What would you do if your daughter was raped?

Lola Stephens

He looked half dead, he had received the beating of his life and if care is not taken, he would give up any moment. In fact, to a passer-by, he was dead, but on a closer look, you would find out that he was still breathing. Some of the spectators said he was pretending.

Some wanted to beat him again, some even wanted to kill him, because they believed he had committed an abomination. Some law abiding citizens wanted him handed over to the police.
What was his offence? He raped a four-year-old girl. Very unbelievable, but it is the truth. The old man was well into his 60s.

He lived in the same house with the little girl’s parents. A face-me-I-face-you apartment of eight rooms. He was a night watchman, so he was always in the house when everyone must have gone to work. Debby, the four-year-old was ill, she could not go to school. Her mother went to the small chemist store to buy the drug prescribed for her at the hospital, and left her in the room. When she came back to the house, under ten minutes as she later narrated to the police, she discovered that Debby had stepped out of their room. Initially, she did not think much of it as Debby was conversant with her environment, but when she waited for about three minutes and she did not hear her voice, she began to call her. She went out to the back of the house to call her daughter but she did not see her. She began to panic. As she made to enter the long passage, she saw Baba laying Debby down at her parents’ door. The poor girl was crying, Baba was trying to cover her. The most shocking part was that Baba’s towel also had blood stains on it.

Debby’s mother screamed so loud when she saw this that her noise attracted people from as far as the third house and another neighbour who was sleeping in the room. If not for him, Baba would have run away because as soon as Debby’s mother screamed, she fainted when she realised what had happened to her daughter. Four-year-old Debby had been raped by a man old enough to be her grandfather. During the pandemonium that followed, sympathisers started making comments. Some said Debby’s mother was too weak. “Why did she faint? I would have killed the stupid old man,” a woman said.

Another woman felt killing him was an easy way of allowing him to die. “I will pull myself together and take care of my daughter. Afterwards I will look for acid and pour it on the man.”
Several reactions followed. What if you were Debby’s mother? What would your immediate reaction be?

Reactions:

Olayemi Olaniran: I will tear the man into pieces with my bare hands. My daughter raped? In fact, for that moment I will run mad, and I cannot trust my action. The best thing is that it does not happen at all. If it does, I can kill.

Oby Metu: I will break his head, no, I will strangulate him, or, wait, I will make sure I cut off that instrument of the devil that he used to destroy my daughter. Honestly, to be sincere with you, I cannot say what my immediate reaction will be, but I can assure you, it won’t be favourable at all. For a useless old man to destroy my daughter’s life, I beg, na die o.

Eunice Onyemachara: See the way you asked this question as if it is a simple thing. I will be very aggressive. I will hit his head on the wall and make sure he dies. I don’t mind being charged for murder, but I will kill or maim the man. Please God do not allow this type of thing to happen to my daughter, because I cannot predict my action.

Lola Stephens: Ah! God forbid. Do you know that all my kids are girls? I cannot imagine it. Please don’t say it again. I must deal with him sha. What I will do will be so grievous that he won’t do so again. This is a very terrible and serious issue o. Please, I just cannot predict what I will do, but the man must suffer.

Subuola Oshiyemi: I don’t panic in a chaotic situation and I thank God because it is a rare gift. I will arrange to take my daughter to the hospital. That should come first. Then I will arrange for “boys” to deal with him, I don’t care what his age or status is. Rape is deadly and if care is not taken, the victim’s psyche will be affected for life. Because of this one must teach the rapist a lesson he too won’t forget as long as he lives. But I don’t pray it happens to my daughter.

Yinka Adeniran: Ha! I will faint. You know that I just pictured my daughter as you were narrating this little girl’s ordeal. What came into my mind was that, can my daughter stand it? I can’t imagine it. But, I will faint or die.

You have read the contributions. Rape is bad and no one prays to be a victim or that one’s daughter be. But if you are in Debby’s mother’s shoes, what would you do?