By Tochukwu Ezukanma<\/p>\n
The lauded violence that herald military intervention in Nigerian
\npolitics and remained the cachet of military rule glamorized violence
\nand brutalized the Nigerian psyche; Nigerians became very violent.
\nThis societal violence continues to play out in different forms,
\nincluding rape. In response to the increasing incidence of rape, the
\nLagos State government recently advocated life imprisonment for
\nconvicted rapists and pedophiles. And the National Conference \u201c that
\ngathering of the cream of the Nigerian society \u201c polymaths, thinkers
\nand others that have distinguished themselves across the entire
\nspectrum of the Nigerian social life \u201c wants the death penalty for
\nrapists.
\nDeath penalty for convicted rapists will be novel and extremely
\ncontroversial because the generality of Nigerians do not consider rape
\na crime heinous enough to deserve the death sentence. The only
\ncountry, I know, where rape is punished by death (that is, if that law
\nis still in effect) is the Philippines. Even in Western countries,
\nlike the United States of American, where the laws are so much in
\nfavor of women, convicted rapists are not punished by death. While
\nsome Nigerians, especially, women and women groups will be thrilled by
\nthe proposed law, many, mostly, men will be appalled by it.
\nIt is important to note that apart from the act of a man having sexual
\nintercourse with a woman against her will, the dictionary definition
\nof rape, includes to plunder (a city, nation or people), and gross
\nviolation. Therefore, all those who plunder the country\u2122s natural
\nresources, loot the public treasury and grossly violate the public
\ntrust reposed in their offices are rapists. So, there are rapists
\namong the \u0153big men whose siren blaring motorcades unnerve and
\nintimidate us and get us scampering off the road in fear of being
\nharassed, and possibly, beaten up by their security details. And there
\nare rapists within the ranks of the members of the same National
\nConference seeking death penalty for rapists.
\nBoth the upper and lower houses of the national assembly are citadels
\nof rapists because what goes on in there is piratical depredation of
\nthe national wealth. With a veneer of legitimacy, they rape the
\ncountry by clinging to remunerations and perks of office that makes
\nthem the highest paid legislators in the world. The income per capita
\nin the United States of America is about 20 times that of Nigeria. It
\nis therefore conscienceless despoliation of public funds for Nigerian
\nlegislators to earn 10 times as much as the American legislators.
\nNigeria is a country with the social indexes of the poorest countries
\nof the world and where an estimated 2740 infants die daily from
\nmalnutrition. Consequently, it is nauseating that Nigerian
\nlegislators, individually, earns more than the president of the
\nwealthiest country in the world, United States of America.
\nThat woman that had no compunction in splurging public funds to the
\ntune of N10bn for her personal air travels and that is, in her
\nshamelessness, remorselessness and lawlessness, evading the probe into
\nthat her impudent extravagance is a rapist. The Nigerian political
\nclass is teeming with rapists and the presidency and the National
\nExecutive Council are studded with rapists. Illegal oil bunkers and
\ntheir accomplices and protectors at the presidency and the highest
\nechelon of the armed forces are rapists. The Nigerian president has
\ndemonstrated a penchant for dallying with rapists. He hobnobs with
\nthem and pardons them. Among others, he pardoned a rapist – former
\ngovernor of Bayelsa State convicted of plundering the state coffers
\nand gross violation of the oath of his office. He also absolved from
\nprosecution an alleged rapist \u201c an aspiring governor of Kano State for
\nhis suspected theft of about N446bn of the people\u2122s money.
\nThe proposed law will be quite draconic but may not be grossly unfair,
\nif all rapists are subject to the same severe punishment. A rapist is
\nusually a sociopath, one who lacks moral restraint and a sense of
\nresponsibility to the society. Irrespective of how this lack of moral
\nrestraint and its attendant mindset of might is right, and its
\ndoppelganger, the end justifies the means, play out: sexual violence,
\ndefilement of minors (statutory rape) or the depredation of the
\nnational wealth, the point is that all rapists deserves punishment.
\nDeath sentence for rapists, especially elitist rapists, will be
\nsplendid, as it will decimate the ranks of the evil oligarchy that run
\nthis country and loosen their stranglehold on the country. It is
\nrefreshing to imagine the sanitizing effects it will have on the
\nNigeria political class and political process. It will be magnificent
\nfor accountability in Nigeria public life because it will force
\nelected and appointed public officials to rise to the responsibilities
\nof their office and stop their relentless rape of the people.
\nBut, as has been the case, the power elite, for selfish reasons will
\ncontinue to narrow the definition of rape and target only sexual
\nrelated rapes for punishment. As such, the prospective death sentence
\nfor rapists will be visited mostly on the poor whose social
\nenvironment \u201c poverty, unemployment, idleness, overcrowding and
\nignorance \u201c fester rape, the violation of women. It will punish by
\ndeath a rapist that violated a woman but pardon the one that violated
\nan entire state, country or people. In that case, the new law will
\njust be an addition an already crooked legal system that jails a petty
\nthief for stealing a television and then exculpates an elite thief
\nthat stole billions of naira.
\nThe object of the national conference is to make recommendations that
\nwill transform Nigeria from a moribund, dysfunctional and retrograde
\nentity to a functional and progressive democracy. Inherent in this
\nresponsibility should be to recommend reforms that will make Nigerian
\nlaw truly the law. The symbol of justice is a blind woman with a sword
\nand a scale. The law must be blind, that is, indifferent to position,
\nclass, income, pedigree, etc, and thus, absolutely impartial. As
\npresently constituted, the Nigerian law is not blind. It is
\ndiscriminatory; sensitive to wealth, family connections, power,
\ninfluence, etc. In the very strict sense, it is not the law but an
\nunjust system that is, in many ways, oppressive to the poor and
\nweak.
\nTochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
\nmaciln18@yahoo.com
\n0803 529 2908<\/p>\n
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