FOR obvious reasons, the recent bullying incident involving students of the Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology (BOUESTI), Ikere Ekiti, Ekiti State, should worry right-thinking Nigerians. In a video which has since gone viral, an 18-year-old student of the university’s Mass Communications Department identified as Opemiposi Precious Bolaji was seen viciously beating a fellow student identified as Miss Gloria Ajayi, a fellow 100-level Mass Communication student, in a private hostel outside the university campus, for allegedly ruining her three-year-old relationship with her boyfriend. The perpetrator was heard screaming at the victim, who did not retaliate but only kept pleading during the ordeal, saying: “I want to see you fight back. You called me a bastard? Is it because I have kept silent? I must draw blood from you today and no one can stop me”. The victim was seen trying to run to safety while being chased by her attacker, who had a ready supply of sticks from another student.
Commendably, however, the university responded to the incident. In a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Temitope Akinbisoye, it said that the university authorities condemned in strong terms any form of violence or misconduct in the university or by any of its constituents, as such behaviour is entirely inconsistent with its values and the standards of respect and dignity expected from all members of the university. It added: “Having considered the report and recommendations of the Students’ Disciplinary Committee, the university authorities have taken the following decisions. Miss Opemiposi Precious Bolaji with Matriculation No. 10232, a 100L Mass Communication student who was beating her colleague with a stick and threatening to inflict bodily harm on her for allegedly destroying her three-year-old love affair with her boyfriend was found guilty of misconduct and flagrant breach of her matriculation oath and consequently expelled with immediate effect. Miss Genesis Osaro, a 100L Mass Communication student with Matriculation No. 10257, who provided the stick with which Gloria Ajayi was beaten, was found guilty of misconduct (as an accomplice) and flagrant breach of her matriculation oath and consequently expelled with immediate effect. Miss Gloria Ajayi, a 100L Mass Communication student with Matriculation No. 10295, who was seen being beaten in the viral video but did not retaliate or engage in fisticuffs with her tormentors, was exonerated.” The university warned two students whom it said gleefully recorded the video and posted it on social media to always report such incidents to the Directorate of Students’ Affairs and the Security Unit of the university rather than escalating them on social media. In a similar vein, the Ekiti State Police Command said it had begun investigating the incident.
To say the very least, this incident is distressing. In the first place, it provides yet another example of the pernicious practice of merely recording unfortunate incidents without attempting to save the victims. Increasingly, Nigerians are captured in videos of accidents, assaults and other dangerous episodes seemingly enjoying the spectacle and making little or no effort to rescue the distraught victims. While we recognise the place of video evidence in dealing with such crimes, we categorically affirm that rescuing the victims of such crimes should come first. If the present practice continues, certain victims are going to die while those who should rescue them are busy uploading videos of their ordeal on social media. Beyond this point, though, the story also illustrates the utter degeneration in the Nigerian society over the years following the total abdication of the political leadership from its sacred duty of piloting state affairs with sobriety, decency and discipline, and the attendant collapse of family values. Pray, just how can an 18-year-old commit so much brutality because someone allegedly destroyed her three-year relationship? If anything, the aggressor’s story suggests that she had been sexually active as a minor, and long before she even gained admission into the university. If so, who was/is her accomplice and how old is he, because sexual relations with minors remain prohibited in the country?
Besides, it is extremely shocking that students who should be busy with their studies are embroiled in amorous relationships and bickering over them. Did the parents of the accuser and the accused send them to school to engage in or spread word about illicit relationships? What kind of society is Nigeria breeding when teenagers want to draw blood from fellow students over allegations of boyfriend snatching? And assuming but not conceding that the victim in this case was guilty as charged, just how should that fact have occasioned such a brutal ordeal? Is the country not imperiled when teenagers, by reason of defective upbringing, have already become narcissistic brutes holding self-constituted courts and decreeing torture for their victims? There is, of course, the distinct possibility that the accused is even innocent, which makes the case extremely disturbing.
As we have said time and again, there can be no circumvention of family values. The government and the society have to work actively towards the restoration of such values. If parents shirk the responsibility of inculcating morals in their children and wards, perhaps because they are too busy chasing money and materialism, they will learn hard lessons when they see them behind bars. The local proverb which says that untrained children will waste their inheritance remains true till tomorrow. It is axiomatic that young people without proper upbringing will be taught by the larger society. In the current case, the institution involved has acted responsibly and should be commended for it. It should always enforce its anti-bullying policy to the letter and ensure that its students abide by their matriculation oath. Going forward, though, there should be enlightenment campaigns on the dangers of bullying and the fate that awaits perpetrators. But where those found culpable, particularly young people, show genuine remorse, they should receive lesser punishment than they ordinarily would have received.
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