Issues
GBV: Need To Change Societal Attitude
Nigerians’ negative attitude towards Gender-Based Violence (GBV) must change in order to drastically reduced if not eliminate completely all its forms from our society.
GBV has been a serious issue in our society, yet under reported due to negative societal attitude towards it.
This is why Education as a Vaccine (EVA), a non-profit organization founded in 2000 to improve the health and development of children and young people, organised a two-day programme for journalists, recently in Abuja, so they brainstormed on the best way to report issues bordering on GBV.
It is also a youth-led organization that works in partnership with children and young people to advance their rights to health and protect them from all forms of violence in the most vulnerable and marginalized communities.
According to EVA, “Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is pervasive in many communities in Nigeria and data shows women are the most affected and more likely to experience physical violence and sexual violence including intimate partner violence which in many cases, survivors suffer a lot of victimization and stigmatization due to the insensitivity of service providers, attitudes of community members and hostile legal system and law enforcers.”
According to an Executive Director of EVA, Mrs Bukky Williams, “The media plays an essential role in bringing cases of GBV to light so that authorities can take action, prevent further abuses and tell these stories in ways that are empowering enough to help break the culture of silence. Journalists and other media professionals play a critical role in not only raising awareness of SGBV (Sexual GBV) but also in countering myths and negative gender norms that may persist on the issue.
“The society needs to change its negative attitude towards the issues of GBV as it has been a serious issue in our society, yet under- reported this is why EVA saw the need to address this issue from all sectors starting with the fourth estate of the realm, so that victims are placed at the centre and perpetrators take the blame. What we are doing is to support reporters to report adequately so as to contribute to positive change on this issue.”
Williams stated that reporting stories and issues of SGBV can be very sensitive as the safety and privacy of the survivors need to be considered, when journalists tell these stories carelessly, or without proper training, they can leave survivors feeling or exposed to stigma and retaliation.
She stressed that EVA has engaged in consultations with some of the Nigerian Union of Journalists’ Executives and a consensus on the need to have a guideline for journalists who report GBV in Nigeria as is obtainable in some countries, adding that the way media houses report can either elevate or make the issue worse.
Williams added that EVA has facilitated the drafting of a GBV guideline through a working group of media consultants and journalists, adding that the guidelines are intended to ensure that all actors who play a role in facilitating or engaging in media reporting on GBV are aware of and able to prioritize the ethical, human rights and safety considerations that preserve the safety, confidentiality and dignity of survivors, their families, their communities, and those who are trying to help them.
In the light of this, EVA invited journalists across the country to a wider consultation to make inputs into and validate the draft on media GBV guidelines.
The Executive Director added that the validation meeting has been very heartening to see people’s passion and interest in making sure that the victims’ survival is placed at centre while doing reportage around GBV.
Williams called on journalists, participants, CSOs and other critical stakeholders to internalize the media guideline on GBV reporting as well as sharing the knowledge gained so as to curb the issue of under-reporting.
She stressed on proper reportage of GBV, pointing out that there can’t be change if the negative narrative does not change in the media.
In her words “If we don’t see reports that centre on the survival and blamed the perpetrators, rather than spike up or does not put it in the context of why this is happening and what kind of change that needs to happen or not reporting what work is being done to change that.”
Williams appealed to participants to step the training down to their other counterparts, so as to continue to disseminate the best way of reporting GBV through the application of the Media guideline on GBV.
She remarked that the validation of the NUJ Media Guideline on GBV draft coincides with the 16 days of activism on the elimination of all forms of GBV against women and girls from the society, therefore describing it as timely and apt.
Also speaking, a representative of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Madam Blessing Duru, described the project as apt and timely looking at this period that the world is celebrating 16 Days of activism set aside to raise awareness on GBY issues and how solutions can be found in terms of providing access to justice for survival of any form of violence in Nigeria.
She commended the EVA initiative, describing the guideline as critical, saying that addressing GBV is a collective effort both from the side of state and non- state actors.
The CSOs representative while recognising the roles that the media play in terms of creating awareness, in terms of building momentum, in terms increasing accountability mechanism and holding perpetrators accountable added that state actors responsible to ensure safety for all in the society should also step up their games in order to eliminate GBV from the society.
“We commend them for the effort as the guideline is well detailed such that if put in practice will go a long way in making great impact.”
She urged participants to embrace it, relate with it, while maintaining that one must have passion and commitment to be able to do the work around GBV, knowing how tiring, and the emotional torture that is associated with GBV.
Duru emphasised that if there is no passion for doing the job one would not be able to give their best.
On his part, a member of NUJ and a participant, Abuja Chapter, Emmanuel Couson, urged media participants to do a step-down training in various communities and organisations so that other colleagues are aware of best practices to adopt in reporting GBV issues.
According to him, “Most importantly, we are looking at how to take this document to communities knowing that issues around GBV and Sexual GBV happen more at the community levels.
“There is also need to begin to step down the training for media persons at community levels, so that they can understand GBV first before understanding the media guideline on GBV, this way GBV issues will be addressed in Nigeria,” he added.
Participants at the workshop defined the following key words: Gender and Sex.
“Gender” refers to the social differences between males and females in any society. Although the words “sex” and “gender” are often used interchangeably, the differences between these two terms must be well understood.
Gender: Refers to the social differences between males and females that are learned. Though deeply rooted in every culture, social differences are changeable over time, and have wide variations both within and between cultures. “Gender” determines the roles, responsibilities, opportunities, privileges, expectations, and limitations for males and for females in any culture.
Some examples of sex characteristics:
Women menstruate while men do not
Men have testicles while women do not
Women have developed breasts that are usually capable of lactating, while men have not.
“A focus on gender not only reveals information about women and men’s different experiences, it also sheds light on ingrained assumptions and stereotypes about men and women, the values and qualities associated with each, and the ways in which power relationships can change.”
Some people have criticized gender equality as a Western notion that is incompatible with more traditional or conservative cultures. These types of arguments fall into what is generally referred to as “cultural relativism” and is used to discredit the universality of human rights in general, and particularly with regards to women’s rights.
Respecting local cultures is a core principle of humanitarian work. However, identifying and defining “the culture” of a particular group is not a straightforward task. Even within the same community, cultural beliefs and interpretations may vary depending on an individual’s age, gender, socio-economic status and other characteristics. Furthermore, cultures are not static; they are continually being renewed and reshaped by a wide range of factors, including conflict and other humanitarian crises.
Well-designed gender equality programmes will never be imposed upon a local culture; rather they will seek to identify and support the grassroots movements that are already forming within any given community. As these movements gain momentum and push for more equitable practices, some members of that community may make adjustments in their lives that reflect these changes. Others may choose to continue living in accordance with traditional practices and roles. The key to effective gender equality programming lies in creating an opportunity for individuals to pursue either approach—or, as is most likely, to combine elements of both—and to recognize that opening up the possibility for some individuals to choose to live differently does not impose an obligation on everyone to do the same.
“This is the most sensitive and seemingly navigable way to diffuse the tension between women’s rights and cultural relativism — by seeing the struggles for women’s rights not as a way to save women from their cultures, but rather as a means to increase their choices and opportunities, so that they can play greater roles in shaping their cultures and their lives.”
“Gender” is an English word, the meaning of which has changed over time. Twenty years ago, “gender” had the same definition as “sex.” The word does not translate easily into other languages. For each language, we must find a way to describe the concept of gender in ways that can be understood.
By: Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
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
