Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan didn’t exactly pull her punches when she tackled the way society wires young women to feel shame and stay quiet, instead of standing up for themselves or calling out injustice. At this mentorship thing in Abuja—right around the 2025 International Day of the Girl Child—she basically called out everyone for clinging to these ancient ideas that tell women to suck it up and keep their heads down.
She got pretty real about it, too. According to her, if girls don’t get a grip on who they really are—like, deep down—they get steamrolled by all these outside expectations. “You have to figure out your own vibe before you start chasing big dreams or trying to change the world,” she said. Makes sense, right? Too many girls grow up thinking they have to fit some mold, and that messes with their confidence from the jump.
She went on about how women have always been loaded up with guilt and told to zip it when things go sideways. But she’s over it. “Enough hiding. Time to get bold, smash barriers, and take up space,” she basically declared. About time, honestly.
This whole thing—called “An Evening with Senator Natasha”—was packed with over fifty young women from all over Nigeria, and it wasn’t some stuffy lecture. They had open chats, shared stories, and actually talked about real stuff: dreams, struggles, what it’s like to be a girl in a world that loves to keep girls quiet.
Senator Natasha made it clear she’s not in this just for the politics or the photo ops. She cares about real change for actual people—especially folks who get left behind. “Being in office doesn’t mean much if you’re not using it to make a real difference,” she told them.
One of the most jaw-dropping moments had to be when Yakubu Oyiza Hope, a survivor and anti-human trafficking advocate, stood up and told her story. Kidnapped, abused—the works. But she flipped her trauma into activism, now helping others find their voice, which honestly had half the room in tears and the other half fired up.
People left saying the event changed their whole outlook. Some even begged the senator to set up a permanent mentorship thing so this momentum wouldn’t just fizzle out. They want more girls to have the same shot at being heard.
Journalists and media folks were there too, and the whole thing wrapped up with a straight-up rallying call: women need to own their stories, step up, and refuse to let society box them in.
Oh, and let’s not forget her own wild ride: Natasha just got back to the Senate on October 7, after a six-month suspension that was basically one big political circus—arguments about power, gender, and fairness flying everywhere. She got kicked out in March 2025 after protesting the Senate bigwigs moving her seat and yanking her nameplate (which was petty, if you ask me). She called it what it was: an attempt to shut her up.
During that time, she wasn’t just benched—she lost her salary, security, the whole deal, and was locked out of the Senate. Legal battles followed, and eventually, a federal court said, “Yeah, this is unconstitutional, guys.” The Senate dragged its feet but had to let her back in by late September.
When the Senate finally opened again after a ten-week break, Natasha walked back in with her crew, looking even more ready to fight for women and girls than before. If anyone thought she’d come back quieter, well, they clearly don’t know her.