I confronted DSS agents thinking they were snipers

A Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker, Boma Goodhead, who challenged the DSS operatives that barricaded the National Assembly on Tuesday, tells JOHN AMEH why she lost her cool and confronted the masked men

You confronted the DSS operatives who invaded the National Assembly on Tuesday, are you not afraid that you could be shot?

When I saw what was going on yesterday (Tuesday), I just felt that it was very, very undemocratic and provocative. The reason being that you can’t come into somebody’s house or office and say you will not allow the person to enter his house or where he or she works, especially when I saw them, wearing masks. Most times when people go with masks, it’s either they are snipers or they are people who are just there for a purpose and would not want their identities to be known. That suspicion was what made me to react the way I did. So, this was a reaction of the anger within. I say enough is enough because we can’t continue in this manner.

What do you have to say to Nigerian women who want to go into politics like you?

Well, I will tell them that wherever they find themselves, nothing will be handed over to them on a platter of gold. Even in Sierra Leone, where they say oh, we are in Free Town, nothing is free in Free Town. So, fight for whatever you are looking for as a woman.  If you go into the Bible, many of the women who were front liners, like Deborah, Esther, and Naomi; they were all women who stood for what they wanted. They worked hard to get what they wanted.

Can you tie what happened on Tuesday to the 2019 elections and how would you advise Nigerians to prepare for the polls?

We just have to stand up and prepare. These were the same Nigerians, who opposed the third term issue (agenda); they rose and said no! Whenever there is a problem and Nigerians come together, God rises up for us. So, there is no way you will just sit out there and do nothing. Or you just say, oh, these people will use their federal might. No, you are the might; you are the one to fight for yourself. If you come out to say, enough is enough, then nobody can truncate the democratic process in Nigeria. I am from Rivers State. I recall that we went for our re-run with action and they came with everything; all the security agencies came down there. But God prevailed. You see, when a nation cries, God will hear from heaven and fight the battle. Yesterday (Tuesday), it was just God who is with us who was fighting these people. At the end of the day, Nigerians prevailed and we prevailed over those mobsters.

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, acknowledged your heroism during his Wednesday World Press Briefing and you received a standing ovation. How did that make you feel?

I will tell you the truth. It wasn’t about me. It was about Nigeria. It was about fighting to protect democracy in Nigeria. It’s not about Boma Goodhead; there were lots of us out there yesterday (on Tuesday). But someone had to take the lead. So, it was not just me. It was about Nigeria. That was why we went that far.