Paradox of Abuja

• Published date: 14 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

Scary antics of wild residents in serene Federal Capital Territory

Looking at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at first glance, one is overwhelmed with the serenity and beauty of the city centre and a people who probably act too sane for violence. But GRACE OBIKE reports that beneath the façade of serenity is a city exploding with numerous cases of domestic violence.

SPARE the rod, spoil the child,' is a common phrase used to support the practice of physical discipline towards children; a phrase most Nigerian homes abide by religiously in the upbringing of children. Although the phrase is widely accepted and adhered to, there is little provision phrase for the extent to which the rod can be deployed.

In trying to keep to the phrase, an Abuja father took his a step further. According to the father (name withheld because the case is in court), he noticed that his 18 year-old-daughter was 'acting funny' (Youthful exuberance or exhibiting teenage tendencies), so he told his pastor about the incident and the pastor asked that the girl should be brought alongside her friend.

Instead of advising the teenagers as would be expected of a man in his position, the man of God labelled them both as possessed and practising witchcraft. He then decided to cast out the devil in both girls, using acid. The man's daughter was grotesquely disfigured and her innocent friend lost her life.

As would be expected, the pastor and his worshiper were caught by the long arm of the law and the man of God claimed he was only trying to rid the girls of the stubborn devil.

Another parent, Rebecca Matthew (not real name), took her own aspect of corporal punishment on her 12 years old daughter to the extreme. As a way of punishment, Mrs Matthew made marks all over the daughter's body with hot electric iron for being disobedient.

Neighbours who saw what happened reported to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). She was, of course, arrested and the child taken away from her and for treatment at the clinic at the NAPTIP shelter.

While receiving treatment, the child began convulsing and after being rejected at a general hospital, ended up being referred to the National Hospital where she was eventually diagnosed with tetanus from the rusty iron.

The most horrible of them all is the case of Martha Joseph (not real name). Her 12-year-old maid spilled palm oil in the house. She fetched a razor blade and went to work on the child's body. The power in the house went...