THE GENERALIZATION FALLACY

Genevieve Nnaji MFR
@GenevieveNnaji1
They either abuse their power, or have the power to abuse. In or out of uniform, we live in constant fear of men. Tina Ezekwe. Vera Omozuwa. Rest In Peace my darlings. We will get justice.�� pic.twitter.com/e9c4ODcEri
https://mobile.twitter.com/GenevieveNnaji1/status/1267110627664896000?p=v

THE COUNTERARGUMENT

Rape against women, just like rape against men, is always a crime against humanity. No sane man condones rape because women are mothers, sisters and daughters of men. Nevertheless, in every society, there are psychopaths with twisted mind that go out of their ways to sexually abuse or violate women. Interestingly, many men have known to have been killed defending helpless women against attacks by rapists. Remarkably, in some cases women have known to have rented such men with twisted mind to rape other women to settle scores. So, the truth is rape is NOT a common pastime of all men but a social ill, a form of insanity and a punishable crime involving a few men.

Granted that there seems to be an epidemic of rape against women of different ages in Nigeria lately but the truth is that rape like murder, stealing and other such crimes have been in existence from time immemorial. As far as there is human society of composite genders, there will be social ills including rape. That's why we have the police, the court and the prison.

Crimes are integral part of human society and have continued to be inspite application of deterrent measures. For example, inspite of wave of public executions of convicted armed robbers in the 80s and 90s, armed robbery continues to take place till today. In spite of drastic measures taken by advanced countries to control rape, it still happens there. The reality is if far-reaching legislations and strict punitive actions have not eradicated rape even in those advanced countries, then mere social media advocacy and placard protests after each rape incident can not do much.

As in the fight against any other crimes, the expectations in the fight against rape are, first, it requires citizens to take personal safety precautions: If you don't protect your valuables, they are likely to be stolen. If you walk on lonely path at night, you are likely to be robbed. If you consider your body a precious thing, guard it jealously and wisely. Second, citizens should work with government through the security agencies as they provide protection and facilitate justice where rape has taken place. In line with this, victims and witnesses should make prompt reports to the police to enable immediate gathering of fresh evidence. Delay make conviction difficult. Forunately, one can proudly say that the courts in Nigeria have over the years given justice to many victims of rape.

In view of the foregoing, it is therefore illogical for Genevieve Nnaji to have employed infantile overgeneralization to portray Nigerian men as rapists on her official and verified Twitter account that is viewed globally in real time. This fallacious allusion is an unjustified show of negative emotion, which makes her sound like the biblical accuser of our brethren. This jaundiced statement can not and will not guarantee justice for Vera Omozuwa and other victims of rape including those raped by their fathers or uncles. What Genevieve did was to simply discolour the fight against rape and turn it to gender hate campaign.

Let's face it, men and women interact everyday in offices, markets, sportsgrounds, gyms, movie locations, buses and trains, religious gatherings, weddings, clubs, etc. If, according to Genevieve, women live in "constant fear of men", the deduction is that she is preaching gender physical segregation to ensure that women are safe from menacing men and their tendency to rape. However, gender segregation is impossible in civilized human society. So Genevieve is simply an alarmist. Her attempt to sow the seeds of misandry in our women will fail.

Let's assume that she may have been enraged when she wrote this comment but it still sounds like a product of poor thought process and bitter heart. Make no mistake about that, her being feminist, misandrous or a highly successful actress do not excuse her because the eternal fact remains that all men are not rapists.

Imagine how Genevieve would react if a male celebrity wrote that whether married or not, women have constant tendency to cheat on their partners. I am sure Genevieve would protest the generalization.

As the Governor of Edo State has made a solemn promise and IGP of Nigerian Police has assured, Nigerians in unison are hoping that the 'animals' that raped and murdered Vera Omozuwa will be caught and made to face justice.

May the souls of Miss Vera Uwaila Omozuwa and other victims of rape rest in peace.