She is alive and kicking. She is more relaxed, contented and highly expectant too.

Have you see Madam Etteh lately? Aaaah, she is nothing but a ravishing beauty now! More delectable than you could ever imagine. She is totally free of stress. No one should expect anything less from a London-trained beautician.

There is something intriguing about the former Speaker of the House of Representatives. It is her ability to stand erect with all the attributes of an Amazon, despite the treatment of ignominy and near humiliation she was subjected to by colleagues about three years ago. She has been strong at heart, strong-willed and very daring.

None of her colleagues way back in 2007 gave her the slightest of chances to cling the Speakership position. House members, who thought Etteh’s victory was a fluke, were soon jolted with uncanny reality about her strength and ability to take steps far ahead of others. She held the House with iron fist, and, so far, only Margaret Thatcher, one time Prime Minister of Britain, exhibited the kind of strength  and virtue that a woman could possess in leadership. Her traducers feared her to a point of envy. Yet, they could not match her, intrigue for intrigue, wit for wit and strength for strength. But Etteh was human, a woman at that, and so the enemies did not relent in digging pitfalls around her.

They got a leeway one day. There was this contract for renovation of her official residence and that of her deputy. She was officially homeless at that time and so she gave approval to the N628 million contract, though anticipatorily. Then hell was let loose. Let loose over just N850 million? Some government officials could ‘dash out’ such a sum to girlfriends without blinking. It is a fact that these days, government officials loot in billions, real billions. Nonetheless, Etteh was forced to step down on account of the anticipatory approval she gave to the contract for renovation of her official residence by representatives who acted like chauvinists. She took all in high strides and proved a great woman. She mustered the courage to return to her seat so she could be counted as an ordinary member. In the National Assembly, Etteh was not the only leader to be shoved aside off through the machinations of sworn foes.

The process started with Salisu Buhari, House of Representatives Speaker in the Fourth Republic.

Today, Salisu is finding it hard to raise his head in political circles. Then, it was the turn of Evan Enwerem. He never lived long to rue the shock treatment. The same experience befell the erudite Chuba Okadigbo. He too died shortly after following a brief illness. Adolphus Wabara was another Senate President whose colleagues swore to pull down  in connivance with forces in the presidential villa. He has since been striving to find his voice in national politics.

If you ask Madam Etteh now, the raw deal she had from colleagues is far behind her, and completely too. The more reason she still attends House sessions, contributes to debates, raises motions and Bills as she features, too, in committee assignments. A strong woman indeed!

But wait a  minute! It seems the heavens are in Etteh’s support. She is alive to watch the drama on great recants and turnarounds by colleagues who cooked up allegations against her. It is unthinkable that members of House who condemned Etteh and yelled to the rooftop that she was a corrupt Speaker are turning around to give her a clean bill of health. They are now exonerating her from blame.

Last week, some members of the House of Representatives under the aegis of ‘The Progressives’ addressed and honked about alleged infractions of the current Speaker, Dimeji Bankole. To them, Bankole is a chop-and-go Speaker who got overfed to the point of bursting, a reason they felt he should be kicked out. It was in the process that the progressives finally passed a guilt-free judgment on madam Etteh.

The good thing is that madam has been finally exonerated by the accusers who almost strangulated her in the first instance. And that is where her joy should lie today. What more should the most troubled woman do now than to head to the nearest synagogue to give praiseworthy supplications to her God with a song—Ose, ose, Ose Baba.

That she is now being exonerated on allegations for which she was wrongly nailed is simply a certificate she can take to her constituency to obtain a fresh mandate.

Now, Speaker Dimeji Bankole is facing the same ordeal. The question is, what will time and space say of the accusations levelled against him in the months to come?