Ever
since the ministry of Transportation under the Lagos State Government came out
with a new Traffic Law and thereby placing Ban on Commercial motorcycle riders,
popularly known as OKADA, restricting them of movement on major road in Lagos
State.
The
impoundment and seizing of these motorcycles (OKADA) has now become a lucrative
business for the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) in the sense that it has now
become a source of income for policemen.
In
the recent past this issue has raised a lot of controversies in other states in
Nigeria, and now it happening in Lagos City.
The
issue is so alarming because it now seems as if the both parties (Police &
Okada Riders) are now playing a game of “Police & Thief’’ just like little
kids in primary school; where an Okada man on motion caught the sight of a
policeman and would suddenly make an abrupt U-turn without caring where and how
he made it just to escape the harassment and extortion from the police
officials.
The
policemen were expected to implement justice, but in the itinerary forget their
primary duties and start chasing Okada men thereby maneuvering everything to a
business affair, that is, if you want to ride without fear or disturbance, you
would have to settle the officers.
Further
more, not only do the policemen see this as a way of extorting money from the
Okada rider, but also harassing them with their Guns, we all heard the story of
how an Okada man was brutally beaten by a policeman.
The
most annoying part is when you see the Anti-robbery Squad Unit of the Police
Force arresting bikes and Okada man settling them as a kind of bail for their
impounded bikes; what has the Anti robbery Squad got to do with the withholding
bikes? Nothing, Absolutely nothing, but because of the money that was
discovered to be involve make every unit in the Police Force are interested in
what I now called the “Seizing of Bike Business”.
It
quite unfortunate that, the Lagos State Government is not doing anything about
this, let all imagine this, if that all bike that are seize are not returned
back to the owners, then , the population of bike in Lagos would have reduce to
a minimal level, since the law made.
Written by a college girl before she gave up the ghost......I Took Off My Underwear..
I used to be that innocent girl who had the world at her feet. I was
beautiful and I had eyes and hips that could make men sway, and to top
it all up, I was a Christian, a very good Christian with a heart burning
for God. When I entered the university, I met a guy, his name was
Derrick. I couldn’t believe my luck the first time I bumped into him on
my way to class, he had such a kind smile and a tender look that
weakened my knees when he spoke. Because I was late for class we
couldn’t talk much but barely three weeks later, I met him at the
fresher’s night party and I was overwhelmed. We got talking and I found
out that he was in his second year and from that night, we became an
inseparable pair. At first, we were friends and as months passed by, we got closer and closer and the chemistry between us was undeniable.
About a year after I entered the university, Derrick and I started
dating. He was everything a girl could ever want and desire save the
fact that he wasn’t so much of a Christian. Derrick had magical hands
that made him hard to resist and most times I fell for it. At first, I
felt bad but when I couldn’t help falling into the same pit I killed the
guilt on my inside. And then one day, one of my friends said I was
getting fatter and that got me thinking and in the process I began to
link the dots…first I had a vomiting spree every morning which I thought
was due to a flu and then I had this morning sickness which I felt was
due to stress and then my missing period…oh no it can’t be possible I
said to myself, I couldn’t be pregnant!!! After a series of test
outside school, I realized the deadliest truth, I was indeed pregnant. I
was only nineteen, I still had a whole life ahead of me, what was I
going to do. I couldn’t tell my parents, they wouldn’t hear of it. I had
to go to Derrick to tell him what I had found out. On telling him, I
saw him fly into a temper I had never seen in my life. He was so
hysterical, calling me all sorts of names and I didn’t even know when I
started crying heart drenching tears of hurt and betrayal. When he
looked into my eyes he must have realized how scared and hurt I was and
so he pulled me close and ran his hands through my hair until I had
calmed down and then he said tome in the most subtle voice ever”why
don’t you have an abortion”.I pulled back instantly, I couldn’t have an
abortion! But when he talked about my parents and the sanctioning of the
school and the fellowship which I belonged to, I knew I had no other
choice. Derrick had made all the arrangements and so on the supposed
day we went to the room- like clinic. I shivered all through my way
there but Derrick kept telling me that it would be okay and that he was
proud that I made such a brave decision. When I entered into the room
where the abortion was supposed to take place I laid down on the table
trying to dissociate my mind from what I was about to do and then a
young man told me sternly, ” you know I can’t perform this procedure
with your underwear on” and then I began to pull it off.As I did this a
sense of guilt overwhelmed me, first I had pulled off my underwear of
pleasure and now I was pulling it off to get rid of the stigma the
pleasure had brought…what a shame, I felt so exposed. All through
the times that I felt instruments coming in and out of me, I kept
thinking of the lady I had become and the hypocrite I had transformed
into. I let out a sigh, only if I can get through this I muttered… only
if…and then I felt a sharp pain pierce through the whole of my body, I
screamed but then the doctor told me to be quiet. I felt another pain but
this time I bit my lip and then the pain began to come in successions. I
instinctively knew that something was wrong but I was too weak to talk
or to move and then I heard the voices of Derrick and the doctor talking
about the fact that I was bleeding excessively. The pain was so
unbearable and I could feel myself getting weaker and weaker. With the
last strengthen me, I pleaded with God”Oh Lord I’m so sorry for taking
my under wears off, please forgive me.” and I drifted into a world where
the pain seemed less hurtful and the voices seemed more distant.
Friends, our bodies are the temple of the Lord… Do not take off your
underwear when the time is not right. Lots of girls who gained admission
into the university as virgins eventually lost it so cheaply to guys who
have nothing to do with their destinies. In a bid to get a certificate, they sold out a destiny that certificate cannot guarantee....
The
lessons learned from the mishap that happened to Cynthia Osokogu cannot
be overemphasized, as many are now aware of the disadvantages of the
social media especially in leading people to the hands of hoodlums. This
is yet another story from a lady that simply wants us to learn. It is a
near-death experience a young lady had with a man who was her BBM
friend: "I am a girl who has fears, beliefs, reservations and just your
regular typical Nigerian girl. This past few weeks has been one hell of a
game for me. I have really been unsettled and I thought I share this
story with you. "When Cynthia (the lady killed in the hotel room in
Festac, Lagos) surfaced on the internet and various news media, I was
scared and it brought back a whole lot of memories to me and also served
as and eye opener. Many people castigated and criticised Cynthia (may
her gentle soul rest in peace), but my point is, it could have been
anybody, anybody at all. "We have met people through various social
media. Some have ended up well, some have not but with painful memories.
To cut the long story short, let me kindly share with you my encounter
with social media especially the very popular Blackberry Messenger
(BBM). "I am a graduate and currently serving in Kaduna. I could
have runced it, but I needed somewhere to clear my head and forget about
my ugly encounter. Here is my story. "I happened to have a married
man as a contact on my BBM. He had been asking me out for over six
months and I refused to date him. As time went on, he invited me
clubbing with him when his wife was outside the country, and I went with
him all night. We spent most of the night at Swe bar, Lagos. "I
also met his clique of friends, married as well with their various
mistresses. We had ‘mad’ fun. After all the clubbing and drinking, he
lodged me in a hotel somewhere in Obalende. I felt sort of safe with
him. We did not have sex, but he made sweet love to me and touched me in
places I had never ever imagined. "He kissed me passionately but
guess what? He did not have sex with me. We did all sorts but there was
no penetration. So, to an extent, I trusted he was a good person to be
around with. I did not know that it was all part of the plan. "He
gave me N10,000 and put me in a cab to go home the next morning. We kept
talking and chatting and sending naked pictures to each other and he
told me naughty things of how he wanted to whisper things in my ear, I
blushed. We didn’t see for two weeks and that was because his wife just
came back from Turkey. "One faithful evening, he pinged me that he
was organising a beach party/boat cruise and that he would love for me
to be his date and that he wanted to open a BBM chat, as a medium for
his friends and my friends to interact. I was excited about it, I just
wanted to have fun. I was able to get five of my very hot friends.
"The BBM group opened and we got chatting. I also realise that majority
of them were married and working in reputable firms. It was fun and we
didn’t mind if they were married, we just wanted to have fun, as well as
some other girls apart from my friends in the group. "We chatted
exclusively, sent pictures to the BBM group to introduce ourselves, and
we had opened group conversations pending the beach party. And as
excited as we were, we went shopping for nice sexy beach wears. "The
D-day finally came, we all assembled at the Lagos Island Boat Club. I
was wowed because it was a high class party. We were cruising in a boat
loaded with goodies drinks and hot babes, and as well ‘MARRIED MEN’. I
did not care, I just said in my mind that I would not roll with married
men anymore after this, that for now, all I wanted to do was to catch
some fun. After all, I wasn’t paying bills. "We got there, it was a
private beach resort. Most of the beach facilities I got to see there
were owned by multinational companies. We got out of the boat, and went
to where we were partying. It was a duplex made with wood. It was a very
nice setting. "I felt comfortable because it even had a fence
around it separating it from other beach houses around. So, there was
privacy and of course bouncers (heavy looking guys) guarding the place. I
said to myself, this must be heaven, I must be dreaming. "Anyways,
we felt free with each other because we had been chatting. It was 5:30pm
and the party just started. We had drinks flowing from the private bar
tender which happens to be owned by one of the men in the group. Reality
struck when I realised that I was feeling dizzy and feeling really
funny and light headed. Not only me, but other girls around me too
noticed there was something strange about it. "I was also feeling
HORNY as hell! I had been drugged. They monitored us and when they knew
the drug had really gone deep into our system, they moved us up into the
main beach house. I could still see faces, but was too weak and horny
to react. "Mr B, the man who took me clubbing, carried me in his
hands like a sacrifice and put me down on the floor just as other men
also did with their girls. We were eight in numbers; 8 girls, 8 guys,
and they all stripped us down and had sex with us. "I enjoyed it a
bit because I was horny. It was a mixed feeling because I cried, I
moaned, but I did not know how many times he came into me. He had hard
and rough sex with me. I was dizzy, but he grabbed me with force.All I
could notice was the wedding ring on his finger. I thought of how wicked
and miserable some married can be. How inhuman and heartless they could
be. "All of them took turns in switching partners and slept with
all of us. I passed out. That was the last thing I could remember. I
felt water poured on me. I noticed all the other girls around me too
were half naked and some stark naked. "We spent the night at the
beach, but the men were no where to be found. I looked round me and all I
could see was packs of used condoms. I ran to pick my cloths and
possibly raise an alarm. I got dressed, found my phone with an envelope.
It contained N16,000 and a note asking us to take N2000 each for
transport. Tears of anger and rage filled my eyes and the girls around
me as well. "We were drugged and used like tissue paper. I grabbed
my phone and noticed a ping came in. I checked my phone and I noticed
the BBM group had been deleted, and a message via BBM from MR B came in.
He threatened me that if I say a word to anyone, I would regret it.
"I told him he was a bastard, and he said try it. A picture came in,
several pictures. In fact, they were pictures of us being naked on the
floor. Pictures of the humiliating us but they blurred the faces of the
men. In total, I got 20 pictures. I was not myself for a month. "I
went back to school, I had no one to talk to. The rest of the semester
was hell for me. My CGPA dropped drastically. It was the worst out of
the worst result I ever had. "Till today, my friends and I have not
discussed this with anyone, but all I could do when I heard of Cynthia’s
story was to narrate my own ordeal anonymously and spread the news, the
word, and pray they (ladies who do runs) see it and changed their ways.
"I am now born again. I have given my life to Christ. I fear men so
much that I cannot even move close to them. I still have nightmares, but
with time, God will strengthen me and I will move on. My advice to
single ladies out there is, do not be desperate for fun. Pray to God to
open your eyes of understanding, and pray hard. He who kneels before God
will stand before kings and queens. "To all married women, pray
hard to God to intervene in your marriages and turn your husbands from
bad habits and bad friends. As for me, I do not think I ever want to get
married or date a man again. That chapter has been closed for good in
my life. "Please, do not ignore my mail. Please post it. There are a
lot of things we ladies need to learn.Please post it on your blog and
save a soul. It could be your friend, sister, cousin, neighbour.
"God bless you as you pass it on. To all readers, I do not care if you
insult me or rain abuses at me. My job is to share this encounter with
you and save you from any mishap. God bless you all. Amen."
My
dear pals, I need to share this story with you. It made me grows up. Please
read along with me.
On
a fine Saturday morning, I was walking with my friends along the street in my
serene neighborhood. Then we came across a very beautiful damsel. My, she was
so cool and she’d got the right statistics!My eyes nearly popped out, she was so endowed. I know my friends also
liked what they saw but we all just passed her by without voicing out our
thoughts.
My
friend Wale liked her so much that he ensured we strolled past her house every
Saturday, until finally after about one month of perambulating, we finally
summed up the courage to chat her up. Her voice was so angelic when she told us
her name was Funke, that she attended a private girl’s secondary school in
Lekki. She was well mannered and soft spoken.
Wale
started chatting her up and she also seemed to like him, so we all backed out
of the chase.
Wale
actually like her but unknown to us he was being pressurized by another group
of friends into ‘getting down to the basics’ with her. After a few weeks of
going out with Funke, Wale realized he couldn’t get down to the basics with
her. Funke told him she was a virgin and intended staying that way until she
gets married. Wale didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer until Funke was forced to
break up the friendship with him.
This
made Wale so angry that he planned to get even with her. Without telling our
group of friends, he planned with a group of notorious boys in our area; they
kidnapped Funke and gang raped her. He carried out his plan before he informed
us. I and our other three friends were so disgusted that we asked Wale to stop
coming to our houses. Two days after the incident, trouble erupted in our area,
Funke’s dad reported to the police and all Wale’s friends were arrested
including me. When we got to the station, we were asked to make statements. My
friends and I made our statements, but we were remanded at the police station
until our parent came to bail us.
Hmm,
as for Wale, he was asked to produce the other guys and together they were
charged to court. Funke’s dad said they must be responsibility for their
action.
When
I got home from the police station, I got thinking, what could have prompted
wale to bow to the pressure of such bad boys and gang rape an innocent girl
like Funke? What if Funke was my sister, how would I have felt? What if any of
those guys was HIV positive, wouldn’t they have infected her? A lot of ‘what
ifs’ came to my mind, but thank God, Funke’s parents were supportive. They
ensured she had medical attention and also took prophylaxis to prevent
transmission of HIV, and they supported her to face up to her antagonists, and
hurray, Funke emerged the victor and not the victim.
Rape
is violation of human rights; a violation of woman’s right to her bodily
integrity, and a violation of the Nigerian law, which is punishable under the
Nigerian criminal code section 357.
Oh
my, I don’t ever want to join the bandwagon of rapist who thinks they can
violate other people’s bodies by having non-consensual sexual relations with
them. It’s the height of bestiality. Nah nah nah…
