This is not about saying all Nigerian men are bad. It is about refusing to hide behind “not all men” or “it happens everywhere” instead of examining our own society
Teach your daughters boundaries. Teach your sons boundaries.
As a Nigerian, there is something happening in our society that I don’t think we are talking about seriously enough.
Almost every day I open Instablog, there is another story of rape, sexual assault, or a child being sexually abused.
We need to teach all children about body autonomy, boundaries, consent and how to report abuse from a young age. That is not “teaching children sex.” It is teaching them how to protect themselves and respect other people’s bodies.
Nobody has a right to a child’s body. Not a relative, teacher, religious leader or trusted family friend.
Our boys are being abused too, by men and women. When people laugh, congratulate them or call them lucky, that is still abuse.
“Men can’t control themselves” is not an excuse. Men are human beings with judgment and the ability to make choices. Attraction and desire are normal, but nobody has to act on every desire they have.
And child sexual abuse cannot be explained away as “men being men.”