[b]ADEGBOYEGA ADENEKAN: BETWEEN PROFESSIONALISM AND SENSATIONALISM: HOW DO WE GET JUSTICE FOR THE CHILD AND SOCIETY AT LARGE?
 February 14, 2018  Taiwo Akinlami

I have followed with keen interest since its inception the accusations levied against the above-named teacher and I think I owe my conscience, the precious African Child and the society at large a very urgent duty to share my professional view on same.

That our precious children are under the siege of child sexual abuse today like never before is visible to the blind and audible to the deaf.

That I have spent the last 2 decades of my life defending the rights and protection of our precious children, even when it was not popular to do so speaks for itself for those who have followed my work.

That all hands of every men and women of conscience must tirelessly be at work to prevent and protect our precious children, must become a noble anthem in our daily existence must not be ignored for another second.

I am for the precious African child till the end of my day, but more importantly, I am for JUSTICE…The purpose of Justice is to create a just society for all…It is my honest opinion that it is only in a just society that the rights of our precious children can find expression. It is therefore my submission that anyone who is for the interest of the child must first be for justice…

I have read reports that have been circulating the picture of the accused as a rapist. I do not think it is right. Under our criminal justice system, an accused before the court is considered innocent until proven guilty and convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction…I think hastily going ahead to convict a man, who is still standing trial before a court of Justice in the court of Social Media is to say that least unjust, unprofessional and sensational.

I do not think this helps the cause of the child for protection in any way… While I believe in Naming and Shaming, I do not believe or accept a kangaroo approach to same. Since we have not been constituted as a court, we can only name and shame a person, who has been convicted by the court.

This approach of taking the laws into our hands because we have access to the Social Media destroys the fabrics of our society and fan the dangerous ember of disorder and chaos…It is not in anyway a good example to our precious children.

Though, I lost my virginity and the essence of my sexuality and innocence at the tender age of 6 and was thereafter thoroughly messed up, God has helped me not to harbour anger and hatred against my abuser and my caregivers, who created the loophole. They were also victims, who need help.

While I agree that abusers must face the full wrath of the law and salute the noble efforts of the Lagos State Government in leading a revolution in this area, it is my well considered opinion that the ultimate solution to the protection of our precious children from all forms of abuse does not ONLY lie in the hand of the justice system.

By the time we are approaching the justice system, a child is already abused. I do not think there is any punishment meted to a convicted abuser that can bring spiritual, physical, emotional and medical remedy to the child…Why? A child is not created for any form of abuse…

Therefore he/she must be protected by every means necessary from all forms of abuse.

That is why I have been interested in the principle that ENLIGHTENMENT is Superior to ENFORCEMENT™. Enlightenment requires an holistic approach to solving the problem of child abuse like every other social problem…I have taken time to share my views on the foregoing and I will skip it as discussion for another day.

I think I should rest my case here as I call for a higher level of activism and maturity in our representation of the best interest of the child. We don’t need SENSATIONALISM to make the case for the protection of our precious children. We only need GOOD CONSCIENCE, CONSISTENCY, the RIGHT NARRATIVE and STRATEGY and BEST and GLOBALLY COMPLIANT PRACTICES.

Please, if you believe in this message I urge you to share. Thank you and do have an INSPIRED day.

Yours IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE PRECIOUS AFRICAN CHILDREN,

Taiwo ‘ODINAKACHUKWU’ AKINLAMI (The Preacher)[/b][font=Lucida Sans Unicode][/font][color=#990000][/color]
T: 2348033620843, 08056979605 W: http://www.taiwoakinlami.com B: http://www.taiwoakinlamiblog.com T: @taiwoakinlami