Issues
Who Takes Blame For Teenage Pregnancy?
By most accounts, teenage pregnancy is steadily on the increase in the country and concerned citizens describe the phenomenon as a raging torrent fast consuming many lives, either through unsafe abortions or via other risks associated with teenage pregnancy.
No doubt, the social challenge is afflicting homes of the high and low; just as a controversy rages over who takes the blame – the parents or the children!
Dr Benedicta Korubo of St. Patrick’s Hospital in Port Harcourt confirmed the increasing menace of teenage pregnancy in the country and blames it squarely on the parents.
“The chances of mother and child dying in such conditions are high, particularly in the rural areas, because of obstructed and prolonged labour,’’ she said.
Observers, however, note that it is commonplace to find many pregnant teenagers in several neighbourhoods nowadays, adding that teenage pregnancy has provoked crises in some homes, as fathers and mothers usually trade blames over the plight of the hapless children.
They stress that efforts to tackle the growing menace of teenage pregnancy, among others, ought to occupy the centre stage every year when the Children’s Day is celebrated on May 27.
It is, perhaps, the acknowledgment of such a point of view that compelled the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) to make a radical departure from its annual ritual of celebrating the Children’s Day.
This year, FIDA organised a series of debate on the rising menace of teenage pregnancy among secondary school students and the grand finale of the debate was held in Port Harcourt on May 27.
The thrust of the debate was to sensitise young girls, in particular, to the dangers inherent in promiscuity, which include health risks and abrupt truncation of their educational careers, both having serious socio-economic consequences.
Justice E. Thompson, a High Court judge in Rivers State; Mrs Ime Aguma, a former commissioner in the state, and Mrs Joy Bob-Manuel, the Director-General of Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, are some of the dignitaries who attended the occasion.
At the event, the speakers took time, in turn, to educate the young girls on the consequences of teenage pregnancy, while their male counterparts were also sensitised to the consequences of early fatherhood.
The subject of the debate — “Teenage pregnancy: Who takes the blame” — was considered to be very apt by many observers.
Korubo, the lead speaker, argued that “parents should be held responsible for the increasing rate of teenage pregnancy”.
She claimed that the reckless search for money had compelled many parents to abandon their responsibilities to their children, leaving the children at the mercy of society’s “wolves”, who polluted them with perverted values that undermined their self-worth and education.
“Unfortunately, child upbringing cannot be contracted out to a consultant or contractor as many parents are inclined to doing. Good parenting invariably saves parents a lot of problems, including death on the long run,” she said.
Korubo explained that factors such as good nutrition and rapid growth in the children of the present age had induced some emerging challenges such as early menstruation in girls.
She also attributed teenage pregnancies to abject poverty in some homes, where female children, in their desperate yearning to satisfy certain needs, became vulnerable to the social malady.
“Girls from poor homes are more prone to sleeping around for monetary gains and that raises the probability of their getting pregnant in the process,” she said, adding that greed was also a factor, as people could still maintain their dignity in the midst of poverty.
But Mr Emmanuel Ajeh, a Port Harcourt-based book seller, disagreed with Korubo’s position, arguing that nobody, in particular, could be solely blamed for the rapidly increasing teenage pregnancies in Nigeria.
He, however, admitted that it was really difficult for parents, who left home early and came back very late, to properly monitor the upbringing of their children, particularly the girls.
Ajeh conceded that the “home-based” nature of his business had somewhat enabled him to know and understand the “going out and coming in” of his children.
He, nonetheless, noted that some children’s upbringing still posed serious problems despite close monitoring by their parents.
“Even if you lock some girls up in boxes, they will still go out,” Ajeh said, while agreeing with Korubo that efforts should be made to provide proper sex education for the girl-child in particular.
Mrs Lydia Nwoko, a business woman and a mother of four, argued that parents should not be solely blamed for the social problem.
“Child upbringing remains a collective responsibility of parents, schools’ administrators, girls themselves and the success of the whole exercise largely depends on God’s mercy,’’ she said.
However, Nwoko noted that some parents were very careless about the moral training of their children, adding that many parents, especially those in the rural areas, never bothered about the movements of their children and the kind of friends they kept.
She said that although some fathers were always prepared to train, correct and discipline their children, the mothers often resisted their moves, calling such fathers “wicked’’ men.
A 16-year-old secondary school student, who simply gave her name as Christiana, stressed that some parents should be held accountable for the rising menace of teenage pregnancies.
She said that some parents refused to take a good care of their female children, thus making them vulnerable to the plots of some devious men.
Christiana, however, admitted that some girls were very wayward and could hardly control their libido, adding that no amount of care and monitoring can ever bridle such girls.
On her part, Justice Thompson advised students against engaging in pre-marital sex, to avoid early pregnancy and abortion which, she added, amounted to a crime, as it was outlawed.
She, however, insisted that teenage girls had some rights as bona-fide Nigerian citizens, adding that such rights included their right to life, food and nutrition, dignity, clothing, movement, property and education, among others.
Thompson, however, noted that since Nigeria was not in the “Western world”, the girls’ rights and privileges were not without cognate responsibilities and duties to their parents and the country.
Mrs. Joy Bob-Manuel, the Director-General of Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, warned secondary school students to refrain from watching pornographic videos and reading similar literature.
Represented by Mrs Jane Bianeyio, an official of the council, Bob-Manuel also warned the students, especially the females, to shun early sex, so as to prevent teenage pregnancy.
She expatiated that the burdens and risks associated with teenage pregnancy were too excruciating to bear.
Bob-Manuel stressed that adolescents should face their studies squarely and refrain from becoming “smart boys and smart girls”, who ended up as school dropouts.
Mrs Ime Aguma, who chaired the debate, commended the students of Rivers State for their academic prowess which was exemplified by their good language and official records.
She stressed that with the passage and domestication of the Child Rights Act, the sky was the limit for any serious student
Mrs. Eucharia Pepple, the chairperson FIDA in the state, said that the debate was organised to sensitise the students to the dangers of teenage pregnancy, while encouraging the promotion of the reading culture among the students and Nigerians in general.
Pepple urged the students to take their studies seriously, so as to pass their examinations and expand their academic horizon.
Observers commend FIDA for its trail-blazing efforts in promoting community participation in the fight against violence against women and children in the society.
Nzemeke writes for News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Richards Nzemeke
This is an open letter to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Your Excellency,
Sir, ordinarily, I would not be writing an open letter to you, but like a wise man once said, “Silence would be Treason.” So I prefer to stay alive than face the consequences of silence in the face of crime. With each passing day, and as the socio-political tides continue to turn, it has become more pertinent that more people speak up in a concerted MANNER to prevent the death of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as we appear to be, in the words of W. B. Yeats, “turning and turning in the widening gyre” heading for an end where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer
It is unfortunate that since losing control of the Federal Government, with the loss of President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued on a downward spiral. It is much more painful, that where it is expected that leaders within the party should rise to the challenge and put an end to this decline of our great party, some have instead taken up roles as its undertaker.
It will be hypocritical to claim aloofness to what I believe is your grouse with the PDP and I am not a hypocrite. It will be uncharitable on my part to discountenance the role you have played in strengthening the PDP from 2015 up until the last Presidential primaries of the party. It is my belief that your grouse against certain members of the party who you perceived worked against the party and abandoned it in 2015 and then came around much later to take control of the party, is justified. Also know that your decision to remain in the Party and stifle its progress on the other hand, as a sort of payback, stands condemned. For a man of your pedigree and stature, it is a dishonorable act, highly dishonorable and stands as testimony against all you claim to stand for.
At least, it can be argued that those who you hold this grudge against, abandoned the party completely and did not sit back while actively working to destroy it from within. But what then can be the argument on your own part, seeing that those you are currently working with against your party are the same people who set in motion, and executed surgically, the plans that not only ended our Party’s leadership at the centre, but ended up dislodging the first Niger Deltan to occupy Aso Rock as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Is this not akin to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face?” That will be worse than folly. Let us not throw away the baby with the bath water because we do not like the soap used in bathing the baby. It will be a grave mistake.
Honourable Minister, sir, it is rather unfortunate that of all people, you have also decided to play the role of an undertaker not only for our party, but for our dear Rivers State.
I will like to take you down memory lane a little. Let me remind you of your emergence as Guber candidate of the PDP in Rivers State, against all fairness and justice in 2014. You will remember that despite the reality being that you as an Ikwerre man was poised to replace a fellow Ikwerre man in Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in our multiethnic state, Rivers people overwhelmingly stood by you and pushed for your emergence as Executive Governor of Rivers State in 2015. I dare say that your popularity in the entire Niger Delta region was at an all-time high at this point.
I want you to understand why you were loved across board leading to your eventual emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015; it was because when it looked like all were against the second term ambitions of the first Niger Delta man to emerge as President of Nigeria, you became not just a pillar but a beacon of resistance by standing for Goodluck Jonathan. Rivers people, as grateful and rewarding as they can be, paid you back by ensuring your electoral victory against the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) led by your predecessor. On your emergence, where there were second term Governors in the region, you, a first term Governor, was seen by the people as not just the leader of the PDP, but the leader of the entire Niger Delta region. You earned it, and no one could dispute it.
In 2019, when your re-election bid was being challenged ferociously, Rivers people once again stood solidly behind you. Many were killed in the process of defending your votes. Do you remember Dr. Ferry Gberegbe that was shot and killed while trying to protect your votes in Khana Local Government Area? There are many more unnamed and unrecognised sons and daughters of Rivers State who sacrificed their lives so that you could emerge as a second term Governor of Rivers State.
In 2022/23, Honourable Minister, you oversaw a party primary across board that saw some candidates imprisoned and internal party democracy jettisoned for your wishes, leading to the emergence of flag bearers of our party all singlehandedly picked by you. You have on more than one occasion publicly stated that you paid for all their forms. Even those shortchanged in this process licked their wounds and continued to play their roles as party members to ensure the success of the party at all levels. In what will go down as one of the most keenly contested elections in recent Rivers history, with formidable candidates like Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the vibrant youth driven Labour Party (LP), PDP emerged victorious across board except for Phalga Constituency 1 that was lost to the Labour Party. (Not that you did not loose in some other LGA’s but let’s stick to the official figures declared by INEC).
It begs the question, why then do you want to burn down Rivers State, when everyone who now holds political office emerged through a process designed and endorsed by you? Is it that you do not care about Rivers people and you are all about yourself? If so, I am forced to believe that those around you are not telling you the truth. The truth being that in a state where your words were law; where houses and businesses could be demolished or closed down without any recourse to legalities, where Executive Orders could be deployed to stifle the opposition, that your popularity is now at an all-time low. Probably because they are afraid of you, or of losing the benefits they gain from you, they fail to tell you that what you might perceive as a battle against your successor, has slowly but gradually degenerating into a battle against Rivers State and Rivers people. You know, there is a popular saying that, a man can cook for the community and the community will finish the food, but when a community decides to cook for one man, the reverse is the case.
LEAVE FUBARA ALONE
You have gone on and on about being betrayed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. You point fingers forgetting that some of those same fingers quick to spot betrayals point straight back at you. It is not Governor Fubara that has betrayed the PDP by working against it in the just concluded General Election, and working with the opposition at the State and Federal level to destabilise the party. It is you, Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that betrayed Rivers people by instigating a political crisis with propensity to escalate ethnic tensions in Rivers State. It is you Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that has declared himself God over all in Rivers State and has no qualms with burning the state to the ground to prove a point. It is you Honourable Minister. It is you Honourable Minister who told the world that the APC was a cancer and you can never support a cancerous party. It is you Honourable Minister who ended up facilitating the emergence of the same “cancerous” APC that has accelerated the economic decline of this country and further impoverished our people with no remorse. All so you can be a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory? The lack of self awareness is gobsmacking.
Some days back I came across a video where you talked about death and how you do not cry when you hear about the death of some people because you have no idea what might have caused it considering many a politician swear “over dead bodies” and still go back on their words. Those words made me think, and I could see the reason behind them. You see, in chosing to be God in the affairs of Rivers people, you have closed your eyes and ears to reason; you see nothing and hear nothing that can cause you to rethink on the path you have chosen. In your quest to “show Fubara” you have unwittingly united a vast majority of Rivers people behind him, so much that even those who despised him because of you, now like or love him, because of you too. In your scheming, I will advise you not to forget that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Note that the war which you have or are waging against Governor Fubara, has gone beyond being merely political as you might see in your minds eye. It is now one that, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, has evolved into a war against Rivers people. It is good to point out that no one has taken a stand against Rivers people and won. No one has gone against God and won. In your defiant characteristic manner, it will be unfortunate if you believe your own hubris and that of those around you on the possibility of you being the first to successfully go against Rivers people. It will be a needless gamble; one where if you win you create more enemies for yourself than you can withstand on your political journey, and if you lose, your legacy becomes an inglorious and irredeemable one in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. For your sake as regards posterity, it is my greatest wish that you have a moment of sobriety and a deep reflection and introspection on this path you have chosen.
Honourable Minister, sir, what is left of your legacy is on the brink of being completely desecrated and relegated to the dustbin of our political history, and it will be a sad end to what I will say has been a wonderful political career that many can only dream of. The ball is in your court, and may God Almighty have mercy on us all and forgive us for our shortcomings.
Gabriel Baritulem Pidomson
Dr Pidomson is former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and former member, Rivers State House of Assembly.
In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Tele Ikuru
