Rev. Mrs Ijeoma Emeribe is the President and Founder of Women Africa International and has won award for humanitarian services. She is also the General Overseer of the Presbyterian Church International, and speaking with journalists over Senators Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio saga, she opined that the matter should have been resolved privately.

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She said their family ties was such that the matter could have been resolved instead of escalating it in a manner it happened. She feared the development would threaten greater women inclusivity in governance.

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Answer: I am the President and Founder of Women Africa International and also the General Overseer of the Presbyterian Church International.

Question: What is your take on the controversy in the National Assembly regarding women’s inclusion in governance?

Answer: Rev. Mrs. Ijeoma Emeribe: Thank you for seeking my opinion on this matter. We are currently experiencing progress in recognizing women’s roles in governance in Nigeria. However, this controversy threatens to undermine our efforts and opportunities for greater inclusion.

The issue between Senator Natasha and Senator Akpabio should have been resolved privately, given their existing family relationship. Our culture generally does not frown upon friendly gestures between men and women, especially among family friends. It is unfortunate that this matter has escalated publicly, creating a spectacle rather than being addressed constructively.

If there was a genuine case of sexual harassment, it should have been handled in a structured manner—either through internal dialogue, legal channels, or with proper warnings before escalating to the National Assembly. The public nature of this dispute paints a negative picture of our institutions and distracts from the real work of governance.

Question: There are two major issues here—sexual harassment and the alleged breach of Senate rules by Senator Natasha. With only four women in the National Assembly, what do you think of the implications for women in politics?

Answer: I am deeply concerned about the message this sends to women aspiring to enter politics. Women in leadership positions must demonstrate resilience and adhere to established protocols, as they are representing not just themselves but the confidence of the people who elected them.

When the Senate President, Senator Akpabio, entered, Senator Natasha remained seated. This was a breach of Senate decorum. Regardless of personal grievances, respect for the institution should have been upheld. Actions like this may discourage women from entering politics or give opponents an excuse to question their ability to navigate political challenges.

Question: Senator Natasha has taken the matter to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Do you think this will impact on Nigeria’s democratic reputation?

Answer:: While international scrutiny is inevitable, Africa has its own governance structures. No external body can impose values that do not align with our legal and cultural framework. Both sides of the dispute must be heard before any conclusions are drawn.

As a woman advocating for women’s empowerment, I emphasize that respect is earned through how we handle ourselves and our challenges. Women in power must navigate situations with tact, ensuring they maintain their credibility while advocating for justice. Apologies, where necessary, do not indicate weakness but rather maturity and a commitment to progress.

Question: What is your advice to women in leadership?

Question: Women in leadership must uphold professionalism at all times. Every woman, no matter how influential, will face challenges. The key is how she handles them. Personal grievances should not overshadow the bigger picture of service and representation.

Additionally, men in leadership should maintain professionalism. Giving pet names to female colleagues, as seen in this case, is unwise and can be misinterpreted. In some cultures, such teasing is normal, but in a professional setting, it is inappropriate and can lead to unnecessary controversies.

Ultimately, women must rise above distractions, focus on their goals, and contribute meaningfully to governance. We must set examples that encourage more women to step into leadership roles with confidence and dignity.

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The 39-year-old Ayadat is married and a father of two. He is a member of the Bedouin community from Beit Zarzir.

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On October 7, Muslim Bedouin IDF soldier Lt.-Col. Nader Eyadat was at home when reports of the rocket launches against Gaza border communities began. He decided to go to the Tze’elim Ground Forces training base in the Negev to ready himself to defend the South.

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While he was driving, the phone rang. On the other end was Col. Tal Ashur, who had just been appointed acting commander of the Southern Brigade after the late Col. Asaf Hamami was killed battling terrorists.

“It was a short conversation,” Tal said, “’Hamami was killed. I’m taking his place. The battalion commander of the reconnaissance battalion was seriously wounded: Take command.’”

The 39-year-old Eyadat is a married father of two, and is a member of the Bedouin community from Beit Zarzir. He enlisted into the IDF in 2005 and has since been deployed as a fighter in the Desert Reconnaissance Battalion, which operates in the area of the southern division around Gaza.

Eyadat has since risen through the ranks. He was the first Bedouin to finish the squad commander course. He commanded the reconnaissance battalion when violent disturbances on the border of the Gaza Strip threatened the Israeli home front. After that, he went to school and got a position at the army training center in Tze’elim.

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip. July 2, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

Many of the division’s soldiers and commanders of the desert patrol battalion were on weekend leave on October 7, and some of them were part of training missions for several weeks, so their place in the southern division was filled by Nahal Brigade soldiers.

“We organized very quickly as an initial force,” Lt.-Col. Eyadat said. “We had the mission to retake control of part of Route 232 and clear it of terrorists… Suddenly you see damaged tanks and armored personnel carriers on the roads, wounded civilians and corpses of Nukhba terrorists. I understood what was going on when I saw the body of a civilian at an intersection with a bullet in the head,” he said.

“Until then, I was very focused on organizing the mission. I couldn’t believe that this was happening,” Eyadat recalled. “Then, we had an encounter with terrorists at the Gama junction” located between Kisufim and Be’eri. “My fighters and I know the sector like the back of our hands, we trained on infiltration scenarios [of] one, two, three terrorists. Who would have thought that thousands of terrorists would infiltrate?”

THE FIGHTERS began taking over the central axes to allow the entrance of additional units from north to south and to enable the evacuation of civilians. “Some of the forces remained at the junctions and some moved towards the kibbutzim. At Kibbutz Holit, we helped evacuate the wounded. We heard that there was a shooting at the Sufa outpost. I arrived at the place and met a Caracal Battalion commander at the entrance while Shayetet 13 fighters were fighting inside,” Eyadat said.

“At a distance of 100 meters, I saw a white van standing still. I sent forces to scan and heard gunshots. After a few minutes, one of the commanders came and reported to me that there was an encounter with two terrorists and that a fighter was wounded.”

The unit was tasked with clearing the roads leading to their base, rescuing civilians, and locating Thai-speaking foreign workers in the area who were hiding in greenhouses. “The Bedouin warriors are brave. No need to tell us where to go. We know the area very well,” said Eyadat, adding that since October 7, members of the battalion have participated in a large number of additional operations to uncover and neutralize terrorist infrastructure near the buffer zone within Gaza.

On June 6, suspicious movements were detected, and a group of reconnaissance battalion soldiers was sent to scan the border area. At the very beginning, the commander decided to lead the operations under the cover of the fog. The force under his command identified terrorists trying to infiltrate into Israel, at which point an exchange of fire took place. In the battle, the battalion’s tracker, who was a relative of Eyadat, was killed. The reconnaissance battalion fighters managed to kill three terrorists.

“It’s good that it was the 585th Battalion that was sent to the scene,” said a senior officer in the Southern Command. “They foiled the first major attack deep into Israel for the first time since October 7. The defense minister and the chief of staff who arrived at the area praised them.”

ACCORDING TO Eyadat, there is a clear connection between the reconnaissance battalion and the IDF. “First of all, we fight for the land,” he said. “We have been shoulder to shoulder in the IDF since 1948. We have 30 fallen soldiers in the unit who were not killed in vain. Then everyone saw what happened here on October 7. Hamas did not differentiate between anyone: It killed Bedouins and Jews all the same.

“This is a terrorist organization that wants the destruction of the country. The veteran fighters of the reconnaissance battalion came here without anyone asking them and rushed here from anywhere in the country without questions,” the commander said. “They told me that it is impossible to sit at home when such events take place.”

The intense connection and motivation also led to the establishment of the first reserve company of the Bedouin Reconnaissance Battalion. Abd Allah El Abid, a fighter in the reserves, who is married and a father to three daughters, came from his home in the Tel Sheba area of the Negev on his own accord and has been in the service ever since.

“As a Muslim, I say that it is not written in the Quran to kill civilians, burn babies, rape women. In what religion does it say that? But they did it. I will insult animals if I say they are animals. Everything they did is against Islam.”

Eyadat pointed to the area where they identified a terrorist ambush on the first day. “There is a video where you see a Bedouin father begging for his life and he is holding a small child. They tell him: ‘You are a traitor’ and killed him in front of his son. This is a very difficult video. You see the hate in the videos. Also of the citizens of Gaza. They hide behind religion and educate to hate. They murdered and kidnapped Bedouins.”

El Abid explained: “The Bedouins will fight until the last drop of blood. All Bedouins think the same. Hamas killed Arabs, Bedouins, and Jews – no difference. I am proud of my military service. I volunteered for regular service and here I am. I will be here as long as they ask me to be.”

When you’re not on uniform, do you receive the same attitude?

When asked if he is treated with the same attitude when he’s not in uniform, Eyadat said, “I have never felt racism in my life. I walk around with a uniform and a weapon with great respect and pride. I call on others to volunteer as well.”

“The reconnaissance battalion is a family,” the commander explained. “There are Jews and Bedouins here. They’re all together. There are stigmas about Bedouins, but when you get to know them, that disappears…
“The bond between all the soldiers is forever,” he said. “I am proud to serve in the IDF.”

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In this interview with Atekojo Samson Usman, a journalist and Secretary of Ujache Rights Organisation, he explained that the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Adoza Bello has been coordinating protests and solidarity from hide out. On his behalf, he said, his successor in office, Governor Ododo Ahmed Usman was being extorted by gullible and fake groups to show solidarity for Bello in order to malign the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

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According to him, marabouts mostly from Kogi East have joined the trail of those making brisk money from Yahaya Bello’s travails.

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Excerpts:
Question: What have you to say about protesters and those showing solidarity for the former Governor of Kogi State, who has gone into hiding to avoid the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC?

Answer: From January 27, 2016 to January 27, 2024, Yahaya Bello ruled the State with iron fisted hands and was looting the state at the same time. For any reasonable person from Kogi State to show solidarity with the former governor despite his glaring infraction on laws and injustice perpetrated against citizens of Kogi State, is rather very unfortunate. Bello’s travails, as it were, became an opportunity for fake groups and gullible persons to extort money from Governor Ododo Ahmed Usman, who is sympathizing with his benefactor.

Those protesting were out to intimidate the EFCC to abandon justice even when it was clear to everybody of the massive fraud in the poor State in the last eight years. They were pretending not to see that the immediate past governor paid $760,000 of Kogi money as his children’s school fees in advance into the account of Abuja American International School. They are pretending not to have knowledge of N20 billion bailout funds meant for Kogi workers was lodged in Sterling Bank sometime in 2020 for unexplained reasons which was eventually returned to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, after the fund was leaked leading to legal fireworks. They are supporting Bello against the good conscience of Kogi citizens and the good people do not have their backing.

Question: Who are these Kogi East elders supporting Yahaya Bello and warning the EFCC to stay clear?

Answer: We know them. We have their names. They are self-acclaimed Kogi East elders who declared themselves so, for purposes of extorting money from governor Ododo or Bello himself who is coordinating protesters and sympathisers from his hideout. As the Secretary of Ujache Rights Organisation, a socio-political and socio-cultural group from the East, we know our elders. The ones that went to Abuja, to organize a press conference backing Yahaya Bello and calling on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and provide a soft landing to him are not elders from the East that we know. They are damn broke and political failures desperately looking for crumbs to survive and unfortunately, Governor Ododo has fallen prey to their antics.

They are impostors, who failed elections before, with some of them as political contractors who are comfortable doing abominable things. Ujache Group has taken cognizance of them and we look forward to seeing them coming out to contest elections in future and see whether Igala people will vote for them.
We know Kogi East elders that are at the pleasure of the Ujache Rights Organisation, Igala Cultural Development Association, Ukomu Igala, Ojuju Agbadufu and few others. The elders we know are noble and wise men from the East and the not few impostors who have thrown integrity into the wind defending a ‘Mussolini’ of Kogi State who is on the run over crime he committed against the good people of the State in the last eight years.

Not only the self-acclaimed elders are showing solidarity for Yahaya Bello, but some youth groups and marabouts. Most of the marabouts doing incantation and libation for the EFCC to be confused and left Bello alone are Igala people from Kogi East. Some of them have been contacted and contracted to do voodoo to shield him away from prosecution and I tell you they are wasting their time because what we are seeing is Bello’s day of retribution and it is divine.

Question: Why has the EFCC singled Yahaya Bello out for prosecution? Where are other governors who have the same financial allegations?

Answer: The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, as much as I am not speaking for the agency, never singled out Yahaya Bello for prosecution. Remember that Bello like any other governor in office cannot be prosecuted because of immunity when he was in office, but could be investigated while in office in line with Section 7(1) of the EFCC Act. Bello was under investigation and at the end of his tenure on 27th January, 2024, he was invited to the agency’s headquarters in Abuja for further investigation and he took to his heels.
The former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom was invited to EFCC headquarters after his tenure of office. He honoured the invitation and was grilled after which he was let go. The notion that Bello was singled out was wrong. Even Ortom’s predecessor, Gabriel Suswam was invited over corruption and money laundering allegations and he honoured the invitation. After that he even became a Senator and till today he is not in prison, but in his house and so what is the difference between Yahaya Bello and other former governors that he chose to get involved in media cacophony as if stories of how he stole N80.2 billion are explained on pages of newspapers. The former governor of Ondo State, Peter Ayodele Fayose after governing the State for eight years was accused of money laundering and he drove himself to EFCC to clear himself.
Bello was not the first governor of Kogi State to be accused of money laundering. Prince Abubakar Audu of blessed memory who was the first executive governor of Kogi State was accused of fraud after his first tenure and the case went to Court and I think the Court ruled in his favour. Also, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris who spent nine years in office as governor was accused of fraud and he went to the EFCC to clear his name and at the end of the day, “a certificate of clean bill of health”, was issued to him by the EFCC. Of all those that ruled the State, the citizens never had it bad the way they did during Bello’s tenure. Kogites across the Senatorial districts cannot forget in a hurry the man-made hardship they passed through during Bello’s tenure…..

Question: That takes us to the plight of Kogi workers during Bello’s tenure. How did the staff screening end?

Answer: Bello’s problems started with workers’ screening exercise late 2016. That screening had one of the most confused reports ever in history of Kogi State, with the report laced with ethnic colouration and political sentiments. The report was targeted at downsizing workers from the eastern flank, but his Deputy, Chief Edward David Onoja who was obsessed with power, thinking that Bello would hand over the baton to him at the end of the day overzealously supported him.

The State House of Assembly under the leadership of the Rt. Hon. Umar Imam in an adopted resolution on 18th January, 2017 condemned the screening report as a result of recommendations that a larger percentage of workers should be sacked.

The resolution of the House was trashed and Bello went ahead to sack workers, demote, and reduce salaries of surviving workers to 15%. The development wreaked lives, choked citizens and for eight years, there was no training and retraining, no promotion, hence, workers became discouraged in the State. During Bello’s tenure, a level 13 officer received N17,000 to 20,000 as monthly salary without further explanation by anyone. Most of the workers from Kogi East who are directors and Permanent Secretaries were prematurely retired or sacked on frivolous excuses and were replaced with their juniors in service from the Central Senatorial District. In this way, Bello raised the bar of ethnic sentiments, but before Edward Onoja could know, Bello got him involved in “EBIGO”, a campaign slogan of unity among the three major tribes ahead of his return for a second tenure in 2019.
The EBIGO acronym which goes for Ebira, Igala and Okun became a major campaign outfit championed and driven by Edward Onoja with lots of state resources committed to it. This was running amid hardship, killings and brute force with many casualties of whoever stands in the way. The first implementation of the screening report was the sack of Prince Abubakar Audu, PAAU, Anyigba lecturers, who were immediately replaced with Corp members in 2017. The College of Health Sciences that had medical students at 300 level with Kogi Reference Hospital as Teaching Hospital was shut down. Bello later transferred medical students to other State Universities. He sacked the Vice Chancellor and replaced him with a female Vice Chancellor of Ebira extraction who remained there till date.
I still argue till date that the establishment of Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara in the Central District, and the establishment of Kogi State University, Kabba in the Western district were to service to ethnic and political agenda as I see no reason how a state like Kogi could manage three Universities including a Polytechnic, two College of Educations, two School of Health Sciences and other vocational institutions.

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