Nigeria, March 10 -- As he served the dually disgraceful roles of accused and judge in considering a recommendation to suspend Senator Natasha Uduaghan-Akpoti from the senate, Godswill Akpabio, Nigeria's senate president, quipped that she had brought the Senate into public opprobrium.

What opprobrium, many Nigerians asked immediately, even before the hammer fell on the fearless Senator representing Kogi Central?

As one livid male senator after the other took turns to attack Senator Natasha, the thunder on their faces belied the tremor in their hearts. A tremor caused by the trouble a first-time senator from Kogi State had caused their leader, one who is often more than happy to send "prayer requests" to their mailboxes.

For many of the...