HOW TO DEFINE RAPE BY MICHEAL ACE



Once upon a time, there was a case of a lady who got raped by one of
her housemates. She did the needful and took the matter up. In the
court, the plaintiff was asked for proof; an evidence to show that she
was truly raped and that the defendant was indeed guilty. She could
have brought a torn or wrecked pant but she didn't, and unfortunately,
the brilliant advocate took that chance and won the case. That was how
it all began.

I also was once of the opinion that rape should be blamed on the
victim. Maybe because of a signpost in my institution that reads
"Indecent dressing leads to rape". And to be sincere, I have lived a
quarter of my life in Ibadan and hardly would you get a chance to
convince me that there is a better place to be tagged a 'sin city' in
the south-west region of Nigeria. Come to my street at night and lose
your sanity- you'll be alright if you keep some back at home. I
believed that only men whose pricks control their minds result into
rape and when I want to judge, I would put a larger percent of the
blame on the victim who deliberately ran the man out of his senses and
a little on the poor man who was to weak to control his drives.

I wasn't a fool; I was just reasoning based on my level of knowledge.
If I had known more, I would have defined a rapist as a devil in a
brother's suit.

I was scrolling through my news feed on Facebook couples of days ago
when I met a post of a woman talking about how his little son wanted a
sister. She said she was scared of having a daughter- the fear of her
being molested, raped or abused. I knew what she meant and how she
felt. I wouldn't blame a mother for slicing the throat of a man who
satisfies his urges between the legs of her 3 year old girl. But there
is something I would love us to understand. Rape is evil and there is
no single place in it's form of wickedness where it's written that
it's solely meant for the female gender. Therefore, you would give me
the liberty to say that the boy child is venerable too.

I watched October 1st, one of the finest movies from Nollywood
geniuses, and I saw how the two boys in question were molested,
violated and tortured by a reverend father who hid his beast behind
the golden sparkles of a crucifix. Rape is murder and I don't mind if
a bill is passed on that. He who kills should be killed.

A man was recently reported murdered publicly in a broad day light for
raping a 3year old baby girl. Do we call that jungle justice?
Obviously that was no justice in the jungle, it was just the people
cleaning their nose with the right finger. And what would law do?
These days, talking lawful steps on issues is like leaving a terrorist
group to God's judgement; they will end up killing a relative of yours
before you realise God is not a Contract killer. Until the law regains
her consciousness, these happenings won't cease.

As an African, I'm made to believe in witches and wizards, and in
terrestrial powers. Forces that make you do things without your own
consent. We call them 'èèdì in Yoruba land. That's actually what i
would say this is because I can't actually fathom what could interest
a man or cause him to defy the body of such child.

Rape is evil. A man has the ability to control whatever nature bestows
upon him. So you don't define rape by the cause, you define it by the
implication. The incomprehensible nature of the crime. This absolutely
explains why the attack should not be constrained to a particular
gender. Rape is evil, I repeat. And the boy child is vulnerable too.

Written by Michael Ace
Email: poetmichealace@gmail.com