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Narrating our experiences might not be enough ―calling out system lapses is a civic responsibility

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3 years ago

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Yesterday, the 11th of November, 2021, one of the ladies of a popular breakfast show on TVC, Tope Mark-Odigie, documented a short video narrating her robbery experience on her way home.

She narrated:

“I just finished an event at Eko hotel this evening and I was driving back home. On the bridge- the Ketu bridge from 3rd mainland, the bridge that takes you towards 7up- I got robbed. They damaged my car.

“Some two guys were hitting on the car that I should wind down. And as they were hitting, they broke the side mirror; it caused a little bit of injury on my hand. I was just very shaken. I said I should just first drive to TVC, let me come and calm down in TVC and then I’ll go back home but ur..m, I reported this thing on Wednesday. I reported that somebody got robbed in that same place on Wednesday. I said it on the show, I said we need to have more security presence there. There were police people there but they were by the van. The robbery took place after the van and they were young boys, came to the side of the car

I know that it was God. I was able to just swerve left and right. I’m going to head back home, try and dust off all the glass from my body but we can’t afford to do this. Everywhere there is traffic, there is a risk to our lives. “Government needs to do much more than this. I’m grateful to God but it feels very weird. I’m just wondering ‘hey, what is it? Is it you alone, Tope? Last year, they burnt your car. This year, you’re getting robbed. But I’m grateful to God… I just wanted to document this.”

She posted this video on her Instagram page and was flooded with the usual religious comments in the comment section: “Just thank God you are alive”; “you have God’s grace over you”; and the likes.

While it is important and necessary to always be deeply thankful to God or a divine source for delivering us or another from a terrible experience, we must also remember that there are people (religious and morally upright) who have lost their lives in similar situations. This implies that we must use the opportunity of a survivor’s experience to point out the slackened security in view and demand maximum security even though we thank God for the live(s) of the survivor(s).

Instead of breeding any negetive mentality, it is better to speak up as a form of responsibility on our part.

The same way we announce “when your neighbour succeeds, do not be envious; instead, celebrate with them because it means favour is in your neighborhood”, that same way, we must understand that when a neighbour falls victim or experiences any form of insecurity in a hood, we must be alert and demand strongly, security measures because it means insecurity is in that hood, too. There might be some apathetic talks like “would the government give a listening ear?” Instead of breeding such mentality, it is better to speak up as a form of responsibility on our part.

When there is no survivor, we do not have the chance to tell the dead to be grateful they are alive, therefore, when we do have one, it should be an opportunity to voice the need for security, not just the need for the survivor to be grateful, knowing that surviving insecurity is not always a certainty for the people at large.

Being grateful, yet calling a spade a spade is necessary and could go a long way in subjecting appropriate authorities to do the work they have been endorsed to do, thereby securing the lives of the people.

♦ Favour Chiagozie Ebubechukwu is an Editorial  Staff Writer and columnist with the WAP

 

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Nigerian officials probe plan to marry off scores of female orphans

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2 days ago

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May 15, 2024

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ABUJA, NIGERIA — Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Women Affairs says it is investigating a plan by a lawmaker in central Niger state to marry off some 100 female orphans of unknown ages later this month.

Speaker of the Niger State Assembly Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji announced the mass wedding last week but called off the ceremony following widespread outrage.

Minister of Women Affairs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, speaking to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, condemned the plans.

Kennedy-Ohanenye said she had petitioned the police and filed a lawsuit to stop the marriages pending an investigation to ascertain the age of the orphans and whether they consented to the marriages.

“This is totally unacceptable by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and by the government” of Nigeria, she said.

Last week, Sarkin-Daji announced his support for the mass wedding of the orphans, whose relatives were killed during attacks by armed bandits. He said it was part of his support to his constituents following an appeal for wedding funding by local traditional and religious leaders.

The mass wedding had been scheduled for May 24.

“That support I intend to give for the marriage of those orphans, I’m withdrawing it,” he said. “The parents can have the support [money], if they wish, let them go ahead and marry them off. As it is right now, I’m not threatened by the action of the minister.”

Despite national laws prohibiting it, forced or arranged marriage is a common phenomenon in Nigeria, especially among rural communities in the predominantly Muslim north, where religious and cultural norms such as polygamy favor the practice.

Poor families often use forced marriage to ease financial pressure, and the European Union Agency for Asylum says girls who refuse could face repercussions such as neglect, ostracism, physical assault and rape.

Raquel Kasham Daniel escaped being married off as a teenager when her father died and now runs a nonprofit helping children, especially less-privileged girls, get a formal education for free.

She said the ability of women to avoid forced marriage in Nigeria depends on their income and education.

“I was 16 when I lost my dad and I was almost married off, but then I ran away from home. And that gave me the opportunity to complete my education, and now I have a better life,” Daniel said.

“So, the reason why I prioritize education is to make sure that other girls have access to quality schooling so that it will help them make informed decisions about their lives. Education not only increases our awareness as girls about our rights but also enhances our prospects for higher income earning,” she said.

Thirty percent of girls in Nigeria are married before they turn 18, according to Girls Not Brides, a global network of more than 1,400 civil society groups working to end child marriage.

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Shell investigates smoke near Gbaran oil facility in Nigeria

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2 days ago

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May 15, 2024

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YENAGOA, Nigeria, May 14 (Reuters) – Oil major Shell is investigating reports of smoke early Tuesday near its Gbaran Ubie oil and gas facility in Nigeria’s coastal Bayelsa state, a spokesperson said after residents reported hearing explosions and seeing smoke near the area.
The incident would not immediately lead to an operational shut-in, the Shell spokesperson said.
A fire was reported around 0600 GMT by residents in the nearby community, who said blasts were heard where pipeline repair works had been ongoing.
The Gbaran facility, which began operations in 2010, is by far the most important Nigeria LNG gas feedstock project, processing almost 2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.
“We are actively monitoring reports of smoke detected near our Gbaran Central Processing Facility in Bayelsa State. While the source appears to be external to our facility, we are in close communication with regulatory authorities to look into the incident and ensure the safety of the surrounding communities,” a Shell spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
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Shell did not immediately respond to the accounts of residents in the area.
Resident Ovie Ogbuku told Reuters: “At about 7 a.m. I heard the sound so deafeningly and it shook the foundation of the earth and we ran for our dear lives. The result is the thick smoke you are seeing now.”
Another resident Uche Ede said; “We have no idea of the cause of the explosion but we are grateful no life was lost because it was far away from homes.”
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Land operations in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta are prone to sabotage, theft, and pipeline vandalism, forcing oil majors to exit such fields to focus on deepwater drilling.

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Nigeria tour: A Round Up

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2 days ago

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May 15, 2024

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Meghan and Harry spent three days in the African country, Nigeria in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent time in Nigeria as part of a three-day tour, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of The Invictus Games.

The couple were personally invited on the trip by Nigeria’s chief of defence staff, General Christopher Musa; they are not there in any official capacity on behalf of the royal family or the UK. The tour schedule, which started in the bustling capital of Abuja, has been jam-packed, including a visit to primary and secondary school Lightway Academy, where they met with students, and experiencing the work of Nigeria Unconquered, a charitable foundation dedicated to aiding wounded, injured, or sick servicemembers.

Naturally, the trip also provided the opportunity for Meghan to showcase a multi-day “tourdrobe”, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the couple stepped down as senior working royals in early 2020 – and she hasn’t disappointed, in a series of summery maxi dresses, elegant tailoring and striking separates.

See highlights from their trip so far, below.

On day three, the couple arrived at Lagos airport, where they were given an official state welcome.

The couple posed for a photo with children and Nigerian dignitaries.

 

The couple were greeted by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

 

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They then attended a basketball exhibition training match at Ilupeju Grammar School in Lagos. After the match, they posed for a photo with the Toronto Raptors basketball team president, Masai Ujiri, and the principal of Ilupeju Grammar School, Josephine Egunyomi.

 

The couple attended a reception hosted by the charity organisation Nigeria Unconquered, held at the Officers’ Mess in Abuja.

 

A visit to the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.

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