With the lift of the COVID 19 #lockdown in Nigeria, we have seen and heard of so much evil, it is scary. The increasing number of rape cases has made it necessary for us as a people to ensure we teach our children the right things. Parents need to educate both the boy child and female child- Teach the female child to stay safe always and teach the male child to protect the girl always!
A friend was lamenting the other day about how things generally die down after a while here in Nigeria, and I told her its because we have a very short attention span for things. In a bid to have the "happening gist" we tend to move on too quickly to the next big news without concluding serious prevailing issues at hand. Much too quickly, we move on, forgetting that nothing has been done about it, and that nothing will be done about it till it rears its ugly head again.
The month of June seemed to be a whisper of a promise, a glimmer of hope to many, but so far, all we have heard in Lagos where I live is one case of bad news after another, particularly concerning rape cases. It started with the #JusticeforTina movemnet. No, she wasn't raped, well, not physically. Her life was raped and cut shot by the very people who swore to protect the Nigerian citizenry- our Police. A trigger-happy policeman shot her for no apparent reason. A girl full of promise, the apple of her parents eye. Her life was just snuffed out like a candle, just because the policeman failed to exercise caution.
Then we woke up a few days after, barely a week, to hear about Uwaila Vera who was brutally raped when she was studying at a church close to her home. She was in her first year in University and had the habit of going to read at the Church to avoid distractions even though school was temporary closed due to the prevailing COVID19 pandemic. She however didn't die immediately, she died a few days after at the hospital. The #JusticeforUwa hadn't even "caused a stir" yet when we heard of another case in Jigawa state. A little girl of 12 was raped by 11 men. How sad can it get? A little girl is supposed to enjoy her innocence, yet she was brutally raped by a gang of men. Like it wasn't enough, there was the case in Ibadan, Oyo State where a girl was raped and murdered in her fathers house!
The #Saynotorape campaign is one we all need to carry with our chests. It is not enough to say the girls wear skimpy clothes or they asked for it. If a girl says no, she means no! No stories, no excuses... Same applies to a boy of course. Even if she parades the streets naked, it is not enough to rape her! What are you, an animal?
We all need to lend our voices this time around (and with all other cases too) to say #EnoughisEnough. #SayNoToRape. While this campaign may not save the others who have been raped in the past, we can lend our voices to ensure that our girls are protected going forward! No child deserves to feel unsafe. No child deserves to be molested, or have her dreams dashed. No child deserves the pain and horror. No child deserves to go through this!
We really need the grace to follow thorough on our passion in crying for justice, especially now that the entire world is crying for justice and asking for things to be set right. On the foreign scene, the fight for #blacklivesmatter continues following the recent killings of black skinned people. Blacks are humans too! They have blood flowing thorough their veins and have emotions. You can't just kill them or feel privileged because of the colour of your skin. #RIPBreonnaTaylor #RIPGeorgeFloyd. I was shocked when I read this article here about the number of cases before now.
All these happening just when we thought the world was cleansing itself after the lock-down. We really need to do better as a race.
We need to spread love not hate.
Be our brothers keeper.
Look out for one another.
Love. Love. Love!
Stand up for the truth.
Fight for the truth.
Stay Safe too.
Love, light and peace!
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