Abuse of the Right of the Woman to Freedom of Choice is Bulwark against Rape: Voilà – the Idiocy of Nigeria’s Academia

Ipemndoh dan Iyan

The degenerate Man justifies himself with “she asked for it the way she was dressed.” For him it is your Will he violates you. The acquiescent Woman explains him with “well, your clothing Style is sexually-provocative.” You deserve what you get she berates. To her it is your Fault for inviting that Man to invade your Body. See? The Male Perpetrator parades his Moral Deficiency and his Female Apologist wallows in her False Consciousness. Rape, whether of Female or Male, is Infringement of the Person without Cause. It is Breach of an Inalienable Right. Ipemndoh dan Iyan© 

“One of my Friend.” The use of ‘one of’ or ‘few of’ or ‘some of’ or ‘many of’ or 'any of, as ‘the Subject' in a Sentence recognizes that ‘the Object’ of the Sentence must be pluralized. In other Words, those Expressions indicate that the Communicator is identifying a Member or certain Members out of numerous Members (inorganic or organic). Thus, the correct Tense in these illustrated Cases must render the Object in plural Form, i.e., “one of my Friends.” ‘Any of’ the above Expressions can only be grammatically correct with the Plural Noun. How about “what happen?” Is the Speaker asking about the Future, the Past or the Present? There is no Indication of Time in that Inquiry. Of course, you would be able to get the Idea of Time in the Context of the Exchange but that does not absolve the Speaker of the very awful English Language s/he had deployed. It is not for the Receiver to rack (wrack) her or his Brain to grasp what the Sender is saying. If the Sender intended ‘the Past’ the Phrase should be ‘what happened' (Past Tense). If it is ‘the Present’, it should be ‘what is happening’ (Present Continuous) or ‘what happens’ for the Future (Future Continuous). 

I have heard Sentences along the lines of “s/he has not visit me” whereas it is “s/he has not visited me” (Present Perfect) or “I was determine” replacing ‘I was determined’ (Present Perfect) or “you have identify” rather than ‘you have identified’ (Present Perfect) or “I am surprise” in place of ‘I am surprised’ (Present Perfect) or “I have acquire” substituting ‘I have acquired’ (Present Perfect) or “even if that happen” instead of ‘even if that happened’ (Past Tense Conditional) or alternatively its Present Continuous/Future Indefinite Tense Variations. Ah, there is another one; “when … conclude his second term in office” instead of “when … concludes his second term in office” (Future Indefinite Tense). I have encountered such Phrases as “many businesses has” when it should have been ‘many businesses have’. I have also heard the Sentence ‘I has’ whereas the correct Sentence is ‘I have’. ‘Has' and ‘have' are Verbs which double as singular and plural Verbs in Context. 

We hear “Sycophant” (servile flattery) pronounced as “Psychopath” (antisocial Personality) or “repeat with” instead of 'replete with' or the Noun ‘Concern’ as the verbal “consign” or verbal ‘charm’ as the verbal “sham” or verbal ‘reach’ as whatever it is “rish” or ‘google’ (Internet Search Engine) as “goggle” (Stare/Glasses) or ‘meanwhile’ as “mainwhile” or 'WhatsApp' as “whatsup”. Of course, Charm, Sham and Reach can either be Nouns or Verbs in a given Context. 

We have come to recognize the substitution in general of ‘ch’ with “sh” in further Miscomprehension of the English Language. It appears that these Speakers have no understanding, absolutely, of the Transmission of Language, any Language. Language is basically Imitation, in Speech and in Text. We can argue about that Aspect of Speech known as ‘Accent’ and we can bludgeon ourselves irrational in Preoccupation with ‘Structure’. 'Accent' and 'Structure' would vary, as a matter of course. What will not change is the Meaning of Words in a Language save for the Indigenous but uneducated Users of Language who make up Words as Kindergartens do. Not only can Meaning be inferred from the Context of Exchange, it relies essentially on the deployment of appropriate Words, which if pronounced incorrectly would confuse the Audience. The best Way to learn Language is to imitate its Origins. 

The Illustrations I have given above of the Misuse of the English Language are not exhaustive. However, I believe they are sufficient Examples for anyone to recognize my Concern about the Injury visited on the English Language by these Speakers. What do such Expressions have in common? They are spoken by Nigerians who claim to be educated to University Level, some of them with PhDs too, and have attended Nigerian Universities according to their public Profiles. The Question really is: can these Persons actually read and rationalize what they have read? Anyone with reasonable Intelligence can memorize and regurgitate Textbooks and Study-Notes to pass Examinations so it is not really about the Qualifications anyone has. 

Even when some Nigerians had lived in English-Speaking Western Countries, their English Grammar Grasp is not much better notwithstanding their speaking it with the Accents of those Countries, if they do. This is because their English Comprehension has already been damaged by their Inadequacy in it in Nigeria in situ. Of course, there are the exceptions with good Grasp of the English Language because their Parents speak or spoke it well, and they had paid Attention to these Parents. If you think that I am just bashing the Nigerian Grasp of the English Language, watch News Broadcasts on YouTube or on any other audiovisual Presentation. 

I am not so concerned with Online Publications because the ‘Artificial Intelligence' (AI) of 'autocorrection' in typing (word-processing) has taken control of inputs such that grammatical Errors might not arise from the Writer but from the illiterate programming of these autocorrections. It happens to me all the time, so I know because I engage almost incessantly in proofreading. At times, I would not even notice until after I had published, especially on Twitter which does not enable preview before publishing. So, believe me I know. Is it possible to possess good Grasp of Language, and still make grammatical Errors in Speech? Yes, but then you would correct it immediately if you have competent Language Command. That is the Way, the Brain works, at least, my Brain.

I have been watching Nigerian News Television Stations lately via YouTube. These include Mainstream and Self-Help News Outlets. I have also been reading the Country’s Print News Media Online, Mainstream and otherwise. All Contributors to these Media – Media is Plural Form – would share Three Characteristics. One; they supposedly went to University. I am not doubting that they attended University but have engaged the Term “supposedly' in Derision. Two; the Language of Instruction, and Study would be the English Language. Three; they, in the Majority, deploy the English Language woefully. Of course, most Nigerians would claim that the English Language is not their Language or that it is not their “first Language” or some flatulent Defiance like that. 

It is ‘Defiance’ rather than ‘Defence’ because it is some sort of ‘Dissonance Reduction’ to oblique their Inadequacy/Deficiency. A Language is a ‘First Language’ only because you think in it. If you have reasonable Grasp of another Language, you should be able to make the Translation acceptable. Besides, in the Nigerian Context, the Language of the Instruction of Study is English, at least from the Secondary School Level. At what Stage does the English Language stop being “not my Father’s Language”? Apologies for the use of ‘Father’ rather than ‘Mother’ but I have only been accurate in Translation. 

An unimaginable, and I am being generous here, Proportion of Graduates from Nigerian Universities use the English Language – Oral and Text (Writing) – not much better than semi-Literates. I am not talking about Accents here but rather focused on Comprehension, Grammar, and Pronunciation. That there are Nigerians speaking English with Received Pronunciation (RP – a UK Accent) or Standard British Accents, including Regional Variations or with varied North American Accents (Canadian and United States), I am well aware. 

I am also cognizant of Nigerians deploying these Accents with misplaced Pronunciations, and awful Grasp of Semantics and Syntax. It is in these latter Regards that I refer to Graduates from Nigerian Universities as ‘semi-Literates’ in their deployment of the English Language notwithstanding Nigeria’s varied English Accents. We have relevant Examples in their Miscomprehension of Possessives, absent Understanding of the Difference between the Possessive Pronoun and the Plural, and unawareness of how Syntax underlines Semantics, and the other Forms already broached with my Illustrations (above). I find this ‘State of Affairs' unbelievable and I wonder what Education Nigerian Educationists have.

I went to Elementary School and Secondary School in Nigeria – Lagos in the Case of the former and Oyo Province in the latter – and it was in that same Country I learnt the Rudiments of all the English Language Forms I have mentioned. I began being taught 'English Comprehension' in Elementary School. I am, ergo, puzzled as to which Schools those in my Age Group and older – 63 Years up – attended. I know there would be some who attended Western Region Primary Education which was not comparable to our 'Standard School' Formula in Lagos. We in Lagos did 8 Years of Elementary schooling while Western Region was 6 Years of Primary schooling. Some, after their Primary Education, would further with 'Secondary Modern' schooling before attending Secondary School proper. Is it reasonable for me to then assume that those Today in Ascendancy in Nigeria are those who stopped at Western Region Style Primary Education and went straight on to Secondary Schools where English Grammar was not taught? 

The Nigerian Inability to reproduce certain English Words competently has nothing to do with Indigenous Tongues. Such Defence makes no Sense. First, this Inability is demonstrated by the 300 or so Tongues in Nigeria. Put it another Way, how is it possible that all these variegated Tongues would share the same Dislocation of the English Language whereas anything else common between them is their regionized Language Transliterations of one another’s Languages? The Real Reason Nigerians from all the varied Nigerian Languages misapprehend English Words in the same Way is one of Imitation. The Transmission of Language is primarily through Imitation (by the Processes of Pragmatics, Semantics, and Syntax). So, a Nigerian pronounces an English Word in a particular Way in Context, other Nigerians do similarly in cognate Contexts. They would do the same in repeating – orally or textually – other Expressions in Context. Conversely, there are Nigerians from all the many Tongues which constitute the Nigerian Indigenous Languages who pronounce English Words properly, and deploy English Expressions appropriately. 

Against the shameful Background of Nigerian University Products unable to communicate properly in their Language of (Study) Instruction, we find Nigerian Universities preoccupied with dictating the Dress Code for Female University Students in Contempt of the expansive Meanings in S.29, and as relevant SS.34/35/37/38/39/41 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution which severally and collectively protect the Right of the Citizen to Choice (Private Space) and Protection from Harassment of Movement in enjoying that Private Space. The Nigerian Justification for this unlawful Proscription – yes, Proscription – of the Human Right of the Female University Student reposes in the Excuse that their Manner of dressing urges a Man to force himself on a Woman in Rape, and/or by Intimidation. This Man can be a Lecturer or another Student. 

To describe the Mind of the Sexual Predator as ‘primitive’ or ‘primordial’ is to be disrespectful and unfair to extant traditional African Societies, and other such Societies where Women go about their daily Routines with Breast exposed, and their Genital Areas barely covered. Do the Men of, and in those Societies jump on their Women to rape them or force themselves on these Women in other Ways? How a Woman dresses is never the Reason a Man – Men all over the World – breaches her 'Inalienable Right' that Rape, ipso facto, does. It is an idiotic Mind that believes the depraved Man would not impose himself sexually on a Woman even if she is in layers and layers of Clothing. 

This Male Abuse of the Woman's Right to choose what she wears and how she wears it is fundamental to how Men regard the Female's natural Right of/to Choice in all Aspects of Life. To sustain this Nonsense of how the Woman dresses as Invitation for/to her Violation - perhaps without knowing this is what they are doing - certain Writers make the Claim that sexual Perpetrators are not necessarily Predators because the majority of Rapists are known to their Victims. This is a false Distinction. Rapes do not happen by Accident. They are premeditated. Premeditation by/in itself is predatory. It is by/with Intention. By the Way, Men too are raped, by Men and Women. Does the Explanation for such Rape also reside in how these Men Victims were outfitted? 

I find the Nigerian contemporary Common-Intelligence amusing. I make the Distinction here with ‘Intellect’. ‘Intelligence’ is the Measure of One's Capability to learn whereas ‘Intellect’ is Innateness in One to reason dependent and/or independent of what One has learnt. I associate this contemporary Common-Intelligence with those who have attended higher Institutions of Learning, i.e., Universities, Polytechnics, and those who had not attended but function on the same Intelligence Plane. The Common-Intelligence is not restricted to the Nigerian Society, and is homogeneous only in Character. This Common-Intelligence, whichever Side it is espousing, picks up a Common Thread of Thinking but without questioning it with Intellect, perpetuates and propagates it. The whole of this Essay is actually exploring the different Forms of the Nigerian contemporary Common-Intelligence. 

For example, I was watching a Television Show hosted by Female Panellists the other Day. There arose Discussion on Kaduna State Assembly debating ‘Castration’ as Punishment for Rape. One of the Panellists referred to ‘Rape’ as “a psychological Crime.“ She echoed this as resultant from “psychological issues'' Perpetrators suffer from. In the first Instance if there is anything as ‘psychological Crime’ it would be in Reference to its Effect on Victims rather than Stimulus for Perpetrators. In the second Instance, the Notion that ‘Rape’ is the Consequence of psychological Disorientation of Perpetrators is quite pedestrian in Thought. Might reading George Kelly (1955)1 enable this Person and her kind of Sympathy good Understanding of how Human Beings make Choices? 

Another Panellist wanted to know whether when the Man's Thing grows strong it hurts because it is a Reason Rapists give and with which she could sympathize. One Man called in and denied the Man's Thing hurting when hard. That Man kind of lied in denying the Discomfort Men experience when ‘Mr Johnson' is aroused. While other Men might describe this as painful or whatever, some of us might rather see it as some sort of Tension. Yet another Panellist pitied the Guy reported to have buggered a young Boy in a communal Bathroom because his Thing hardened and he claimed he could not get Relief. Seriously Ladies, stop being fooled into wasting your Sympathies on these despicable Males. There is something called Masturbation if those Men could not afford to visit a Sex Worker or would rather not. 

Basically, all Human Actions, involuntary or voluntary, are psychologically oriented, negatively or positively. We respond to Stimuli. One might be tempted to challenge me that if Action is psychologically negative, that is, psychologically disoriented, then the Action could not be voluntary thus One cannot be blamed. Then, I would ask, ‘what is Voluntary Action’? Hold on to whatever Definition you have of ‘Voluntary Action’. Keep it in Mind as you review mine as follows: Voluntary Action is any Conduct - oral, physical, textual - a Person engages in that benefits that Person whether or not it is harmful to another Person irrespective of Stimuli. 

The Stimuli referred to in my Definition could comprise any Stimulus from Pleasure to Torture. Let us take the Rapist. You say s/he is psychologically disoriented. (1) Why did the Rapist not rape in Public View? Is it because s/he would be exposed to being caught and would thus have placed Burden on Himself? (2) Why has the Rapist begged, bribed or threatened the Victim not to report the Rape? Is this not clearly the Rapist not wishing to be caught and ergo bear the Consequences of the Harm(s) he recognizes he has caused? (3) Why did the Rapist not report himself to Law Enforcement Agencies after the Act? Of course, in reporting himself to Law Enforcement would the Rapist not be forfeiting the Benefits of the Rape? The Fact is that any Human Conduct seeks to maximize Benefits, in various and particularised Forms. In the Case of Criminal Conduct, the Intention is to maximise ill-gotten Benefits. 

A Man makes the conscious Decision to sexually penetrate a Woman without her Consent. He also takes the deliberate Option of terrorizing a Woman in the many Ways he does so that he can gratify himself by getting his Thing between her Thighs. It is a sick Man who forces himself in Penetration of a Woman because of the Way she is dressed (or penetrates her at all against her Wish). He is not sick in the sense that he needs medical Attention or psychological Evaluation. He is sick because he is inherently evil. Yet, the only Bulwark Nigeria’s Academia could come up with to protect female Students on Campuses is to dictate what these Women wear on Site in clear Contradiction of their Human Rights ordinarily, and their Legal Rights, implicit and explicit, in various Sections of the Nigerian Constitution as already noted above. 

The Evil of the Nigerian Sex Predator - all sexual Predators all over the World - should be met with the full Weight of Enlightenment, and the Modernity and the Liberalism of Contemporary Law. Nigerian Universities, severally and collectively, should devote unstinting Energy into persuading Nigerian Federal, and State Legislatures to enact 'Just Desserts' Legislation commensurate with the Rape of a Person (Female or Male). They should marshal Public Support, as necessary, into making this happen and into convincing the Sharia Courts to rise to the intellectual Requirements of the Modern World. Rape is Violence; physically and psychologically. 

While it is commendable that Administrators of Nigerian Universities would want to concern themselves with fighting Rape and Sexual intimidation on Campuses, it should not be at the Expense of Freedoms accorded Women by Natural Law, and which are emphasized in the Legal Rights of the Country’s Mode of Governance. The primary Function of Nigerian Universities, however, is to ensure that University Students are conversant with conversational English, at the least. In short, Nigerian Universities should cease preoccupying themselves with False Understanding of how to combat Rape on Campuses to the Detriment of female Students in skewed Proposition of what excites that Criminality. They should, instead, focus Attention on a Primary Responsibility of raising the English Language Grasp of their Students.

I remember in the 1970s when I got Admission from a University in the United States of America (US(A)) that part of my Admission Process was One Year learning of 'American English'. This Condition on me, as a Foreign Student, assumed that US Home Students would have undergone considerable Tutelage on (not ‘in’) that Language. Having apparently here praised US (‘American’) English and, by Implication, United Kingdom (UK) English, I hasten to add that the English of these Countries in deploying “concerning” as ‘Adjective’ in Expressions such as “it is concerning for me” is most uneducated English. ‘Concerning’ is a ‘Preposition’ and its Transformation into an ‘Adjective’  is quite kindergarten in Formulation. I have also heard expressions like “most strongest” or “most fondest” or “briefedly” from so-called Indigenous Speakers of the Language, i.e., the 'American’, the Australian, the British, and New Zealander. So, please disabuse your Minds from thinking that generally there is better English Language Grasp in the West. However, most bad English Speakers in the West do not have University Education. The operative Word here is “most.” I have not said that we do not have Degree Holders in the English-speaking West and of English-speaking Origin who do not use 'concerning' as an 'Adjective' or that they do not speak or write unpardonable English. Some do. 

Nigerian Universities could, at the least, ensure that Nigerian Education Authorities firmed up Comprehension of the English Language from the formative Years of Elementary/Primary schooling through to Secondary schooling. Nigerian Universities should deal with this as a relevant Issue instead of interfering with what Female Students should wear on Campus. The Aphorism of 'the Emperor is without Clothes' strikes as apt here. 

Endnote

1Kelly, G. A. (1955). The Psychology of Personal Constructs: Vol 1 and 2. New York: WW Norton. (A theory of Personality: Vol. 1 & Clinical Diagnosis and Psychotherapy: Vol. 2).

Ipemndoh dan Iyan PhM©

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18 July