Nigeria’s disturbing epidemic of rape and sexual abuse on screen — Guardian Arts — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

One issue that has been gradually torn apart, the moral structures of society, is sexual abuse. This violence or exploitation of the female species, mainly children, is present in every country and in all segments. It has become so endemic that many have practically developed silence as a weapon to humiliate ‘battered women’.

According to available studies, children entering adolescence are at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation. To make matters worse, adolescents who come into contact with the legal system are often denied the protections they were entitled to as children.

According to the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), millions of girls and boys around the world face sexual abuse and exploitation every year.

At least 120 million girls under the age of 20 — about one in 10 — have been forced into sex or other sexual acts, though the true number is likely much higher, the agency noted. About 90 percent of adolescent girls who report forced sex say their first perpetrator was someone they knew, usually a boyfriend or husband. But many survivors of sexual violence, including millions of boys, never tell anyone.

However, many have said that sociologists, social scientists, religious institutions and social workers, the state and society in general, need to be much more aware of the seriousness of the problem. “We should not bury our heads in the sand, because even our children, loved ones and neighbors can become victims!” said one anonymous respondent to the problem.

The head of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said the state recorded 6,389 cases of sexual and gender-based violence last year. Vivour-Adeniyi, who was represented by Joke Ladenegan Ogini, said this during the screening of Ajaga, which was held at the Siverbird Cinemas in Lagos.

That is what Adenike Odubawo did in the religious film Ajaga, which will be shown in cinemas across Ghana from September 6.

Featuring a mix of new and old artists such as Femi Jacobs, Tope Olowoniyan, Carol King, Jaiye Kuti, Tomiwa Sage, Lola Smart, Tory Thompson, Francis Onwochei and Adenike Odubawo, who also serves as producer, the film is a response to a series of scandals that have turned religious grounds into a new ‘sanctuary’ for evil.

The film was shot on location in Lekki, Lagos and is a story that everyone can relate to. The film explores manipulation, abuse and exploitation in the house of God.

In the film directed by Remi Ibinola, Pastor David (Femi Jacobs) and Bolusefe (Adenike Odubawo), founders of the True Heart Christian Assembly, are the eyes of the camera through which the audience sees the film. They are childless, but despite their best efforts and prayers, no child comes, which leads to their decision to adopt babies. They eventually take in two young girls.

The contradiction in their characters as Daddy and Mummy GO is the defining spirit of the film. While Bolusefe continues her work as a prominent advocate against domestic and sexual violence, her husband is a perpetrator of sexual violence, whose phallic ego leads him to his downfall.

Odubawo said she was inspired to write the story by her undying desire to answer the question of why some men of God, regardless of their faith or religion, do not take responsibility for their transgressions, such as sexual abuse.

“Ajaga is much more than a movie for me. It is a story that reflects the struggles of the women behind Men of God. It is a very relatable story because it is not the first time globally that we hear about our religious leaders, regardless of their faith. Whenever I see a revelation about pastors, I tell myself that I would give anything to be a fly on the wall of their house. I want to see the house, what it looks like and how the woman takes it because we don’t hear her side of the story. Is she okay with her husband? Is she happy with the details? Does she take his side? Is she on the side of the victims? So I decided to answer that by writing the story. And I decided that it was not going to be a redemption story,” Odubawo revealed.

Of the filming experience, she noted that “it was an ‘Ajaga’ (burden) in the sense of everything. There was a day when we were filming the church scenes and there was a fire. I asked how we would pay if we burned this building down. It was tough.”

On the challenges of being a producer and lead actor, Odubawo said: “It was tough because the story is quite delicate and we were shooting on a large scale. It’s a big project. To handle that and switch to a lead actor was quite a challenge, but it’s all thanks to my director, who gave me a soft landing. She always gave me a sign and told me to switch from producer to actor. It was smooth sailing.”

Ibinola initially assumed Odubawo was joking when she was asked to direct the film. “She approached me and said I had a script that I wanted you to direct. I tried to get her to leave because I felt like she was one of the people who was wasting my time, but it turned out she was serious. She wanted me to direct because she felt a woman’s perspective would be better, and I’m happy with the result.”

Supervising producer Adeyemi Olanrewaju said that Ajaga is a story about domestic violence, sexual abuse, which any right-minded person in the society will be concerned about. He stated that it is important that “we look at the story from the perspective of the woman who is really affected by it and see the pain that she goes through. We loved telling the story when most victims are usually intimidated. This can be because the perpetrators are leaders in the society or well-meaning and high-ranking people in the society who feel untouchable.”

He added: “Women are the ones most affected by domestic violence and sexual abuse: Most of the time, the perpetrators walk around as if nothing happened. Some men also make excuses for them. We need to look at the issue from the point of view of the woman affected, the pain and all that she is going through. We felt it was right to tell the story, especially because most of the victims are usually intimidated because the perpetrators are leaders or well-placed people who feel untouchable. We felt we had to tell a story that everyone can relate to, especially with regard to clergy who enable most people. People love clergy; they revere them and believe that they are infallible, but we are human first and then men/women of God.”

“But when it comes to religious circles, people are afraid to talk about it. People put up tents because they love and revere the man of God so much and he can do no wrong. First of all, they are human beings before they became men of God. Men are fallible, it was not that we were looking at someone else, but we just felt that many more people could relate to it. We had to look at it from the point of view of the pastor’s wife, because usually no one hears the state of mind of the woman, they usually keep quiet because they want to protect their husbands, their family and the church,” he added.

Ajaga is a must-see film.