I would let this be, had it happened at a different time, but this is one too many rape accusations. They say injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere; keeping quiet about it just because we are not victims is tantamount to accepting the act and being accomplices to it.

Few days back, an actress, Shola Fapson accused a Taxify driver of kidnap and rape. Her own story however, had nothing close to an intention to rape in it. Rape is defined by dictionary.com as: "unlawful sexual intercourse or any other sexual penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person, with or without force, by a sex organ, other body part, or foreign object, without the consent of the victim."

Going by the above definition, even an attempt to rape isn't sufficient to call anyone a rapist; just as someone who takes up a weapon in a fight can't be called a murderer till they commit murder. The weight of her allegations is worrisome, even more troubling when one considers that she is a self acclaimed Criminologist who should know better. Rape is not a word that was hitherto used carelessly, it was rarely and responsibly used but its growing reckless use by regular people and encouraged by socialites as a trend, is a threat to everyone.

It threatens everyone because every man is now at risk of being labeled rapist; including us, our fathers, our brothers, our friends, our colleagues, our leaders, etc. It threatens everyone because abusing the word "rape" trivializes the act and put women at risk of being overlooked when the genuine victims go public with their ordeals. When rape stories make the news, we ought to be furious and take it seriously, and not treat it as a normal thing - subconsciously. I understand that many ladies come face-to-face with sexual assault and other forms of threats on a daily basis, hence the reason why many feel obliged to lend a voice against it in any form - I really empathize. However, what we all need in the end is a more secure society, and we can't have it if the "media court" pronounce negative judgment on any man accused of rape, we can't win the war if we create the impression that the only logical thing for a man to do when he is threatened by rape accusation is to silence the supposed victim before it makes the news. By guaranteeing the safety of the accuser and the accused in a criminal matter till both side explain well enough, we protect other victims, we protect ourselves too. We want to encourage more victims to come out of the closet, but we also need to make people know that false accusations won't be condoned.

I know very little about Shola Fapson, but her indiscriminate strong words in virtually every statement captured by the media so far, oozes arrogance and of course recklessness. Going by this first impression and her story, as well as the story of the accused and defamed driver, gives me a summary of the root of their ugly encounter. Simply put, she booked the taxi for a ride and - whether or not she wanted to ride without giving destination or the driver tried to do the job off records - she spoke in a manner that didn't sit well with the ego of the driver. They both wanted to prove to each other that they were more stubborn than the other, and the rest is history. Shola woke up the next morning not satisfied after exhausting all her physical defense tactics over the night, coupled with her close attachment to social media, decided to take her rival to the gutters once and for all - using her popularity online. There wouldn't have been a confrontation in the first place if it was a regular taxi, because it would have been easier to intimidate them due to their lower financial power and higher level of tolerance. Fortunately/unfortunately most drivers on the new online cab services use cars worth over a million naira, are less tolerant and quick to want to prove that they are not desperate.

For a girl that has "Part time crazy lady" on her Instagram Bio, I'm not surprised that despite briefly blinding a taxi driver who she has so far not shown any evidence of bodily injuries he inflicted, goes on to rain curses on people who didn't buy into her story of the incident on social media. Good thing they seem to be heading to court, I hope they find justice and they keep us posted. Until then, "I hope that with these few points of mine, I have been able to convince you and not confuse you that the word "rape" should not be used without caution".

Good points.

What a pity, the word "rape" as been utterly abused beyond human reasoning.

May the good God help we men honestly, thank Goodness he's alive to say his own side of the story