Toluwani loved her Uncle. Uncle Shola made her feel special
all the time. Each time he came to the house, he would lift her and throw her
in the air. He would tickle her endlessly till tears ran down her cheeks from
excessive laughter and her sides ached. She trusted her Uncle Shola totally. He
could never hurt her.
So she kept thinking until that dark afternoon. Toluwani’s
mother had to run extra errands that afternoon after she picked her from school
so she thought her brother who was really fond of her daughter and always
offered to babysit her could help her look after Toluwani. After she dropped
her with Uncle Shola and left, he started with his tirade of friendly gestures
again.
Then he started telling Toluwani that she was a special girl and
the most beautiful girl in the world. Toluwani kept blushing at these sweet
words from her most favourite and trusted Uncle Shola. Then he asked touched
her bum and told her she had a beautiful body. He asked her if she would love
to have boobs as big as her mom. She giggled shyly and nodded. Then he told her
to take her clothes off so he could confirm if this would be. She innocently
obeyed. Then he took off his own clothes too and then the nightmare started.
He made her touch him in places. He also stuck his fingers
inside her. Then he told her to put his member in her mouth. He said she would
be helping him feel happy, just the way he always made her happy too. She naively
did as requested. Then he made her lie down and spread her legs and kept trying
to get his member into her and even when she cried and told him it hurt her, he
didn’t stop. He went on and it hurt. It hurt her pretty bad. She cried and
begged but Uncle Shola didn’t listen. She could not believe that he could hurt
her ever, but he did. She didn’t understand how but then it was happening and
there was no one to help her. Not her mummy or daddy.
Toluwani was only five years old, but she never forgot.
This is the story of one of the several million children,
male and female who get violated everyday by heartless but sadly trusted
relatives. The truth is that when a truly wicked man sets to work, his victim
can barely escape him. Many questions would pop into the mind when one hears
such horrible stories. How could anyone ever think of hurting innocent
children? Why didn’t the parents suspect a thing? Endless questions that never
receive answers.
It is even more terrible in Nigeria where women and female
children are treated as not better than properties and the men are expected to
always ‘man up’ in the face of tough situations and must not be heard to
complain. Most times, cases like this one never get reported or prosecuted at
all. They are treated as family issues and the victims are never put into
consideration at all. The family’s honour and name suddenly become way more
important than finding a closure for victims It is important to state that from
a personal survey I made from discussions I have had with male colleagues; at
least two out of every ten was violated as a child. The consequence being they
grew up becoming sexually hyperactive and insatiable. Some people will say this
is a blessing, but then it has also been scientifically proven that excessive
sexual drive could be a result of depression. How is this beneficial to
anybody?
It is time we took this fight into our own hands and become
our children’s vigilantes. Most importantly, closure must be found for the
unfortunate victims by ensuring that the evil people who harmed them are handed
just and equal punishment. I am I total agreement with the National Assembly to
increase the sentence for rape to life imprisonment from fourteen years. More importantly,
I insist that they can start by legislating entirely new laws to regulate
violence against children. The we can truly say that we can begin the war which
has already fallen upon us.
Follow Olayinka on twitter @rubyxion.
