Nigeria, A Desensitized Nation
However, I need to say this even if it might be brief. It is one thing that certain (I really am pulling back on the adjective that qualifies this folks) Nigerians on twitter are uttering nonsense that I am sure they didn't think through, it is another for the Abia State University's Vice Chancellor to come out and utter such arrant rubbish. Words matter!
The VC says and I quote " it didn't happen in the school." The words themselves reek of denial and something else that shall not be named. "Didn't" is a strong that projects a deep level of certainty that should only be backed with facts. And with cases like this, shouldn't it be used carefully? For example, during law suits, the jury or the judge says, "the jury/I do not find this man guilty of bla bla bla." They never say "Defendant A is not guilty and so is set free." The law realizes that guilt or innocence can or may later be proven otherwise. Honestly, I better stop here because as you can see, law isn't my forte.
But the point remains, I find those VC's words an indication of denial and suspect that someone somewhere is pulling some clout to kill the story. The VC probably knows the culprits and is interceding for their behalf, for he might be a Don/Baba Isale that KNOWS everything. For tell me, how then can he know explicitly that the boys are not his students? I don't know about you but when I was in the University of Ibadan, UI matriculated close to 5,000 students yearly. So if in truth, the VC knows all the faces of his students, mehn I am speechless. But, how can he know this? The guys' faces are even not visible as they sensibly edited the video prior to releasing it. And the crime scene does not categorically pinpoint a location. It was a badly lit room with a mattress thrown on the floor. So, please tell me, how can the VC be so sure that the boys are not from ABSU?
The VC's ignorance, a word I use lightly, is so shockingly glaring. The said investigation took how long? And as Linda reports it, it didn't involve the Student Government Union. So how was the investigation sped up? Or did the VC just flip through records to find out if there were any written record of such incident? If that is the case, then the man is an incompetent phool, pardon my language.
As for the folks who are all over twitter saying it wasn't rape. I really do not blame you. I mean, how can I? I blame your phone that didn't alert you to the fact that Google is also your friend as much as twitter is. What would it have cost you to Google the word "rape" before you started tweeting? Oops I forgot, Twitter is just a social network platform. So, we can all be politically incorrect. Maybe to help you better, you might want to find out why date rape is NOW considered illegal, that should take care of the screaming bit you all are worried about.
Nigerian society has done all it can to desensitize folks to the word "rape." Every-little-part of our brains has been programmed to find rape survivors at fault. But I ask why? For what? It amazes me how people see a tiny bit of a whole and pronounce themselves authority on the whole. This just shows the level of decadence in our society. We call out our leaders for being corrupt, but we are as corrupt to our necks as a filled-out gold teeth. We scream unfair treatment from the western media but we refuse to be fair to our own.
So tell me then, how is my nation supposed to get better? When shall I see the promised land I envision and fight for? Moments like this cut my heart, as it weakens my effort to tell my own story. It makes me wonder if my decision to tell my African story is right in the first place and throws a little bit of cynicism in my path. So please I request once more, let today be different from yesterday or the day before. Let's not taint the day for folks like myself. And let's celebrate folks like Linda Ikeji, whose birthday is today, by the way.
But the point remains, I find those VC's words an indication of denial and suspect that someone somewhere is pulling some clout to kill the story. The VC probably knows the culprits and is interceding for their behalf, for he might be a Don/Baba Isale that KNOWS everything. For tell me, how then can he know explicitly that the boys are not his students? I don't know about you but when I was in the University of Ibadan, UI matriculated close to 5,000 students yearly. So if in truth, the VC knows all the faces of his students, mehn I am speechless. But, how can he know this? The guys' faces are even not visible as they sensibly edited the video prior to releasing it. And the crime scene does not categorically pinpoint a location. It was a badly lit room with a mattress thrown on the floor. So, please tell me, how can the VC be so sure that the boys are not from ABSU?
The VC's ignorance, a word I use lightly, is so shockingly glaring. The said investigation took how long? And as Linda reports it, it didn't involve the Student Government Union. So how was the investigation sped up? Or did the VC just flip through records to find out if there were any written record of such incident? If that is the case, then the man is an incompetent phool, pardon my language.
Nigerian society has done all it can to desensitize folks to the word "rape." Every-little-part of our brains has been programmed to find rape survivors at fault. But I ask why? For what? It amazes me how people see a tiny bit of a whole and pronounce themselves authority on the whole. This just shows the level of decadence in our society. We call out our leaders for being corrupt, but we are as corrupt to our necks as a filled-out gold teeth. We scream unfair treatment from the western media but we refuse to be fair to our own.
So tell me then, how is my nation supposed to get better? When shall I see the promised land I envision and fight for? Moments like this cut my heart, as it weakens my effort to tell my own story. It makes me wonder if my decision to tell my African story is right in the first place and throws a little bit of cynicism in my path. So please I request once more, let today be different from yesterday or the day before. Let's not taint the day for folks like myself. And let's celebrate folks like Linda Ikeji, whose birthday is today, by the way.
I agree, I indicated shock at his words and just couldn't process why he would ever open his mouth and utter such arrant nonsense. And I am proud of the response that responsible Nigerians on twitter are taking to ensure that the culprits gets booked for justice.
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