Our societies have been contaminated with so many atrocities and abnormalities. We have lost our moral inclination and have imbibed the ways of animals. Imagine forcing oneself on an opposite sex. Indecency is on the increase and most times family background should be blamed for it. But that should not in any way justify the action of rape.
Oftentimes many have attributed this unGodly act to ladies’ unholy behaviour or indecent dressing but whether a lady is drunk, she is out late at night or she is wearing a sexy dress, no man has the right to hide under these excuses to abuse her. A wrong can not correct another wrong, rather it complicates issues. The rate of rape is quite alarming. According to the inspector general of police, Nigeria recorded 717 rape incidents between January and May, 2020. Some of the states that have been in the news are Lagos, Edo, Oyo, Jigawa, Nasarawa etc. The most cases that have caught public attention are that of Uwaila Vera Omozuwa in Edo state, Barakat Bello and Grace Oshiagwu in Oyo state. The victims were raped and murdered .The case of Grace was said to have been committed by suspected ritualists barely two weeks after the case of Barakat in the same area.
Sad enough, these three girls died in the process.
Violence against women has become a national crisis in Nigeria. No place is safe anymore. Women are violated in both open and obscure places. Even homes, schools and worship places are not left out.
We have heard issues of a father raping his daughter and brother raping sister. Should indecent dressing be the cause of this as well? I don’t think any reasonable man should be attracted to his daughter or sister’s nakedness. This is another madness entirely. How do we address the issue of kids and infants that are abused? A three months old baby was brutally raped in Nasarawa state thereby causing this innocent child harm culpable of ruining her life. The child was found with blood covering her vagina and had undergone three surgeries but was still not able to excrete. The world is indeed a wicked place.
The issue of rape has gone across gender. Not only men but ladies are also involved in this ugly act. A lady was apprehended recently for abusing a boy in Rivers state. The United Nations children’s fund reported in 2015 that one in every four girls and one in every ten boys had experienced sexual violence before the age of 18 years.
Rape is a traumatic experience and its aftermath for the survivors is quite tragedic. The pain can be physical, emotional, psychological and sociological. Aside from death, a rape victim can experience pain such as bleeding through the vagina or anal, stigmatization, broken or dislocated bones, sexually transmitted diseases or infection and unwanted pregnancy. In addition, a rape victim may also undergo emotional and mental trauma such as shock, lack of trust, fear, depression and so on. Other issues may include a problem with menstrual cycle and infertility and in the case of boys, they may become chronic womanizers, drunkards and drug abusers.
The agony of rape is a lifetime pain. This act shouldn’t be taken lightly. The president has condemned and promised to bring perpetrators to book. Words should be put into action. The public must be made to have trust in the fight against rape. Many victims have decided to die in silence because they lack trust in the judicial process and also due to extortion by law enforcement agencies. Uwa’s family had alleged that the police had initially asked them to pay “mobilisation fee” before investigation. This is actually bad on the side of the authority.
Finally, the inspector general of police has also said that so many arrests have been made with 631 cases successfully investigated and charged to court. While 52 cases remained under investigation. The Nigeria governors forum declared a state of emergency on rape and court sentencing offenders. These are commendable but more needs to be done. Authorities need to strengthen the law enforcement agencies for quick investigation and prosecution of cases. No matter who is involved, death penalty should be the judgement. This will serve as a deterrent to others.
Adama Umar Ayuba,Abuja.[email protected]
