All seemed not to be fine with many Nigerian young parents at the moment as community leaders in various parts of the country insisted on the old practice of female child genital mutilation.
The practice, which has been outlawed in many developed countries of the world, suffered setbacks in its implementation in Nigeria as community and spiritual leaders went ahead in support of the practice despite global advocacy against it.
In Saki, Oyo State, Nigeria, for instance, it is a serious traditional offence when a female child’s genitals are not mutilated. The age-long practice, according to Pa Gabriel Ayandeji, is part of the traditions of almost every community in Nigeria. He noted that such sacred traditions are preserved for generations to come.
“Any female child whose parents refused that her genital should be mutilated is not accepted in our communities, and no man will go near her for marriage in the future,” the elderly man said.
Pa Gabriel went further to say that female children whose genitals are not mutilated are seen as bad girls who can never do well in marriages.
Speaking in the same vein, a respected community leader in Saki Alubata, Chief Matthew Ayandeji, expressed sadness over the call against female child genital mutilation, stressing that it’s an abomination for a female child’s genitals not to be mutilated; therefore, any parents opposed to the practice will be treated badly in line with the traditions and customs of the land.
He said that the decision, which is binding on all natives, cannot be reversed even by the Nigerian government, as it was in place and practised by the people before Nigeria’s independence on October 1st, 1960.
Meanwhile, the fight in support of female child genital mutilation by Nigerian traditional and community leaders has recently assumed a new dimension as one of the feared and respected community leaders in Saki Alubata Community, Saki West Local Government, Oyo State, Chief James Oke directed his sons to divorce their wives who refused the mutilation of their daughters’ genitals.
The directive, unfortunately, has thrown Chief Ayandeji’s family into crisis.
When contacted on the reason he is in support of female child genital mutilation, Chief Matthew declared that he is not going to abandon the tradition and customs of his ancestors; hence, his male sons must be part of that tradition and customs that have kept them in life. He warned that any of his sons who failed to abide by his directives would be cursed.
However, attempts made by our reporter to speak to one of the sons of Chief Gabriel Ajandeji, whose wife and daughter have been listed for a curse in line with the tradition and customs of his people, failed as he was reported to have fled the shores of Nigeria for the safety of himself and his family.