Victor EzejaNigerians have taken to social media to lambast former lawmaker, Cletus Obun, who said women seeking to be elected into political leadership positions should in future be subjected to mental stability test.
Mr Obun, a former member of the Cross River State House of Assembly, said women seeking to be elected into public offices such as governor, councilor, or senator should be subjected to a mental stability test.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelObun’s stated this during an interview on Arise News on Thursday, in reaction to the ongoing controversy involving Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was slammed with suspension for six months after accusing Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, of sexual harassment.
The former lawmaker who commended the Senate for suspending Akpoti-Uduaghan said the gender discourse surrounding the incident has raised serious concerns about women’s competence and credibility in politics.
“Women and indeed, public officers, may in the future be subjected to a mental stability test to qualify as a governor, councilor or a senator. Otherwise, you’re going to get this and de-market, especially at a time when we are asking for gender inclusion and equality,” Obun stated.
READ ALSO: Sexual Harassment: Senate Suspends Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan For Six Months
While making reference to the conduct of the embattled senator and narratives trailing the controversy, Obun claimed that the gender issue is being trivialized, adding that the action of the Senate in response, is “a fitting closure to the drama.”
“At this point, we are facing a situation where a gender is being trivialised, demonised, and overly dramatised on the floor of the highest legislative house in this country. I think this is a fitting closure to this drama that was started from nowhere to this level of absurdity, and I commend the Senate,” the lawmaker further stated.
His statement drew acerbic responses from Nigerians on social media, who perceived him as being a misogynist and unfairly maligning the women folk for asserting their rights.
Reacting to Obun’s statement, a gender advocate and Professor of development sociology, Chinwe Obuaku, described the lawmaker’s outburst as the “male ego in full display.”
Writing on X, Professor Obuaku said it is one of those narratives pushed to brand women as emotionally unstable and unfit for leadership when they are indeed fighting for their rights and seeking justice and equality.
READ ALSO: Natasha-Akpabio: Is It Really A Gender Clash?
According to her, “If there’s anyone who should be subjected to a mental stability test, it is those who believe that trivializing gender and reducing governance to a pitiful battle of egos is some form of statesmanship.”
“The real embarrassment is not women demanding accountability—it’s the men so rattled by their presence that they revert to juvenile taunts instead of engaging in meaningful governance,” Obuaku, a Consultant to Osun State Government on Climate Change and renewable energy further stated.
Another X user, Olamide Oni, a data analyst, said Obun’s statement is a “cowardly attempt to silence and demean women who refuse to be bullied by the same rotten establishment that has turned Nigeria’s legislature into a circus of mediocrity.
“If anyone needs a mental stability test, it is these relics of backward thinking who have nothing to offer but regurgitated balderdash in the name of opinion.”
He called for a thorough investigation of Akpabio, the accused who presided over the session that declared the suspension of Senator Akpoto-Uduaghan, adding his leadership of the Senate “has emboldened intellectual destitutes to defend the indefensible, trivializing serious national issues while clapping like trained seals at the persecution of a female senator.”
“This kind of statement is deeply problematic and reflects a larger issue of institutionalized bias in Nigerian politics,” another X account, identified as Step Up Naija stated. “The idea that women may need to pass a mental stability test to qualify as senators is not only discriminatory but also exposes the double standards in governance.”
It queried the call for only the mental stability test, adding that there is also a need for a leadership competence test, as many who have been in leadership positions at various levels have misgoverned the country.
READ ALSO: Oby Ezekwesili Berates Senate Over Natasha’s Suspension
“What about leadership competence? Instead of gender-based restrictions, the real issue should be competence, accountability, and policy-driven governance. How many of the male senators who have bankrupted Nigeria and failed in governance would pass a true leadership competence test?,“ it asked.
It added that instead of demonizing a gender, the focus should be on ensuring that all lawmakers, irrespective of gender, are competent, policy-driven, and accountable to the people.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
