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"I READ this
story in the PM News about the woman who
went to the Area G Police Station in Ogba,
Lagos to protest that she was raped by three
policemen two months ago, and that she is
now pregnant. She wants justice, but the
police authorities won't listen to her. It
is such a sad story."
"One Miss Queen
Okoye. I got the details from someone who
witnessed the show. The police insist that
she is a mad woman. The woman removed her
clothes, and was clad only in her underwear.
Pretty woman o. Nice body. Eh, Alhaji."
"You see? And we blame the police. You,
Nigerian men are sick. I can bet that while
she was protesting about being raped, other
men would have been wondering what it would
be like to be alone with her. Rape is such a
common thing in Nigeria now. You get to hear
of old men raping two year olds, five year
olds, husbands raping housemaids, their
wife's relations, the daughters of
neighbours, teachers raping their female
students. And just now, you too sounded like
a rapist."
"No o. Ha, just admiring
the work of the Almighty. There is nothing
wrong in that. If I want a woman, I chase
her normally and I settle. I always settle.
Those policemen are in trouble now because
they didn't settle"
"You always
settle. Just listen to that. There was a
story about a man who raped his
mother-in-law. Did he settle too? The matter
had to be hushed up to protect the family
from public disgrace. Male talk in Nigeria
is riddled with signs that the country is
full of not just chauvinists but rapists.
You said it now: settle. I have also heard
men refer to us in relation to our body
parts: big boobs, a pretty face, full or
thin lips. Bakassi, Landcruiser, Oshodi Oke,
Mango, Pawpaw, Shikishiki, Feeding Bottle,
Lepa, Eru, Ile ise, Owialeke, Pepper yo yo,
Black and Shine, Baby, Portable, Suzie...
They make you feel like you are a commodity
to be picked up from the shelf. And you, I
expect you to be more civilized."
"Well, a man must have a choice. Freedom of
choice."
"That is how it starts.
Every rapist is a prisoner of choice,
including those who rape children. Some even
rape their wives."
"No. In Nigeria,
there is no such thing. Your wife is your
wife. Point of correction."
"I
believe you are just being mischievous. It
is not you talking. Have you taken
something? Look, I think what we are dealing
with goes beyond that woman who stripped
herself naked in Ogba. It is a serious
social crisis. Nigerian men are obsessed
with sex, and most of them would rather
force women to the bed."
"If I may
play the devil's advocate, in some
countries, the men prefer men. The majority
of Nigerian men love their women. Give us
some credit"
"The big scandal is that
the police are not interested in prosecuting
rapists. The police station itself is a rape
centre. That is the point that woman was
making. She had gone there to ask the police
to help her arrest her boyfriend who had
taken her N30, 000. They asked her to wait
till 10p.m, so they could spring a surprise
on the man. One thing led to another, she
claims she was charmed, and when she woke up
at 2. 30a.m, she discovered that she had
been raped, and she was bleeding. I guess
when she was reporting her boyfriend at the
station, they were not listening to her
story at all. They were more interested in
her body."
"Looks like all the
policemen on duty took part in that special
operation."
"She went to the police station to ask for the
support of law enforcement officers. Not
knowing that there are criminals in uniform.
We have a country where it is risky for a
woman to allow herself to be detained
overnight in any police station. One girl
living with a friend of mine was once
detained overnight by the police, she was
gang-raped all through the night. In fact,
you need to talk to prostitutes that stand
by the roadside in Lagos. When the police
arrest them every evening, they take them to
the station and impose a punishment of free
sex."
"I am working on a theory that
sex is the most popular form of recreation
in Nigeria. No light. No water. No jobs. No
money. What do you want Nigerian men to do?"
"There was this girl that was once shown on
television, she had gone to a police station
to report that she was raped by her
boyfriend. She said the police ended up
making jest of her. They asked her to go
away and stop complaining about nothing.
They were more interested in knowing whether
she enjoyed it or not."
"I am
thinking of another theory. Maybe we should
castrate all Nigerian policemen. A National
Police of Eunuchs. How about that?"
"You and your stupid theories."
"Okay, this your sister Queen that you are
fighting for. What kind of woman is she
herself? Did she have to stay at the police
station till 10p.m? And how did she know she
was charmed? She was raped two months ago,
why didn't she take up the matter then."
"She did. Nobody would listen to her. She was
reporting the police to the police. And you
know how it is"
"I don't know. Is
that why she now went to the police station
armed with fetish objects? She had with her
a pigeon, a cross, other fetish objects and
she was chanting incantations in broad
daylight. She even threatened that she would
not stop cursing the men who raped her until
they dropped dead. She could have been
arrested for having the mind to commit
murder. She could have been arrested for
constituting herself into a public nuisance
too. And I dare add that her nakedness was
provocative, it was an unnecessary
invitation to other men."
"Nigerian
women are powerless where rape is concerned.
Even the section of the Criminal Code
dealing with rape was written by men. It
doesn't favour the woman at all. It exposes
her to further humiliation. She is required
to prove that she was raped. And in the
court, there will be calls for medical
examination and proof of penetration, and
absence of consent. How do you prove rape
with such law two months after the fact? And
how many women will have the courage to
allow such exposure? Miss Okoye's resort to
spiritual warfare may look like self-help
but she speaks for all powerless Nigerian
women whose greatest enemy is the phallus."
"Hey, sweetheart, come on. That is not an
objective statement. You are too partisan in
this matter. Even all those your women's
rights activists and professional feminists
won't say that. If you want to talk about
rape, do so, but be honest about that other
matter."
"To hell with it. We need to
do something in Nigeria about rape, about
sexual harassment and the Police Command
should take Ms Okoye's protest seriously. We
can't run a good society if every woman that
steps into a police station is seen as a
victim. Sections 357 of the Criminal Code
and Section 282 of the Penal Code should be
reviewed and amended. And other women should
not leave Okoye alone. Women empowerment
groups in civil society should seek her out
and take up her battle. There should be a
protest of thousands of Nigerian women to
draw attention to the rapists in uniform and
the crimes they commit."
"Very good.
My only input is that all the women who will
join that protest should do so in bra and
pants: Ms Okoye's symbol of protest. And I
am looking forward to seeing you, Miss
Womanist, join that protest. I will love to
see you in bra and pants. You are a pretty
woman you know. A perfect symbol of
pulchritude, well-made, finely sculptured, a
darling, a sweetheart. I confess that if I
am left alone with you in a room, I swear, I
will misbehave."
"If anybody tries
it with me, that person will go to jail. I
assure you."
"If loving and admiring
you will mean going to jail, I am 100 per
cent ready, my dear. Jail. No be human
beings dey there?"
"You know what you
are?"
"A smitten admirer. A gentleman
in love."
"No. You are a goat."
"Oh, Sugar. Come on Baby. You know you are a
sweetheart any day. The only goat that is
giving anybody any trouble in Nigeria today
is in Ilorin. The robber that tried to steal
a Mazda car and then turned into a goat to
escape arrest."
"Are they still on
that nonsense?"
"This week, the
Ilorin Police Command has issued two
statements on the matter. First, they said
the goat was on hunger strike. It refused to
drink water. And it won't accept grass."
"It probably wanted pounded yam with ogbono
soup. They should have tried that."
"But I think two days ago, there was a new
twist to the story. The Police Commissioner
in Kwara State said they had taken a look at
the Police Act, the law does not empower the
police to keep unclaimed property. So
whoever brought the goat to the police
station, or whoever is the owner should come
and claim it, otherwise the police would
have no option but to auction the goat next
week."
"You mean the Kwara Police
Command is just remembering the Police Act?
And who do they think will buy a goat that
had been said to be a human being. The
police themselves should eat the goat. They
have mouths, don't they? One of them should
buy it at the auction."
"At what
price?"
"Who cares?"
"No, you should care. Because before long, the
entire Nigeria Police will be busy arresting
goats, ducks, pigeons, rabbits and so on as
suspects. In a season of economic
depression, there is no limit to what people
can do to fill their stomachs with food."
"All of this is happening in Nigeria, and
President Umar Musa Yar'Adua goes on leave?"
"You mean it is the duty of the President to
worry about rape in a Lagos police station
and a goat incident in an Ilorin Police
station"
"These are symptoms of a
deeper crisis. Let's face it: Nigeria is not
working. Nigerians need a new deal. The
country needs to be fixed. The President
can't go on leave when the country is facing
an emergency. There is no electricity supply
in the country, the stock market has
crashed, the country's foreign reserves is
going down, the Naira is losing value, about
23 per cent in a month, the national economy
has failed, the people have no jobs, no
food, no hope, the 2009 Budget is even not
in place yet. You go on leave after you have
done some work. What has President Yar'Adua
done in close to two years for him to merit
going on leave?
"He has married off
two daughters to state governors. Is it
easy? Let's be fair to this man."
"People are saying the man is using style to
go to hospital".
"I think the
section of the Nigerian Constitution dealing
with the qualification of persons for public
office is due for amendment. Having the
right level of energy for public office must
be made an issue. The Constitution talks
about insanity as a ground for
disqualification. But the reality is that
Nigerians can live with insane leaders. What
is more frustrating is having leaders who
are nursing all kinds of diseases, which
have to be taken care of at public expense.
"
"Yes"
"If a man knows that
he is not well, him no get energy, let him
not seek elective office. In fact, if
anybody has any record of constant malaria
or typhoid fever, he should not be allowed
to run for office. Take the case of the Yobe
Governor, Mamman Ali who just died." |
