Orin, 24 other Ekiti communities make open declaration to end female genital mutilation

THE people of Orin-Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State have made a public declaration to stop female genital mutilation (FGM) in the community and undertake to end the practice among the people.

The community made a public show of the declaration when they hosted dignitaries from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the wife of the state governor, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, at a ceremony recently.

At a public forum, held at the Apelua Hall in the community, organised by the NOA with support from UNICEF; the representative of the Olorin of Orin, High Chief Francis Apelua, who spoke on behalf of the community said they had decided to end the practice among the people.

Chief Apelua, who is the Eletin of Orin-Ekiti, said there was no cause for the NOA and UNICEF to doubt their determination to end FGM, saying “we are the ones who said it’s over with FGM and we want to stop the practice. So, we are determined.”

The community leader noted that: “When you are engaged in an act which you find to be of no notable benefit; and people and institutions that know also warn you of the harmful effects of such practices, we believe it is only proper to stop such acts.”

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Speaking on the occasion, Mrs Fayemi congratulated Orin community for the declaration and charged the people to see the step they had taken as a challenge of their honesty and sincerity by the UNICEF, saying they must work hard to keep their promise on stoppage of female genital mutilation.

Mrs Fayemi said it was in the best interest of the community to encourage the stoppage of harmful practices such as FGM, saying rather cultural practices that are wholesome and that help build the community, including respect for elders and traditional rulers, should be supported and encouraged.

She warned the people that there were existing laws prohibiting the practice in Ekiti State and said any of the parents caught engaging in FGM would be prosecuted and made a scapegoat.

The governor’s wife charged UNICEF to return to the community to monitor compliance and also put measures in place to empower the people as a form of encouraging them to ensure their total abandonment of the practice of FGM.

According to her, her experiences while working on FGM across the world showed that some of the people engaged in the practice were enticed with gifts items such as cash, goats or chickens to do it, saying with a little empowerment of the men and women, they would not be lured into the act with such gifts.

In a goodwill message, Aderonke Olutayo, the UNICEF FGM Consultant for Ekiti, Osun and Oyo states, described the declaration of the communities as “an exciting moment,” saying “the public declaration happening in Ekiti is the first in the South West.”

Olutayo said this was “a great feat because it is a community-led declaration as even some of the communities led by their traditional rulers have made a traditional declaration in their domain.”

She said it was gratifying that the had, however, come out publicly to make a statement and declare an abandonment to FGM in their domain.

The UNICEF consultant of FGM noted that “communities in Ikere and Ekiti South West LGAs had their public declaration earlier”, saying “altogether, 78 communities in Ikere, Ekiti South West and Ido/Osi local government areas participated in this public declaration in Ekiti State.”

Earlier in his welcome address, the Director or National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Ekiti State, Mr Adedayo Famosaya, thanked UNICEF for its support to bring FGM to a halt in Nigeria, saying the fight started formally four years ago in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

At the event tagged “Public Declaration Towards the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation in Orin-Ekiti”, Famosaya said it was gratifying that the efforts were yielding results with the declaration of communities in Orín as well as the other communities.