The Purple Women Foundation founder, Ireti Bakare has sharply criticized Senator Ireti Kingibe for allegedly diminishing Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s fight against gender discrimination in Nigerian politics.
In a recent Arise TV interview, Bakare expressed disappointment with the lack of female visibility in Nigeria’s legislative chambers. “The only four women that you have in the Senate, we don’t see them. It’s not just a case of seats, it’s about visibility,” Bakare stated. “And it’s unfortunate that we have a Senator such as Ireti Kingibe, it’s sad she bears my name. Not only was she incoherent yesterday but she doesn’t understand the critical importance of being seen as a woman.”
She contrasted Sen. Kingibe’s position with Akpoti-Uduaghan’s challenging political journey: “She has forgotten that Senator Natasha had probably 12 years of trying and trying and being abused and maligned in Kogi State. The road to her constituency was dug up by the former Governor Yahaya Bello. There were threats to her life yet this woman did not give up.”
The women’s rights advocate praised Akpoti-Uduaghan’s determination: “She was determined and she was focused, she was undeterred and she continued and she persevered until she got there.”
She expressed a particular frustration with what she perceived as Kingibe’s condescending attitude: “It is sad that somebody like Senator Ireti Kingibe who clearly only just got there like that doesn’t appreciate the struggle of her colleague.”
She also criticized Sen. Kingibe’s choice of language during her recent appearance while addressing Sen. Natasha: “But what’s even worse, and this is on a personal level, is the infantilization we do this in Nigeria. Senator Kingibe yesterday kept referring and infantilizing Senator Natasha as ‘my daughter.’ No she’s not, she’s your colleague. You are both Senators.”
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