Last Wednesday, Nigerian girls joined their counterparts all over the world to mark the International Day of the Girl Child. On December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 of every year as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognise girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. This year’s theme was, ‘Invest in girls’ rights: Our leadership, our well-being.’ Different organisations organised events to mark the day. Goodwill messages were shared on social media and other platforms expressing how we cherish our girls.
From my desk in the newsroom, I saw a female colleague going around to record short videos while asking ladies to say “Happy Girl Child Day.”
While that was going on, a news story landed on my desk that I needed to work on. It was the story of a father who has been sleeping with his 13-year-old daughter for three years. That means he has been defiling the innocent girl since he was 10! It took the efforts of some teachers in the girl’s school to notice something strange in her behaviour and reported to the principal who in turn handed her over to the school counsellor before the girl opened up. I think the teachers and the school based in Ikorodu, Lagos State deserve a commendation.
Like a recurring decimal, the following day, another story landed on my table and it was about a young man who had just finished his national youth service who defiled another 13-year-old girl, a daughter of his benefactor who housed him and promised him a job.
Those cases were just two among the numerous stories of defilement that I have been coming across lately and the trend, to say the least, is disturbing.
There are cases involving girls that are younger than 13. It appears there is no limit as far as this insanity is concerned: fathers defiling daughters; teachers defiling pupils, men defiling neighbours’ daughters, clerics across all religions defiling worshippers’ daughters. Sadly, no state is spared of this shame. Examples abound.
In June, a 39-year-old man was arrested by the police for allegedly defiling a nine-year-old girl in Ugbogi Community in Ighobazuwa, the Ovia North West Local Government Area of Edo State. The suspect was said to have lured the victim to his room, had sexual intercourse with her and given her N600 after the act.
In the same month, a 20-year-old man from Tike quarters in Bajoga, the Funakaye Local Government Area of Gombe State was apprehended for defiling a five-year-old girl.
In July, a 23-year-old man was nabbed for allegedly defiling a 16-year-old student of the Government Technical College, Ado Soba, in the Trade Fair area of Lagos State. The girl was on her way to school when the suspect accosted her around 6 am and forced her into his apartment against the minor’s will.
In August, a 56-year-old man was arrested for allegedly defiling his 11-year-old daughter in Anambra State. The suspect, a native of Adazi-Enu in the Anaocha Local Government Area of the state, was said to have committed the act at his residence in Fegge, Onitsha.
In a twist, even a visually impaired man appeared before an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Lagos State for allegedly defiling a 13-year-old girl.
In March, there was a more pathetic case of a 27-year-old man arrested for allegedly defiling a nine-month-old baby at Railway, Ijora Badia, in the Apapa-Iganmu Local Council Development Area of the state. Yes, you read it correctly; the victim was a nine-month-old baby!
A shameless father took his case a notch above other randy men by defiling three of his underage children at his residence in the Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State. The girls were aged 14, 12 and eight.
I won’t bore you with more heart-rending cases of these shameless acts that are available in their hundreds. As you are reading this, a distraught girl may be crying silently in your neighbourhood.
Are these men okay at all? Are they normal? What exactly is the point of attraction? Some said such acts have a spiritual undertone, insinuating that perpetrators may be doing it for ritual purposes. Some others said they may be committing heinous crimes under the influence of drugs that are not in short supply in the country.
These beasts of men have given all men a bad name. A man with a clear conscience can no longer carry a girl in his arms while talking to her without some penetrating eyes focusing on him. Parents are now afraid to allow their daughters to go and spend holidays with their uncles. Mothers are no longer comfortable leaving their girls with their neighbours while they rush to the market. When girls return from school, parents now want to know what those male teachers did to them or told them. Even in churches, mothers dare not leave their daughters in the hands of pastors for special prayers. The situation is not different in Quranic schools or mosques. Anywhere you turn to, the fear of randy men is the beginning of wisdom.
Where can these girls run to for help? Some state governments have been trying in this regard. The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency under the leadership of Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi has been responding to this ugly trend over the years. The agency has launched a mobile app and web portal for stakeholders to track, monitor, and manage gender-related cases in the state. The law establishing the agency whose mandate is to provide and coordinate end-to-end response to incidents of domestic and sexual violence in the state and the Sex Offenders Register was assented to by the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on September 20, 2021.
Bisi Fayemi, wife of a former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, also took the lead in the fight against sexual offences in the state while her husband was in the saddle. A sex offenders’ register was also opened in the state. The courts in the state also did a good job then with the news of convictions coming almost daily. Despite these efforts and others, this ugly trend appears not to be declining.
We cannot afford to leave our girls in perpetual fear of what may befall them because of these randy men on the rampage. All hands must therefore be on the deck to tackle this. People should stop keeping quiet on this menace. When you see something, say something like that popular jingle said. Lawmakers should also consider stiffer punishments for offenders. For instance, their jail terms can be spiced with hard labour. These men can be made to be sweeping the streets every day of their jail term. Let them be made to be clearing refuse on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and other highways with their bare hands.
Honestly, I am bothered about this trend and all right-thinking people should be bothered.
