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By Mashood, Abdulrafiu Agboola
One of, if not, the most shocking media content of the week was the one pertaining to gruesome murder of the 14-year-old Rofiat by a ritualist gang, comprising Soliu Majekodunmi (18), Wariz Oladeinde (17), Abdulgafar Lukman (19) and Mustakeem Balogun (20). Soliu Majekodunmi – the late Rofiat’s boyfriend and mastermind of the devilish project, was caught alongside his killer friends while burning the head of the deceased, thanks to Mr. Segun Adewusi, a security guard in the affected community, following whose whistleblowing the suspects got apprehended.
In Soliu’s confessional statement at the Adatan police station in Abeokuta (Ogun state), he was said to have sourced his modus operandi online. Orientmags.com has it that the crime suspect reportedly typed “how to make money ritual’ in the search box on Facebook, and the link furnished him desirous details, pointing out that a female head be burnt inside a local pot amidst other ingredients to fetch them blood money. Not only had Soliu orchestrated her girlfriend’s beheading, he had earlier sexed her.
Painfully, Rofiat’s lifespan had been cut short, with the anticipation that the culprits would be brought to book sooner or later. May her gentle soul rest in perfect peace. Truly, I was least flabbergasted at what had happened. I call it a fresh episode of an enduring season film. We only have a change of story ideas and characters.This is not funny, but sadly a component of the armageddon!
Of course, I saw this peck of moral decadence coming when in 2014 I came up with a theory – ‘Why Rapists Are Also Victims’. Only a few would not get the gist even at a glance. And what was the premise? It was a period I framed as peak of sexual assaults, given the frequency of rape cases. The rapists, that time, seemingly exhibited no inhibition. Some fathers were heard impregnating their daughters or minors in their custody; Shameless mothers reportedly settled for their sons-in-law as bedmates; just as sons increasingly molested their grandmothers and the aged in the neighborhoods. I recalled a son, who confessed to a crime that he could not resist the temptation from his mother’s sex appeal. So, I had conviction that rapists are indisputably culpable. However, the development is borne out of moral degradation in the society to which unguarded fellows are susceptible. That calls for a holistic cure of moral decay.
Be that as it may, there are a few lessons to learn from the main saga, and that points out the focus of this piece. Ruminating over the incident under reference a number of questions are thrown up: Where is the place of good parenting in the case of Rofiat’s untimely exposure to sexual life, and that of the murderers’ crime mindedness? Much as it is condemnable and pitiful to lose a loved one to such a tragic scene, Rofiat’s parents or guardians may not be entirely blameless in this sorrowful situation for two major reasons. One, Rofiat was too young to know ‘boys’ and this might have been informed by her lack of sex education at home, though some children are believed to be unyielding on moral teachings.
Two, her mother, in particular, was possibly too busy to either monitor her movement and the associate she kept, including what used to be her state of mind or body language while in the midst of male. Rarely does it occur to many parents or childminders that childbearing is arguably not as demanding as nurturing a child. How many of us are realists when it comes to the task of parenting? We seem to be enraptured by the purport of the Free World era.
Back to sex education, it is recommendable, though a subject of humor, nevertheless. Some parents are of the view that sex tutorial for children is a deliberate step to corrupt their minds. This is not correct. It depends on the method of presentation. Rather, it will awaken the children to take precautions and not fall into the trap of accidental intercourse. Apart from age, there are several forces that tend to shape their thinking and conduct, among which is the environment they live in, not forgetting that this is a modern world where wrongs are taken right in the name of civilization. These children though are underage, in actual sense, but loaded in a mental framework. They are eager and hasty to feel the impacts of what A, B and C stand for in their body, at a time you and I underestimate them. The earlier they are made to understand the Dos and Don’ts of these sex organs the better they are guided against negative tendencies.
As for Soliu and co, theirs are of two legs – parental decline and greed of the highest order.Their appetite for wealth is apparently aided by their wrong exposure to technological advancement. I tried to imagine what their motivations could be and arrived at this conclusion. They must have seen friends or people of their age bracket lavishing money and using exotic cars, but cared less about the source of their wealth, let alone considering the possible consequences of their engagements. And who easily comes to mind? They are Yahoo boys, of course. We all see them around. Don’t we? They have parents, neighbors and even spiritual fathers or mothers, who harbor them for self gratification, not minding its implications on the behavioural patterns of their peers in the society. Where are our religious leaders and their teachings of good morals? Where are those mamas (real mothers) and not moms, that used to expose the wrongdoings of their children for the sake of eternal happiness? Where are the selfless community leaders that would reflect on the risk of keeping bad neighbors? The yoruba adage – ‘oju meji ni nbimo igba oju nii to’ is still very much relevant here.
Never mind! We are all guilty of lopsided value orientation. I stand to be corrected. Some of us are noticeably worshipping the affluent and not the patriots. We place extravagance above modesty in the hierarchy of moral excellence. Just as hard work is no longer an enticing feature of the youths’ dictionary. And what have we been getting as gratuities? I asked.
I concur with various submissions on this cold-blooded murder particularly the ones bordering on politics of film censorship. Movie and music industries are doing us harm in some instances. Most music contents (audiovisuals) are pornographic and not suitable for a decent public. Yes, cinemas on money rituals are interestingly out there to slacken anxiety for affluence. But the story-lines are not sometimes achieved per-adventure. The reason is simple. Since money ritual techniques are rather being overstressed, a category of audience (pessimists) would hurriedly pick that. There is a need for proper censorship before those kinds of musicals and movies get to the consumers.
Above all, parents should raise their children in the way of God. Enough of misplacement of priority under the guise of parenting. We should be cautious of our dresses as parents and the part of our body to be exposed to the sights of these computer-age children. Their memory retention is more active than anyone can think of, therefore needs to be respected. We should ensure that their use of phones is closely supervised. At least, a child that has nothing to hide would not take offence in letting the parents know their phones’ security PIN. Taking time to pay them unscheduled visits at schools is part of the duties of caring parents.
Rofiat’s tragedy is obviously one in the series, thereby necessitating a hunt for safety precautions, going forward. Governments must rise to the occasion, with regard to their social obligations and safety net programmes. It is, however, not enough to offer social studies as a subject in schools. Effort must be geared towards incorporating into the school curriculum a substantive topic on sex education. The culprits must be made to face the music!
Agboola writes from Ilorin via [email protected]
