This is about picturing the realities in our society.

Just before you begin : This is a discussion between three social agents, three women involved in different social innovations who’ve been brought together to discuss the different issues they’ve solved, the different stories they’ve heard and how we all can become good influencers, good change agents. I hope this stirs a thing up as you read.

                             Meet the Change Agents:

My name is Jadesola Olumide, I Work with women in rural and urban Nigeria. My organization teaches them to work with their hands to make money, well that’s what some people call skills acquisition. I have worked with over 5,000 women and I am still working daily with women and girls.

I am Tomi Nelson, I am an advocate against rape and sexual assault in society. I was working in the UK before coming to stay in Nigeria, and I must say I have seen much more than I expected to see. It’s no news that we have a lot to do but it is news that we need hands to make this happen.

My name is Lilian Ukachi. I am a media personality, social media influencer and trainee. I work with women and girls on a daily basis, I listen to them, motivate them to thirst for more and go beyond their boundaries. We have a lot of women and girls out there whose zest for life has been destroyed. It is imperative that we join hands to make their dreams come true.

                            Moderator: Do You Think Sexual Violators, Molesters should be Castrated? 

Lilian Ukachi : There is no better punishment that can draw the ears of these insane men than for them to be beaten like goats and castrated, maybe their penis removed and hung for the world to see. I cringe when I read basic and subtle punishment like three months imprisonment for defiling a three-year-old or even raping a full-grown woman. What do you mean by three months or even two years imprisonment and then you hear some idiots say forgive and let bygone be bygone. What exactly are we buying to be gone? what about the life of the person who’s been affected? I read the story of a baby who was sexually molested and died. Now, that kind of man should be killed and that is just what it should be. I think if we want to fight this thing for real in our society, we would have to implement bloody repercussions for these men or even women who violate the innocent. 

Tomi Nelson: This is my core. This is my field and I am glad we are talking about it.  There are lots and lots of women and girls in our centre and the stories are killing. There is a girl child who was brought to us, she was raped by her neighbour. You see all those stupid people who keep saying ‘it is what a woman wears that gets a predator to come close to her’ now come and tell what an eight-year-old was wearing. Come and show how a three-month-old child seduced a man, a full-grown man. I am going to tell you this, a man who is sick is sick it doesn’t matter what he sees and what he doesn’t see. These men are just very sick and castration is best for them abeg. I see these women every day and come across these girls daily and it breaks my heart. Let me tell you this,  we have a surge in these cases, we are just pretending to be fine cos people don’t come out. Girls are being molested daily by close relatives and all sorts and then we close our eyes. Some will go to the police station to go report abuse and end up being abused at the station. The truth is this, there should be harder punishment for these people and I sincerely support castration. 

Jadesola Olumide: Sometimes I get pained when men try to do the ‘men’s club shenanigans’ when it comes to cases like rape, molestation etc. It is very sad that lives of people regardless of the gender is been jeopardised and what we can do it throw it into the ‘men’s club’ drama and it is even sad when it is a grown woman that is been raped. All manners and stupid series of questions and questioning. It is not too much to ask for really but at the same time, the ones handling the law are mostly male and yeah, we will have the men’s club drama once again. I want us women to take up positions and let the ones there drag women on top, let us help ourselves so that when it comes to handling serious situations like this, we would have us there. We would have women who can understand the plight of other women, we would have women who can fight for one another’s cause. I know we have few men in the circle doing this but we need more women running the game so that it will be swift to pursue the cause of every woman in the society especially in this society of ours. I agree with castration, In fact, I agree with death by hanging sef. 

Lilian Ukachi: I know we are teaching our kids self-defence but at the same time, we must make sure that culprits are punished by the law. We must make sure they are dealt with it and we must make sure that those idiots face the wrath of the law.  No punishment is too much for a culprit and that is what we must bear in our minds. No punishment is too high for anyone who rapes a woman, who molests a child, no punishment is too high for such an animal that should be dealt with like one.

Jadesola Olumide: I would like our assembly to implement these laws that can deal with cannibalistic men. We must make sure that our society is a safe haven for our kids and for our girls. I even think it is harder to be female in this world. You cannot be yourself by yourself. You cannot free yourself, you cannot explore as you would love to, I find it irritating when people link molestation to the dress sense of a woman, it has nothing to do with you. Whatever she wears is no man’s business, whatever she puts on is no man’s business. It is an animal that works without its 6th sense. If you are human, a complete human then you should know what self-control is. Is it not madness to see the dress of a woman and forcefully attack her? forcefully make her sleep with you? Is that sane at all? Such an animal should be taken to the lion’s den for proper treatment. 

Tomi Nelson: Sincerely, when you come into the centre we have for molested women and girls, you would cry for them. You would understand what these women are passing through. One in every 5 girls has been molested either by close relatives or by strangers. Go to the North, you would see a lot of girls who have been battered by war, violence and to think that these stupid men see rape as a tool for war? I mean, something must be done!