Twitter Nigeria suddenly started acting like men don't rape women. Overnight, the country apparently gained the best justice and medical systems in the world, perfectly equipped to deliver justice in every single rape case.
The conversations get loudest only when a rape allegation turns out to be false, not when it's a confirmed case. Want to know why?.
Come closer, I'll tell you. I don't care about your feelings, they're going to get hurt. This is a splash free zone. Don't bother putting on your emotional armor; it won't help.
Most of you want every rape accusation to be false so desperately that when you finally get that one in a million case, you scream it from the rooftops. You broadcast it to the world and build this facade: "See? This is what they all are."
Don't even get me started on the reality: thousands of girls are raped every year around the world, and that's just the reported cases. More than double that number never get spoken about (global estimates show 60-90% of rapes go unreported due to fear, stigma, and victim blaming; in Nigeria, studies suggest even higher under-reporting, with some saying 8 out of 9 cases stay hidden). Don't come here to argue with me. Go check the facts first.
Raping another human being requires a mentally deranged person. Sex is meant to be enjoyable and consensual. If you participate in rape, you are mentally abnormal, mentally unstable. And if you see nothing wrong with the act itself, something is seriously wrong with you mentally too. It's not enough to be loud only when a case is proven false. Where is that same energy when the accusation is actually true?
In Nigeria, bad news barely moves people anymore. Terrorists can slaughter 200 people in a village and life goes on as usual. So it's no surprise that rape doesn't shake you either "worse things have happened," right?.
Many of you are not mentally okay. Your mental space is gradually being damaged, and when people outside your bubble see your reactions, it becomes sickening.
So much so that it has become normal to tell girls not to walk at night, to protect themselves from us, the men. We tell them what kind of clothes to wear, we tell them to cover themselves, we tell them to hide who they are for their own protection. Wait, who is telling little boys to keep their shit in their pants? Who is telling them it's abnormal to not seek consent at every step of a sexual act? And whoever dares to speak up gets vilified like there's no tomorrow, every Dick, Tom, and Harry suddenly remembers how to dig up old tweets and play detective.
My point is not to defend false rape accusations. You don't know me, and that's fine. I've spoken loudly against false claims. I've called out women who pollute the seriousness of rape with selfish lies. I've explained how those actions destroy the courage real victims need to speak up.
But Nigerians, there is a time for everything. I've always talked about timing. If I say I don't like oranges, this isn't the moment for you to tell me how much you love apples. This is the time to ask: Why did I say that? What led to my position? It's perfectly okay if you don't like my stance, you don't have to. But you don't need to derail the conversation right now.
Sorry if I don't reach out anymore. I'm fighting for my life, second guessing my career path, debating my life choices, scrolling through social media, and sleeping whenever I get free time just to escape reality.
i rlly hate thinking “okay let me show less love” “let me not care soo much” i hate that feeling. i should never have to feel that way. my purest form is loving hard and caring hard. that’s just how i am