A CALL TO COMMUNITY ACCOUNTABILITY: Justice for Ochanya #justiceforochanya

 


📷: Citizen news

Since Ochanya's case started trending, I refused to search out why it was trending again.  

Honestly I just wanted to DETACH. It was my only way of clinging onto sanity a world not designed for half the population of the world who look like me. 

These days I find myself scrolling past hashtags or pretending not to see. DETACHING.

I even stopped reading the news unless they pop up on my feed because, like James Baldwin said "To be relatively conscious is to be in rage almost all the time".

I was in rage, I was drained. 

...but the news kept popping on my timeline, almost as if she was forcing me to see her. 

And honestly, the question that plagued me was "WHERE WERE WE IN ALL THESE?"

It made me realise how grossly insufficient & convenient my activism is. 

It also made me realise how class privilege has elevated my position in life above that of many women and girls.

I'm not rich, but at the same time, I'm not poor. I didn't come from a poor background, my parents never had to rely on anyone to pay the school fees of their children. I am educated, a loud feminist and a lawyer. 

I cannot tell you how much trouble merely identifying as a feminist and a LAWYER has saved me. People, predatory people backpedal and double take when they hear that.

While I could enjoy some privileges class had to offer and detach from the world around me to maintain my sanity, millions of women and girls out there cannot simply detach from their LIVED REALITY...

They live with it...

Ochanya couldn't detach. She lived with her rapists. She needed their food and clothing to survive because her parents couldn't afford it.

SHE COULDN'T DETACH LIKE ME & MANY OF US because sexism and poverty INTERSECTED and made her situation a lotttt worse than that of many of us who never had to live off the grace of relatives because our parents are too poor to meet their financial obligations towards us. 

...but there are many LIVING OCHANYA'S today begging to be seen and heard, hoping that neighbours will intervene.

Stop saying things like "It is a family affair".

ABUSE IS NOT A FAMILY AFFAIR, IT IS A CRIME! 🩸🩸

About 5 weeks ago, someone reported a mother for child neglect to FIDA where I volunteer as a lawyer. I was so glad to see that COMMUNITY VIGILANCE was still alive in Nigeria.

And no, the parents didn't even know who reported, we just showed up and picked the child and placed him in alternative care. The mother in turn might face charges.

The point I'm making is, let's not get too comfortable seeking justice for dead girls, or using trending hashtags when there are manyyyy LIVING OCHANYA'S everywhere begging with their eyes that we help them.  

Let's stop throwing our face away, detaching from reality or choosing not to see what needs to be seen & heard. 

Bring back COMMUNITY VIGILANCE in your homes, neighbourhood, schools, churches, mosques, everywhere!

Ochanya didn't start leaking urine suddenly. She was depressed, came to school sick, and withdrew. Her cry for help was there and many around- teachers, friends, classmates, neighbours, sunday school teachers etc chose not to see. 

It is not only that family that failed her, WE ALL, IN OUR SILENCE FAILED HER whether directly or indirectly.

We failed her when we did not speak up for those who do not have voice. We failed her when we joke about GBV

So this is a call to hold yourself accountable. 

If you know someone in this situation- an abused man, woman, child, anyone, PLS SAY SOMETHING. Don't increase the volume of your music to drown out their cry for help. 

Spend your little credit/data to report!

Help the victims document the abuse! Record it! Encourage them to seek help.

Search online, there are NGOs everywhere in your community. Start from there. Don't say you don't know what to do. 

Use your Google and type 🔎 'CHILD RIGHT ORGANISATION IN (MY) STATE' and you will see their numbers, Gmail, address, everything. 

There is FIDA in every state in Nigeria! There are thousands of NGOs and police stations. The neighbours can even storm that house and demand why there are constant cries there. 

Abuse is not a family affair, IT SHOULD MATTER TO YOU🫵🫵🫵.

Let's not let another child die under our watch- another Ochanya, another Osinachi.

Let's not wait until they become hashtags before we speak up. DON'T BE COMPLICIT IN YOUR SILENCE!

IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING!

This is me holding myself accountable and holding us all accountable. We should ask ourselves:-

"WHERE ARE WE IN ALL THESE?"

"WHERE WERE WE ALL WHEN ALL THESE WERE HAPPENING?"


#JusticeForVictims #JusticeforOchanya #EndGBVTogether #endfemicideinnigeria #CommunityVigilance 



Feel free to like, comment share. Any topic you want us to talk about, kindly comment.


                            - Dogo Joy Njeb Esq.


DOGO JOY NJEB Esq is a practicing lawyer and founder of SheResonance Awareness. She has worked with Legal Aid Council Nigeria and is a member of Federation of Female lawyers on Nigeria where she renders pro bono services to indigent persons. She is a private practitioner, a writer and an aspiring author. For any questions, contact her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, tiktok, x, or send a mail to sheresonance@gmail.com


SheResonance is focused on grassroot activism. We lend our voices to women whose voices are stifled. We break down complex issues of GBV into easily digestible form from a legal perspective. At SheResonance we practices intersectional feminism. If one women is in chains, for her sake the fight should continue. Every story deserves to be heard!

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