Chief Olusegun Runsewe, Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), has commended Governors Nasir El-Rufai and Kayode Fayemi for their fight against rape and gender-based violence in the country.
In a statement on Thursday in Lagos, Runsewe said that the rising cases of rape and gender-based violence in Nigeria was worrisome.
He said this was fast becoming another form of pandemic.
Runsewe noted that the stand of Gov. Fayemi to deny culprits of rape the prerogative of mercy, plea bargain and bail would go a long way in checking the menace of rape.
He described as commendable Fayemi’s determination to take the campaign against rape to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum for adoption.
Similarly, Runsewe lauded Gov. El-Rufai for enacting a law that provides life imprisonment for anyone who was convicted of rape of a minor and 21 years imprisonment for rape of an adult.
The NCAC Director General called on all well-meaning Nigerians to join hands and speak out against social vices.
“I’m encouraged that NCAC has partners in eminent Nigerians like Governors El-Rufai and Fayemi in the efforts to revive our cultural values,” he said.
Runsewe blamed the moral decay on the deterioration of nation’s cultural values, noting that steps needed to be urgently taken to put the nation on the path of morality.
He noted with regrets that youths and even adults now indulged in other ungodly behaviours like violation of children, transgenderism, homosexualism, amongst others.
Runsewe said that it was cruel and abominable for a man to rape a three month-old-baby or for a father to rape, impregnate and carry out abortion on his biological daughter three consecutive times.
He said that, unfortunately, these evil acts were also being perpetrated by some religious leaders and institutions of learning where values and morals were expected to be inculcated in the youth.
“Rape and other forms of sexual assaults are evil and criminal, they are plans from the pit of hell to destroy our children and pervert our society.
“The rising cases of rape and sexual-based violence have become a national emergency and must be stamped out of our society,” he said.
