THE WOES OF A NIGERIAN SCHOOL GIRL.

THE WOES OF A NIGERIAN SCHOOL GIRL.

An average Nigerian girl is faced with many problems. Apart from family issues which is undeniably number one factor militating against an average girl child in Nigeria, there are also societal factors that deals a daunting blow. All these are parts of the problems that a young Nigerian girl will most likely face. 

The girl and her friend, standing on the road during school hours in Ibadan, Nigeria.

The girl, she was engrossed in her conversation with the man.

A picture shot of the girl from behind.

Last week, I was on my way to somewhere in Ibadan (Oyo State, Nigeria) around 11AM. On the way to my destination, I saw a parked jeep beside the road and a man in his late forties was behind the wheel and standing at the driver’s side of the car was a teenage school girl in her school uniform. Her friend was standing several paces away from the vehicle, the man and her friend. From the way she stood, I could tell that she was uncomfortable and afraid to be seen at that time of the day, standing on the road.

So I decided to wait and watch what was going on.

The driver and the girl continued to talk and each time that the girl made an attempt to leave, the man would call her back, partly cajoling and partly threateningly. While I was watching all these dramas, I fished out my phone and began to cautiously take some pictures. I took several pictures of them but I’m afraid that they were taken from the rear of the vehicle.

I heard parts of their conversation where the man was asking the girl if she had a phone and she said yes. They exchanged numbers and as if that was not enough, the man gave her his address and asked when she would visit him. The girl too blushed (or pretended to blush, who can say?) and said she didn’t think she could go to his house.

Then the game began.

The man began to persuade and entice her with different things that he would give her if she comes to his house. The girl kept saying no, it was obvious she was enjoying herself but her friend that was standing afar off didn’t find all these funny at all, she kept calling her so that they could go back to school. By that time, the sun too had begun shining, up to scorching level. Yet these two love birds kept at it.

Finally, I left them at it and went my way because I was due to have a class by 12 and I have been standing there listening to them, pretending to be hailing a cab for more than twenty minutes. Finally, I hailed the first cab to come around and left them.

When I was going in the cab, I kept thinking about the girl and the man. I knew that the girl was from an average family or even a poor family because she was attending a public school and the uniform that she wore was patched up in one or two places. The sandals have been operated on several with the way they looked dusted and about to disengage from her feet.

Yet, the man in the jeep-whoever he was not ashamed of holding her down by the expressway, asking her to come to his house. I know that the man could just be a driver, yet it is still wrong that he could do that with the girl. It is shameless people like him who are responsible for teenage pregnancies in the country and by direct implication, overpopulation.
While the country is still languishing in mass poverty, insecurity, under development and natural disasters, some set of individuals are still nonchalant about the lives and wellbeing of these teenagers, instead they are fornicating with these innocent children.

Yes, some of these kids may not really be innocent after all, but that does not justify what some of these shameless adults do to them.

Therefore, there are roles to play for the parents, teachers, and concerned individuals in the society.

Parents should take adequate care of their children by providing everything they need at school; uniforms, books, food and pocket money so that they will be able to resist temptation when it arises. Temptation will always come, even for adults, and one may fall into it if that person lacks something that the temptation is offering. While it is easier for an adult to overlook it, it is always too tempting for teenagers who see these things as opportunities and unless they are given these things at home, they grab it with both hands.

Teachers too should be responsible for this ill. For instance, where were the teachers of these girls when they left the school? It is true that the teachers cannot monitor all the students at the same time, yet, it is their duty to make sure that all students are accounted for. If the teachers are responsible enough and diligent enough in the discharge of their duties, the level of truancy and waywardness in public primary and secondary schools will be minimal.

Religious leaders and religious institutions also have a role to play here. Nigeria boasts the largest number of churches and mosques in the world. It is like a competition between the two leading religions (Christianity and Islamic religions). They are prominent on every street and avenues. The sounds from these religious bodies could be heard from far and wide.

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Therefore, with the influence of these religious bodies, these girls could be made to understand the negative effects of their actions and teenage discrepancies. Mosques and churches should not just preach morality from their high altars, instead, they should practically get involve by providing aids and supports to students whose families are too poor to provide their basic educational means. Giving exercise and textbooks and money will go a long way in keeping these teenage girls ion school and off the streets.