Millions of naira in public funds and taxpayers’ money are spent on prostitutes and models by Nigerian politicians and elected public officials who want to satisfy their sexual urge, bodily pleasure and debauchery. This huge amount of money spent on these women has been cited as the leading cause of capital flight in the country.
Last week, a video of Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North in the 10th National Assembly, giving a foot massage to a young lady went viral on social media. In the video, the lady who sat across from Oshiomhole with her outstretched leg placed on the senator’s lap grinned sheepishly as he gently rubbed and massaged her leg, much to the amusement of the young lady. The video of the senator and the lady, who has since been identified as a lifestyle influencer and adult content creator, identified as Le shaan Da Gama, has since sparked outrage online as Oshiomhole came under intense criticism over the private jet rendezvous.
Oshiomhole is not a man who is overly and excessively measured and tactful in matters of public and private affairs. This has put him in the crosshairs of many Nigerians over the years as he repeatedly faces public opprobrium for his remarks and actions. A few weeks before the compromising video saga, he had faced backlash for claiming that food is now cheap in the country and Nigerians are no longer hungry. The criticism he faced for the remark was not unexpected as his claim of surplus and cheap food fell flat in the face of basic facts and incontrovertible proof of the price of goods and services in the country.
The castigation that characterises his massaging of the South African lady’s foot in a private jet was only heightened and amplified by his previous statement on the state of the nation, particularly as it regards food inflation in the country. If Many Nigerians were miffed and felt insulted by his false assertion on the abundance of cheap food, the private jet tryst infuriated and exasperated them as they see the deep disconnection and chasm between their struggle and the perennial hardship they grapple with and the flamboyant and ostentatious lifestyle of those managing the affairs of the country.
No sooner had the video gone viral and the negative reaction it sparked started gaining traction than Oshiomhole issued a statement. In the statement the senator claimed the video was not real, adding that it was made with artificial intelligence. According to his media office, the video shows signs of digital manipulation, particularly around the 0.6-second mark when the woman is seen boarding the aircraft, which is inconsistent with the rest of the clip. It implored the public to disregard the video as it was the handiwork of his detractors and traducers who are trying to use him for pecuniary gains.
However, many Nigerians took his rebuttal with a pinch of salt as they don’t believe the video was doctored or fabricated. The statement he issued to debunk the video has not done much to reduce the excoriation he has faced since the video became public, nor has it helped to shore up his battered public image as many Nigerians continue to question the propriety of the video amid galloping inflation and hardship they are facing.
Unlike previous saga and scandals involving high-profile politicians and influential public figures, which tend to fizzle out of public consciousness and national discourse within few days — as the last saga get overshadowed and drowned out by fresh controversies and Nigerians move on to the latest drama and quickly forget about the last embarrassing spectacle — the Oshiomhole’s private jet compromising footage saga has refused to disappear from public discourse like previous scandal involving high-profile figures because the lady involved as now made it a point of duty to have her pound of flesh after she insinuated that senator Oshiomhole lied about the originality or otherwise of the video.
In a series of posts on her Instagram account on Friday, she refuted claims that the video was created using artificial intelligence. “Video not AI but believe you senator”, she wrote on her Instagram story on Friday. In another post, she threatened to release a sex tape she had with the senator. “I’m gonna release my sex tape with your senator soon,” she wrote.
Her Instagram posts have added a fresh twist to the saga and raise more questions about the sincerity of the senator’s reaction to the initial viral video of her with the young lady. While we can debate the morality and propriety of the video, there is nothing inherently criminal about it. But it raises questions about the pervasive lack of discipline and restraint among our leaders when it comes to pleasure. If their vacuousness is not unsettling enough, their carnality and hedonism are disturbingly jarring.
One can draw a straight line from Nigeria’s uninspiring leadership, terrible nation-building and regressive statecraft to the people’s managing the affairs of the nation small-mindedness, shortsightedness and above all indulgence in crude hedonism. Millions of naira in public funds and taxpayers’ money are spent on prostitutes and models by Nigerian politicians and elected public officials who want to satisfy their sexual urge, bodily pleasure and debauchery. This huge amount of money spent on these women has been cited as the leading cause of capital flight in the country.
Discussion about this post