These cases of incest

RECENTLY, a 45-year-old man was arrested by men of the Ode Remo Divisional Headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force  in Ogun State for allegedly impregnating his daughter. According to the 19-year-old victim, the alleged rapist had always threatened to kill her if she dared to inform anybody of what she was going through. Her mother, she said, got separated from her father a long time ago, and she had been living with her until about two years ago when she went to live with her father at his request. She decided to report her ordeal when she discovered that she had fallen pregnant. The suspect admitted to the crime, but said that he was uncertain about his responsibility for the pregnancy, as the victim was promiscuous. In August  this year, a middle-aged man was arrested by a vigilance group for allegedly raping and impregnating his teenage daughter in Amukpe area of Sapele, Delta State. There is also the sad story of a 17-year-old girl in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State,  who was impregnated by her father in December last year. Later, the rapist threw her out of the house. She never received antenatal care and, almost due for delivery, she started wandering about in Uyo, looking for a good Samaritan.

Her story took a different turn on September 21 while she was at a popular plaza asking people if they needed a baby: she was desperate to have a family accommodate her until the birth of her baby, when she would then hand over the baby to that family. A man who said he was moved by her plight offered her accommodation for the night, but he then took advantage of her. She has since been rescued by a non-governmental organisation while the case was reported to the police at Ikot Akpan Abia. In another incident, early in the year, there was confusion in Nasarawa State as a set of twin sisters were discovered pregnant for their mother’s lover. The sisters were both delivered of their babies two months apart for a man their mother was courting and planned to marry after losing her husband in one of the incidents of herders’ genocidal onslaught on farmers that have rocked Nasarawa and its neighbouring states in recent times. The mother threatened to commit suicide, saying that she could not live with the shame brought upon her by her daughters.

In recent times, the media space has been awash with  extremely bizarre stories of sexual deviance. Hardly a day goes by without a report, not just of sexual abuse but also of incest, often for a lengthy period. It is almost as if in human relations, morality has taken a back seat. The situation is frightening: if the family as the basic unit of the society is being violated, especially by its own members, then what hope is there for the society? In the process of socialisation, the family represents the primary social institution to which every child born is introduced. That child then begins to learn the basic social skills, from the rudiments of communication to moral values. Respect for fundamental human rights begins from the family, as the child is trained to respect the elementary authority structure. Any violation at this basic level of socialisation is bound to have a reverberating effect on the entire society eventually. If a child is negatively affected at this level, for instance, that child could become maladjusted for life. The many cases of crime and criminality in the society are traceable to the upbringing that individuals receive from their family units.

It is regrettable that the hordes of children being raised in the country today have been fractured from their individual homes, having been made to experience different violations of social norms. The general malaise preponderant in the society should be understood in the context of the defective upbringing which families give children today. There is a gradual process of failure to perform simple parental roles like paying attention to children’s basic needs, supervising their home work, and disciplining them when necessary. The negligence of these functions for a long time invariably leads to a hard, resistant process of socialisation. The world over, research has shown that spending quality time with children has become rather old fashioned. Parents tend to focus more on their jobs and other social engagements than on their children and this reflects adversely on the children. The economy, too, has impacted negatively on the family institution. Confronting existential crises and costs distracts parents a lot. They pay scant attention to the needs of their children.

Largely, the family has failed to live up to its billing as the primary social institution. And with a government that has no comprehensive welfare system in place, it is not surprising that the family has plummeted precipitously. Virtually all the salient values of the society are being violated at the family level. Many people have no sense of shame, and no sense of honour either. Besides, incest cases are increasing because perpetrators hardly get their just deserts. If sexual crimes are reported and investigated and punishment is handed down as prescribed by the laws of the land, they will reduce significantly. The kinds of things that are happening today are horrendous. Things are falling apart and the centre can no longer hold. Conscious effort must be made to arrest the drift.

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