The rate at which women are violated in Nigeria has become worrisome. There does not seem to be any time in recent history this kind of immoral torridity was ever recorded in the land. In fact, our women are now endangered species, as no day passes of late without reports of one woman or minor being raped, and in the worst scenario also killed.
There is no age discrimination in the savage attack. Just recently, a court in the North sentenced a man to death for raping a two-year-old baby to death. In some cases, the victims are even younger and scarred for life. A septuagenarian grandmother was a few days ago raped in the comfort of her room by a 25-year-old monster, who claimed to be under the influence of alcohol. She was lucky to have survived the ordeal.
However, of recent too is the rape and bestial killing of 22-year-old Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, a first year student of University of Benin, UNIBEN, right within the hallowed confines of a church in Benin, where she had gone to study. Not long after this bestial act, two other women were equally raped and killed within 48 hours in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. There is another trending report about the rape and killing of a politician’s wife in Edo State.
One cannot help wondering what demon has taken over the menfolk to resort to this basest of conduct to satisfy sexual urge. Of course, as is usually the case, these fiends must find alibi for their heinous act. If it was not the devil, then they were acting under some influence, including witchcraft spells. Many culprits even blame the skimpy dressing of women.
Well, much as the brazen provocative dressing of some women is condemnable, let us deliberately ignore that because there is no justifiable reason for rape. Come to think of it, how seductive is that baby in diapers or the grandmother violated right inside her bedroom which, ordinarily, is her safest haven or refuge?
I am personally of the view that sex is the cheapest commodity in this country. Therefore, real men do not have to rape anyone to satisfy their sexual urge. It is cowardly to rape a woman where mere word of mouth could suffice. It is stupid to see a woman as a mere sexual article. If you think those skimpily dressed women are sex starved and seeking for who to sleep with them, for instance, why don’t you just ask them instead of forcing yourself on them? You would be surprised how easily that ‘big babe’ you lack courage to approach would yield to your overtures. Even if they are not game, there are many slaughterhouses at Good Evening Street nearby offering fun for pittance.
It is heartwarming that police have reportedly arrested suspects in the Omozuwa killing but their cold conduct towards her agonising parents is shameful. To ask the grieving parents for money and even taunting them of not being the first to lose a child to rape as claimed is to say the least downright insensitive. It is this kind of attitude that fuels rape because there is really no serious move to nab culprits and bring them to book.
There seems to be no law in the land that could effectively serve as deterrence to rapists. It does seem that Nigeria is not yet ready to tackle the menace of sexual violence headlong. The same overly lenient methods have been in force for far too long coupled with unserious attitude of investigating officers and lack or relevant tools like the rape kit.
A lot of times, poor victims have been compelled to settle out of court because of financial requirements. Thus some victims resort to bearing their pain instead of speaking up and being denied justice despite losing their dignity.
Nigeria’s justice system with regard to fighting sexual abuse has failed woefully as in other national issues. There just has to be an intense provision for dealing with matters like this such that people would have to think again before running an errand for the devil they usually blame for sending them.
Last Thursday, in the House of Representatives, there was a glimmer of hope when Hon. James Faleke proposed that convicted rapists should be castrated. Unfortunately, after a controversial debate, the House killed the bill. Honestly speaking, Nigeria needs that kind of bill before they rape all our women to death. Once that prized instrument of mass destruction is such men would no longer pose as danger to the womenfolk. Alternatively, nothing less than life jail should be considered.
The fear though is that the people we entrust the responsibility are culpable too. They are the ones that ‘molest’ underage girls through monetary and material inducements to warm their beds. It is a well known fact that having a sexual tryst with the underage, whether consensual or not, is rape. So, how do we expect the lawmakers and powers that be to make such laws when they have 13-14-year-olds in their harem as wives? The situation is that pathetic.
I deliberately repudiated the bland notion that skimpy dressing leads to rape for the simple reason that I cannot go and steal someone else’s car because the owner did not park inside his garage or because he left it unlocked. Nevertheless, we must recognise that a lot of times people have lost their valuable property because of carelessness. To this extent, therefore, it is advisable that women take extra care to protect their honour. It is baffling why a woman would expose his butt anyhow without shame. It is even more confusing why a woman should throw caution to the wind and fraternise with strangers she met on Facebook or go to inappropriate or insecure places.
We must take cognisance of the fact that rapists indulge in the dastardly act because they are certain to get away with it and they usually do anyway due to a porous legal system we operate in this country. Until we develop a legal framework that does not treat rape with kid gloves, we will continue to have more cases on our hands. We also have a dysfunctional system where the society tends towards cultism and all manner of deviance, including rape, which has become fashionable for some.
Parents and guardians should take precautionary steps to secure their children and wards. Trust your girl-child to no one because almost all rape predators are by trusted people close to the family. They must spend enough time with their children and awards and do all they can to win their friendship so that they will not keep secrets but confide in them whenever inappropriate proposals are made to them without fear. Parents should know their children well enough to notice when there is a change in attitude and lovingly probe to find out what the issue is. They should also not be in a hurry to judge the child or dismiss whatever report they bring to them simply because of the It is unladylike to expose your private part to the public. That privacy is the myth around every personality involved.
Of course, we need to see to it that the girls dress decently. A woman’s private parts must be cherished. Once everything is exposed, it does not speak well of the woman and, indeed, could be an invitation to be sexually harassed or abused. Some call it looking sexy; the question is; are you looking for someone to have sex with you?
All the same, the legal administrative system must be strengthened to protect our womenfolk. We must stir from our inertia and confront the monster, staring the nation in the face. We must ensure speedy investigation of cases, prosecution and punishment for convicts. It is good that Nigeria launched its first sex offender register last year. This is a laudable step in the right direction provided it is not bogged down by administrative bottlenecks and incompetence of concerned public officials, such as the police and investigating officers.
The time has come to rid our public sphere and news media of nauseating reports of sexual crimes. We are talking about our mothers, sisters and wives here. It demeans us as a people when hooligans molest and humiliate mothers of the nation.