By ADESOLA AYO-ADERELE
It is so easy to miss the constitutional issues inherent in the unravelling of Senator Ned Nwoko’s marriage to actress Regina Daniels.
While many see it as an occasion to celebrate Regina’s frustrations with her hitherto envied status and likely divorce from her wealthy politician-businessman husband, we should not forget the power dynamics between the couple, especially when weighed against Regina’s feeble attempts to probably draw attention to her troubling situation last February, when she yanked off Nwoko’s name from her Instagram bio and deleted his photos from her Insta page; only for the man to mount a post celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary a month later, titled, ‘Six Years Later… She Still Can’t Resist Me;’ and the beat appeared to continue afterwards, until last week’s allegation of domestic violence and the senator’s claim that his wife had acted under the influence.
The question to Senator Nwoko is: Since when has his wife been abusing drugs? And, if true, why does he appear to use it as a weapon to sway public opinion against her now that she and her relations have alleged domestic violence?
Amazingly, the Nigerian Constitution doesn’t have a specific law against domestic violence, even though it prohibits inhuman and degrading treatment in Section 34, and includes the right to personal liberty and privacy.
The question to Senator Nwoko is: Since when has his wife been abusing drugs? And, if true, why does he appear to use it as a weapon to sway public opinion against he…
Yes, these general provisions are regularly used to combat domestic violence, along with specific laws like the 2015 Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP) and state-specific laws like the 2007 Protection Against Domestic Violence Law in Lagos State. It is obvious that much still needs to be done to protect the vulnerable.
Of course, asking members of the National Assembly to rise to the occasion might sound like asking them to self-sabotage, considering the various shocking criminal allegations hanging over the heads of several of them, ranging from sponsoring assassinations to certificate forgery, criminal convictions in foreign countries, and sexual harassment.
Characteristically, once dirty news breaks about our political class, all it takes to silence the populace or change the narrative is a publicly issued press statement; or, depending on the severity of the intended social media war, launching funny characters who will surface with unsubstantiated allegations enriched with the devious claim that their activities are borne out of concern for the fatherland.
Equally of concern is the derisive comments that greeted Regina’s mom’s outcry about her daughter’s suffering. The average respondent to her lamentation failed to realize the enormity of domestic violence and how the tables are almost always turned against the victim.
At the end of the day, Regina Daniels’ travails are a national tragedy, whether or not we agree about it; and the sooner we remove sentiments from our approach to such issues, the better for us all.
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