ARE WE TRULY INDEPENDENT?

PEDOPHILIA, A PROGRESS IN PERVERSION
The most insidious influence on the young is not violence, drugs, tobacco, drink or sexual perversion, but our pursuit of the trivial and our tolerance of the third rate. Eric Anderson (1936).
Pedophilia is simply defined as the sexual desire felt by an adult for children or the crime of sex with a child. It has also been defined as a psychiatric disorder characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children.
Section 218 of the Criminal Code Act Cap.77 LFN 1990 provides that; any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under thirteen (13) years is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life, with or without caning.
Any person who attempts to have unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of thirteen years is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years with or without caning.
Furthermore, Section 221(1) of the same Act states that any person who has or attempts to have unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl being of or above thirteen years and under sixteen years is guilty of a misdemeanor and is liable to imprisonment for two years, with or without caning.
Section 21 of the Childs Rights Act stipulates that no person under the age of eighteen (18)years is capable of contracting a valid marriage and accordingly, a marriage so contracted is null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
Section 23 of the same Act further provides that the a person who marries a child or whom a child is betrothed or who promotes the marriage or who betroths a child, commits an offence and is liable of conviction to a fine of five hundred thousand (N500, 000) naira or imprisonment for a term of 5years or both fine and imprisonment.
From the above Sections, Pedophilia is a crime under the Nigerian law and under the Childs Rights Act, it doesn’t matter whether there was consent on the part of the child or not, even if the parents/ guardian of the child give consent, it still doesn’t make it right. The fact is that the person is a child under the law thus; the marriage is null and void ab initio.
Since pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder, one stops to ponder, does the defence of insanity avail an accused standing trial for pedophilia? We leave that to the Nigerian courts to answer. Also, it has been argued that some religions condone child marriage and we are tempted to ask, does it make it right? What happens to the human conscience? We humbly submit at this juncture that any religion that condones or accepts pedophilia is repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience.
We would love to further buttress this point by quoting from the Quran 4:6 which provides inter alia
Make trial of orphans until they reach the age of marriage; if then you find sound judgment in them, release their property to them but consume it not wastefully nor in haste against their growing up…
The Muslim jurists agree that the “age of marriage” mentioned here is age of puberty. The Shafis declare that the age of fifteen (15) years should be taken as the age of marriage. Other branches of Islam don’t give any specific age but agree that the consent of a Muslim marriage partner is not recognized until she reaches the age of puberty. See muslim-marriage-guide.com.
The Bible does not refer or prescribe a particular age of marriage but it states in Romans 13:1-7 that every one should be subject to the ruling authority. And in the case of marriage, the ruling authority prescribes the age of marriage as
Pedophilia is a very serious crime which should not be treated with kid gloves because children are the future and if the children are sexually abused what generation will we have? Perhaps, a generation of sexually abused adults or parents? God forbid!
Briefly highlighted below are some of the effects of pedophilia:
*The child has an impaired childhood and even adulthood if not corrected.
*The child may not get a chance to complete his education or any vocation.
*The child becomes a slave to the pedophile forever; she might even start seeing it as a way of life and so pass it to generations after her.
*The child if it’s a girl child and gets pregnant might suffer from VVF and other associated diseases because her body is not strong enough to have sex yet, let alone bear children.
*If she survives the child bearing, she might not be able to give the children the right training because she is still a child herself.
*It leaves the society with deviants and nuisance generally.
WHAT THEN CAN WE DO?
*The Nigerian legislature should review the law on pedophilia with stiffer penalties.
*The Childs Right Act should be fully enacted and enforced. Pedophiles should be prosecuted and no exceptions should be made.
*Prosecution should research and make sure they prove their cases well to gain convictions.
*Convicted pedophiles should be counseled or sent to a rehabilitation home or corrective facility to make sure they don’t come out the same way or even worse.
*Victims of pedophilia should be given equal opportunity and encouragement to a normal child hood and adult hood.
*Victims should also undergo counseling and preventive measures should be taken to make sure it doesn’t occur a second time.
*Law officers should keep up the good work and do better.
*People should realize that children are the future leaders and should be given a chance to life.
*Parents and guardians alike should care about the future of their children and not just about their present life.
*Child hawking should be stopped as it exposes the children to unhealthy things like pedophiles.
*Parents should be careful of the kind of people they leave their children with.
*People are encouraged to report any suspicious moves or acts suggesting pedophilia.
*Parents should trust, believe and listen to their children when they report things to them, they shouldn’t shoo them away.
*Parents especially mothers should pay attention to their kids, be conscious of their children’s moves especially when they can’t talk yet, they might be in pain.
The need to curb the menace of pedophilia/ child abuse which is fast creeping into our society should not be over emphasized, it is a crime to our future because the future of Nigeria being a good people and great nation depends on the children. Let a child be a child and she will grow into an adult not a grown baby.






Questions and Comments?
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