By Ofonime Honesty
It is better to remain quiet and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt. That is the wisdom our ancestors taught us. That is the counsel David Nweze Umahi should have heeded. But he did not. He could not. He vomited bile with all the arrogance in him. Worst still, his defence was self-indicting.
David Nweze Umahi, Minister of Works, Engineer, former Governor, former Senator, CON, a self-acclaimed “Professor-in-Practice” (whatever that means).
He has trampled on the rights of people for a ridiculously long time. And when a woman finally stood up to demand what belongs to her, he had a chance to keep quiet, or choose his words carefully. He had a chance to let his lawyers talk. He had a chance to preserve whatever was left of his dignity. Instead, he opened his mouth. And in one sentence, he removed all doubt about the kind of man he truly is.
A woman named Tracy Nicholas Ohiri comes forward. She says she was contracted by Umahi years ago. She says she did the job. She says she was not paid. She says the debt has sat for twelve years, growing now to 250 million Naira. She says that when she went to demand her money, Umahi allegedly walked into her hotel room wearing nothing but a towel and made advances at her. She says when she refused, dangerous threats followed.
For twelve years, she watched what Nigerian politicians do to people who speak truth to power. She watched her father die due to lack of funds for medical treatment overseas. She watched her children’s school fees go unpaid. Then she spoke.
And what did Umahi do? He sponsored her arrest. He locked her up. She collapsed in detention and ended up in hospital.
Then he looked into the cameras and opened his mouth. And out came words that should haunt him for the rest of his life.
He said: “If it is Senator Natasha (Akpoti-Uduaghan) that said I am chasing her, my face would be bolder; not anyhow person that will accuse this handsome man of chasing her for twelve years.”
From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. David Umahi, in one sentence, summarized his persona.
He told Nigerians he would be “bold” to entertain sexual advances from someone’s wife. He reduced a sitting Senator to a yardstick for his perverted fantasies. He imagined himself chasing her. He dragged her, without her consent, into his own filthy scandal.
I’m not even a fan of Natasha. But she did not ask to be in his story. She did not give you permission to use her name as a shield for his shame. But he dragged her in. He imagined her. He chased her in your mind and then announced it to the world. If that is not harassment, what is? If that is not disrespect, what is? He has violated someone’s wife without touching her.
The man who dismisses Tracy as an “anyhow person” has confirmed that in his world, women are not human beings; they are commodities. Some are worthy of his “chase.” Some are worthy of his attention and third leg. And some are worthy only of arrest, detention, and public ridicule.
Umahi knows Natasha’s history. He knows she has publicly accused several men of making advances at her. Years ago, she paid Ambassador Reno Omokri handsomely to withdraw a suit filed against her over such claims. He knows her name is already associated with sexual scandals. And so he reaches for her name as a weapon and shield. He is dragging her into his gutter. He is desperately looking for where to hide. He goofs. He is only hiding behind a finger. And his hypocrisy is exposed almost immediately.
If he had kept quiet, or chose his words carefully, we might have wondered if the towel and hotel story was true. But he opened his mouth. And now we know that a man who speaks about women the way he does is capable of anything. He has become a cautionary tale that mothers will tell their daughters.
And the police became his accomplices. The Nigeria Police Force, meant to protect the weak, became the weapon of the strong. They arrested a woman for demanding her money. They charged her with cyberbullying for telling her story. They held her until she collapsed. This is tyranny wearing a police uniform.
David Umahi, this case exposes you. It reveals the rot in your soul.
You think dragging Natasha’s name into your scandal makes you bold. You are wrong. It makes you a coward who hides behind women’s names.
You think jailing Tracy will silence her. You are wrong. Every day she sat in that cell made her story grow louder.
Let this be your epitaph: you had twelve years to pay a debt, but only one moment to keep your mouth shut, or choose your words carefully. You failed at both. Shameful!
