By Chibuzor Isichei
Rape is not new in this part of the globe. What is actually worrisome and devastating is the incidence of raping girls and women to death.
Recently the media especially the social media were awash with frightening reports of raping girls to death in various parts of the country. First from Benin city, Edo State,came the story of a 22 year old undergraduate of microbiology Uwaila Omozuwa, who was raped and killed in a church. Second, there was another case of raping and killing of one Barakat Bello in Ibadan, Oyo State she was , a student of science laboratory technology(NDI) from the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Moore Plantation, Ibadan, Oyo state.
Yet another is the case of a lady simply identified as Azeezat, an ex-student of the University of Ilorin currently on her masters program at the University of Ibadan. There is also the brutal gang rape of a 12 year old minor by 11 men in Jigawa State.
There was also the case of a 29 year old man now remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Service Centre in Warri after luring and raping 3 under aged girls in Ughelli, Delta State.
There was also another report of a man to die by hanging for raping a two year baby to death in Zaria. What do we also say of another man that raped a 70 year old woman in Ogun state.
All these have attracted various protests and some times violent protests in condemnation of the evil acts.
As a matter of fact, the list is endless and all these happened in the space of two weeks. And these are reported cases, may be because they were seen and reported to the police.
What about the unreported cases in our remote areas? What about the ones that happen to the voiceless Nigerians who cannot get to the police or law enforcement agencies?
In 2015, UNICEF reported that one in four girls and one in ten boys in Nigeria had experienced sexual violence before the age of 18. According to a survey by Positive Action for Treatment Access, more than 31.4 percent of girls said that their first sexual encounter had been rape or forced sex of some kind.
Also, the Center for Environmental, Human Rights and Development reported that 1,200 girls were raped in 2012 in Rivers State. And referring to UNICEF, it said that six out of ten children in Nigeria experience emotional, physical or sexual abuse before the age of 18.
Frankly speaking all the rapes and killings have attracted reactions from all the stakeholders. President Buhari has even intervened in the Uwa case in Benin City and urged the police to speed up investigations in the matter and bring the culprits to book.
The House of Representatives after some deliberations on the matter declared a state of emergency on rape following the spate of sexual abuse on girls and women in the country.
Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike have preferred some suggestions on how to deal with the ugly situation. Some have traced the problem of rape to weak institutions, poor enforcement of existing laws on the matter, poverty and unacceptable social practices. How does the society look at rape and the rise of incidents on the issue.
Deaconess Eunice Sada , a retired director lamented at the rate at which so many strange things are happening in the society today, especially the constant rape cases on women and killing them. She said a situation where a father rapes his 7 months old daughter, father and son raping their own child, son raping his own mother, and so many more. This she said is not acceptable to women.
According to Sada, “A lot of evil forces are at work, and the society is not helping the matter, people should hold unto God who alone can fight the evil forces”. She disclosed that there were cases of young men and women who have been initiated into evil cults ,noting that all these are being controlled by Satan, and cannot help it but to continue to be involved in many evil things which include sexual abuse of women, both young and old. She narrated how a young man told her recently that many men today may not live up to 50 years because of the kind of evil cults they have joined, and this automatically induced them with a strong bond that they cannot do without.
She observed that the society has slept for too long and now the water has gotten to everybody’s neck. According to her, “All these are traceable to failure of parents, the church, school heads in the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions and the security outfits in the country, among others on this unfortunate issue., They have left so many things to undone and now everybody is blaming each other. She said a situation where there are too many churches looking for crowd without teaching the real things have contributed to the rot in the society.
Sada said that it would be very difficult to check mate this evil going on in the society but suggested that we have to start from somewhere; parents should not allow their female children to marry when they are not matured enough, they should undergo a lot of parental training before marriage. Parents should also ensure that they are on the right side of God, they should learn good things from the church which would enable them to impact good upbringing to their children. She also suggested that the school heads should not shy away from their responsibilities, they should be up and doing to save the unfortunate situation. The churches, she said, should always discuss the way forward under their union, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). They should come out to counsel the youths who sometimes may be stubborn. The church should do more so that a kind of collaboration can be coming out from both sides.
The security outfits, she noted, should also do their best to handle this aspect of life, such as making the correctional centres a place where offenders are checkmated seriously, instead of being a place where after serving a jail term, their character remains the same.
Mrs Josephine Douglas, a business woman, in her own view said that the issue of rape is becoming too much in the country, saying that the government should take necessary actions to end it because a lot of women out there are scared of what is happening. , “We should sit down and look at this act now before it is too late, after which, the anger of God will visit anybody making this issue look like a child’s play.
Anybody who is supposed to take action on this matter and is handling it with kids gloves will be visited by thunder, no doubt about it!.”, she stressed.
Mrs Comfort Nnabuilo, a fashion designer in her own view said, “what is happening might be the handiwork of a group of cultists using females for rituals, because it is turning to a rapedemic”.
She advised parents to try to educate and enlighten their children from home and in schools.
According to her, “our children are dying in silence and experiencing emotional trauma, adding that the reason why some children are not opening up to their parents is because some parents can be very hard on their children, and the children are extremely scared of the backlash from their parents. This is a very delicate issue which must be addressed with the utmost care, maturity and caution”, she said.
She warned that steps should be taken now before women, especially the girl child are ruined.
