For some days now, rape and defilement have become major social problems that have gave Nigerians sleepless nights, while the Federal Government and its agencies are yet to find lasting solutions to these life threatening crimes.
In Edo state, Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, a 100 level student of the University of Benin was gang raped and murdered inside a church, in Jigawa State a minor was defiled by 14 men, in Ekiti state a 17 year old street hawker was raped by three youths who were armed and in Ibadan, Oyo state an 18 year old Ordinary National Diploma student (OND) student of the Institute of Agriculture, Research and Training, Barakat Bello was raped and stabbed to death by yet to be yet to be identified assailants in her home at the Akinyele are of the ancient city. Thses are just few out of several cases of rape and defilement in different parts of the country. In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that rape cases for suggest a failure in Democracy in the hands of the elected, appointed and employed in government cycles. Excerpts :
What is your reaction to the rape and gruesome murder of Barakat Bello, an 18 year old Ordinary National Diploma student(OND) in her parent’s home in Ibadan Oyo state ?
We must not regard the case of rape as a new development because it has been with us for long without any decisive action of prevention, mitigation and deterrence. For this reason, this crime would continue to be on the increase, most especially when the environment favors it. Even when the victims are not murdered, the trauma would continue to haunt the victims, even later in life, when same must have got to a position of affluence and power. The feelings of shame and regret will continue to persist.
It is imperative for the media to expose the rapists and the victims, while it is the usual experience to have police involvement.
However, Judgments in the courts of law, most times become elusive because of family connections, most especially when offenders are within the vicinity or the neighborhood. It is equally very difficult for the members of the public to see the offenders rightly jailed, when the offenders have the right connections, kudos must therefore be given to some Non Government Organizations(NGO), which are all the time challenging this crime with the means at their disposal. The most disturbing aspect of cases of sexual abuses, most especially rape, is that most of the time, the aim might not be based on sexual urge, but for the purpose of ritual. The fresh cases at hand involving the rape and murder of one of the victims in a church in Benin city, Edo state and the other who was murdered in her parents home at the Akinyele area of Ibadan, Oyo state, are really sources of serious worry and concern. The question now is why is the society suffering under the pressure of various sexual abuses including rape, in the presence of various government agencies and their operatives and when exactly are we going to have a Government that would be responsible and responsive to the issue of the safety of lives and property ?
To this extent the following areas of focus should be the objectives of stakeholders on the issue of child rearing with the aim of producing future leaders , both male and female, free from all forms of abuses.
Th issue of the breakdown of our core values as regards discipline and moral uprightness expected to be role modeled and taught by the trio of the religious and educational institutions and the home through the parents, must be thoroughly worked on without delay.
A network of all law enforcement and security agencies and their operatives must focus on the ultimate concern of finding lasting solutions to this crime. Also the issue of ethical practice, patriotism and collaboration to promote and effect thorough bred security concerns using the advantages of emerging technologies must be emphasized.
Government must be more serious on the issues of war against drug and child trafficking, and most especially on the interest to protect the girl child from the consequence of been addicted to drugs or drug abuse.
There is a need to develop the awareness on the essence of whistle blowing whenever strange movements are noticed around us. This is equally important for churches and mosques, to monitor the happenings in the location of worship centers.
It is also imperative for our justice and judicial system to be more sensitive in handling cases of rape by bringing all offenders to book with adequate publicity from the media by monitoring that the offenders serve out their jail terms. Consideration for capital punishment on cases involving death or great damages to victims such as castration or death, as the case may be, with adequate publicity on the penalty may deter others from committing such a crime.
Our educational institutions must rise against the issues of cultism, rape and arson, this is because these institutions produce those in the public and private sectors. Rape cases for whatever reasons suggest a failure in Democracy in the hands of the elected, appointed and employed in government cycles. Above all, the parents, houses of worship, educational institutions, voluntary organizations and the interventions of NGOs, most especially on the people’s human rights protection must keep a sleepless watch on the peer group effect to checkmate youthful exuberance and issue of foul play in the society.
Nigerians and the rest of the world are on the close watch on how justice would prevail in finding and fixing the offenders in these fresh cases of rape in Edo state resulting in sacrilege in the church, while the case of Barakat Bello who was raped and murdered in her parent’s home must not be swept under the carpet. The people of Ekiti state want justice for the 17 year old female hawker who was also gang raped. Nigerians deserve to have a safe and well secured society in a Democracy to avoid posterity adjudging Government as a complete failure because the power to regulate and control rests in their hands and the abundance of the resources to use are equally in their hands, if same is not abused through misplace priorities.
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