By Saleh Bature
Rape, as rampant as it is in our society, is a difficult topic to write about because of its sensitivity to the victims. The stories of girls, mostly underaged, in their teens and even toddlers, falling prey to sexual predators in our villages and towns abound.
The case here is Rumaisa, the 9-year old daughter of Sadiq Badamasi of Jaba, Fanisau in Kano City, is one such victim of rape whose story is so pathetic as the abuse led to her death. The manner in which the little girl was abused, dehumanised and subsequently died has raised serious concerns and urgent need to have another look into the case of rape in the country.
The story of Rumaisa which ended on a sad note began when her father took her and her two brothers to a local chemist at the Jaba area of Kano City for treatment, following days of suffering from fever. The operator of the small chemist gave injections to the boys and advised Malam Sadiq to leave the little girl with him to undergo IV therapy.
Little did Malam Sadik had any inkling about the hatching up of the atrocious crime by the operator of the chemist, whose name and identity has been protected, as neither the BBC nor any of the many local newspapers and radio stations that reported the story mentioned his name.
Hours after his return to the chemist to take his little Rumaisa back home, it then dawned on him that there was something amiss about his daughter. He found her sitting on the edge of a bench bare-chested, with her shirt in her hand. She complained of a severe pain on the hips and thighs. At home, she started bleeding profusely. The doctor at the Murtala Muhammed Hospital where she was taken for treatment confirmed to the father that his daughter had been violated through forceful penetration from the “back and front,” and which led to the rupture of her private part and caused the uncontrolled bleeding from both the private part and the anus. The father told journalists that the damage done to the child was horrible as the interior of her stomach could be seen through the two holes.
As unpleasant as this story is, it must be told in this blunt manner to draw attention of the public to the abuses of the child, serve as a lesson to parents not to leave their young ones in the hands of people and to demand justice for the slain innocent child by holding the abuser accountable for his action. If a sickly and frail underaged girl in need of health care can be raped in that brutal manner in a health care facility, can girls in Nigeria ever feel safe again?
It is a case of thanks to the power of the media which has followed Rumaisa’s case relentlessly. The virality of the story has attracted the attention of Kano State Government to intervene and pursue justice for the victim and her family, despite a reported attempt to derail the case. The Kano state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Disabled and Children, Hajiya Aisha Saji, calmed the family of the late Humaira during a condolence visit with the promise that “there must be justice for the little girl who lost her life simply because someone chose to display his animalistic instinct on her.”
The astronomical rise in rape cases and the inability of local authorities to bring rapists to book, to face the consequences of their actions has promoted the prevalence of rape culture in our society. It emboldens the rapist to commit the odious crime. We live in a society in which rape is a common occurrence and in which sexual violence is considered normal and promoted in the media and popular culture.
Added to the escalating waves in sexual violence in Nigeria is the dearth of scientific data about the crime. Experts observe that “articles or publications on rape in the internet will reveal essentially newspaper articles or reportage of isolated cases of incidences but little or no defined informative study or data.” This shows that all the information we read about rape in the country are just the tip of the iceberg.
Addressing the existential threat of rape of minors in Nigeria should be the tough most priority policy of our governments at the center and the sub-level. Needless adding that all hands must be on deck to ensure that cases of rape and related sexual violence are exposed and stringent punishment is meted out to those who are found guilty of the offence to serve as a deterrent.
The author, of Limpopo street, Maitama, Abuja, can be reached via baturesuba@yahoo.co.uk
