force in the race and a dark horse. The buzz around Natasha seems to be rising as a possible replacement for   the incumbent Ahmed Ogembe amongst the duo of Natasha and Ocheni.

If Natasha wins, it won’t be a surprise. Ebira people have history of rejecting an incumbent and sidelining a ruling party to vote for a third force. In 1979 NASS election, Ebira rejected the incumbent candidate of National Party of Nigeria, NPN; sidelined the ruling Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN candidate to vote for the candidate of Great Nigeria Peoples Party, GNPP. Analyst said such is in the horizon for the 2019 election.

Since 2015 till date, Natasha Akpoti has been the fore advocate for the resuscitation of the  Ajaokuta Steel Company  with a plea asking that FG immediately terminate arbitration with ISPLAT/GSHL and appoint TPE to complete Ajaokuta Steel Company limited.

Natasha’s advocacy was termed as “disruptive” and she over time became known as a patriotic nationalistic rebel nicknamed the “Queen of Steel” due to the aggressive and resilient manner in which she tackled the then Minister of Solid Minerals, Hon.  Kayode  Fayemi  and bulldozed her expose on the long hidden corruption and conspiracies.

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Natasha spoke against the reconcession of National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) to Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL) because of their roles in the vandalization   and running-down of   NIOMCO, Ajaokuta Steel complex and Delta Steel which caused the termination  of their erstwhile concession by late president Umar Yar’Adua.

Furthermore, Natasha speaks for a Government to Government engagement of Ajaokuta’s Original Builders TyazhPromExport (TPE) a subsidiary of  Rostec  to serve as technical partners to the project and she stood strongly against the privatization of Ajaokuta steel complex because in her words she believes that “Every government has business in doing business especially in major sectors which affects the national security with regards to job creation and defining foreign trade policies. It’s wrong for a government to rely on privatization as an escape route for its inefficiencies.

If the problem is the civil service, then there should be an overhaul because there are many smart and hardworking Nigerians both at home and in diaspora who can understudy the technology for a short period of years under  TPE’s  tutelage and operate henceforth as a solely Nigerian owned public  enterprise.”

The struggle of course came with heavy blows with smear campaigns to discredit her advocacy as one sponsored to sabotage President  Buhari’s government. Natasha refuted: “I never received a penny from no one; neither did I settle for promises in kind to malign everyone connected to the  Ajaokuta’s  conspiracy. All I did was out of sheer patriotism and love for my country Nigeria.

I exist today as a direct product of the relationship between the Soviet Union and Nigeria sake of the big industrialization dream both nations shared. It breaks my heart when I watch the steel mill deteriorate by the year and its direct correlation, the collapse of Nigeria’s economy due to its inability to diversify from the oil sector. Rather than being torn apart by the neocolonialist cabals, I expect to be appreciated”.

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Natasha’s lone voice of 2015 turned into a movement of millions of Nigerian supporters within and in diaspora who connected to her advocacy. It climaxed on the 1st  of March 2018 when she made an expository presentation of facts before the nation on the floor of the National Assembly’s plenary debate on the Nigeria’s steel sector. Shortly after Natasha’s shocking revelation and call for action; the National Assembly took urgent steps to:  Amend the privatization bill by expunging Ajaokuta steel from the concession list,  create a $1b lifeline funding for the revival of Ajaokuta steel company,  commence drafting a set of laws to protect the development of the Nigerian steel sector.

Born in 1979 by an Ukrainian mother to a Nigerian father, late Dr. Akpoti of today Okehi council area, Natasha is a product of the relationship between Nigeria and USSR’s vision to position Nigeria as an industrialized nation through Ajaokuta Steel company, Natasha holds a Certificate in Law, MBA and Social Entrepreneurship including numerous credentials obtained from   local and international institutions.

She was the first Ebira Woman and indeed first Nigerian and West African to initiate the establishment of a 21- hectares integrated Technology Innovation and Business Growth hub situated in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State in collaboration with Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN.

The first Ebira woman to be recognized with the African Women Leadership Award by Mrs. Jewel Taylor, vice president of the Federal Republic of Liberia and the first Ebira woman to lead a one man protest to the National Assembly to spur a revolution on the side of the masses against the so called “owners of the Country” on Equity, Justice and Fair play.

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She’s also the first woman in the modern Ebira nation   and indeed first Nigerian non-engineer to receive the presidential award from the Nigerian Society of Engineers on December 2017 for her efforts on Ajaokuta Steel’s revival, the only person in Ebiraland that took both State and Federal governments to court over the popular Ogaminana massacre and as things stand, Barr. Natasha Hadiza Akpoti may be the First Ebira woman to be elected as senator. What may also work in her favour is that she is the only female contestant.