CITIZEN ARINOLA, BABY ANEELA AND BEASTS OF TWO NATIONS BY STEVE AYORINDE

Steve Ayorinde

To those moved by human interest stories, two incidents have dominated the news, particularly on social media, in the last few days – the Nigerian rapist who blames the devil and the Ugandan nanny  who exemplifies the most wicked act of savagery. As horrifying as both are, however, they provide an opportunity to revisit and speak loudly against two dangerous trends still plaguing Africa – rape and child abuse. The story of Daniel Okereke, a businessman whose only identifiable asset is his familial

Daniel Okereke

relationship with two well-known women, is particularly befuddling. He had met Arinola, an undergraduate of the University of Lagos, on social media and struck friendship. He decided to pay her a visit on campus when she heard that she was ill. You would think it was a gentleman that offered to take the 22-year-old lady to the pharmacy, picked her bills, bought her lunch and persuaded her to rest in his Maryland, Lagos apartment before returning to campus. But the beast in him appeared as soon as they got home when he allegedly demanded sex. It didn’t matter if the lady was ill and had taken neither her food nor the medications. If it won’t be given freely, the ‘Beast of Maryland’ was ready to have his way forcibly, even threatening her with a knife. It could not have been a novice or accidental rapist who had the poor lady allegedly tied to the bed with the assistance of his guards while violating her. But in a spectacular show of valour, Arinola decided to fight back, believing that if justice would be difficult to get from the Police, she would at least inflict maximum damage on a brute that didn’t know how to build a relationship with a female acquaintance. She then went for the broke, destroying her assaulter’s chandelier and smashed nearly every object in sight until one of the flying saucers, courtesy of her justified fury, hit a neighbour’s car in the compound. With outsiders involved, Citizen Arinola was ready to tell her story. And she got her family’s support to press charges. Okereke, who is related to the former Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Ndudi Okereke-Onyiuke and a popular actress, Stephanie Okereke, (who has commendably come out to condemn the dastardly act), blames the devil for his action, but it is unlikely that the officers at the Area F Police Command would be swayed by such a convenient lie. But the story from Uganda was even more heart-rending, made moreso by the video recording that captured the extremely gruesome act of violence on a toddler by her 22-yaer-old nanny. I have had reasons to write about issues affecting children in the past, from the Akwa Ibom’s ‘child witches’ to the Southern African sexual assault video of an 11-year-old girl on a three-year-old boy. But neither compares to the horror that the Ugandan nanny inflicted on a hapless baby in her care. Courtesy of a video from a hidden security camera at home, which the father uploaded on youtube to warn parents about the menace of housemaids, the world saw the most harrowing, heartless and despicable act of wickedness a baby can be subjected to. We saw a beautiful Aneela Kamanzi, being fed by a nanny that had neither patience nor care to attend to her needs. For hesitating to take the food, she received about three hard slaps and punches on the mouth. Unable to take in the food at the speed and rough manner she was being fed, baby Aneela threw up desperately. The nanny’s response, after a few seconds of evil ponder, was

Baby Aneela with parents

heartlessness beyond belief. She flung the baby off the seat, and got her crashing face down on the tiled floor. It was at that point that the spirit of the brutal Ugandan president, late Idi Amin Dada, must have descended on the nanny. She grabbed a rechargeable torchlight and clobbered the baby’s bum several times. Not done, she then stomped on her twice, her whole 22-year-old stocky weight on top of the baby as though she intended to break her spinal cord. You must be courageous to watch this gripping video in full. Many did tearfully. I have heard people applaud the counter assault the nanny has received from Aneela’s father. The rage and revenge are understandable. A wicked soul like the Ugandan nanny deserves more than being confined to a wheelchair as a result of physical harm meted on her. Such people, whether plain wicked or certified insane, do not deserve to be let loose around minors let alone entrust with childcare. And yes, she should not just be tried for torture, but attempted murder as well. However, like Arinola, we should salute the courage of Aneela’s parents to speak out and use their baby’s experience to draw Africa’s attention to an unrelenting kind of savagery that requires urgent, affirmative action. Neither of the victims in these two November horror tales deserves blame, in spite of the circumstances that may tempt us to question the judgement of Arinola in following a stranger home and Aneela’s parents that left a toddler with a housemaid they apparently didn’t conduct due diligence on. It is gladdening that both victims survived the ordeal. Like rape, torture against minors demand that we speak up and seek justice. Installing security cameras at homes may just be one of the effective ways to curtail the evil of domestic servants in whose care the working class is now forced to entrust its home and ward.