Nigerians have been urged to continue to advocate for the end of Female Genital Mutilation in the country.
The wife of the former governor of Ondo State, Mrs Olukemi Mimiko gave the urge at the lauching of the Book title OGORIRE: Our Blood, their Blood ” in Abuja the nation’s capital.
She said that a better life and the improvement of the life of the girl child should also be prioritized.
“I am particularly happy to be in the midst of gentlemen and ladies to celebrate the success of this book. Like the director said it is not easy to write a book, even giving a speech. You know the number of sheets that you decide before you get the ultimate notes and have been privileged to have read the demo of this. And it is open books that I want to specially congratulate you for being the voice of us women particularly the ones yet on female genital mutilation,” she said.
According to her, “anywhere we see an advocate like Mr Kunle, I stand to celebrate him so please the message do not forget it. Is not just like ordinary books. It is not just a play. It is a content message that should be passed in every corner of our communities until this act is taught outright.
The writter of the Book OGORIRE Mr Kunle Awojemile who is a staff of the Federal Ministry of Environment, said that the book was an advocacy book on female genital mutilation to help eradicate the practice.
He also noted that the book also exposes the tradition around Female genital mutilation.
“The protagonist in the book shows us the medical conditions that can result from a female genital mutilation, such as services such as inverses battery frontier development of keloids for the girl child. So, this book is my little contribution to that advocacy to eradicate the harmful practice,” he explained.
Mr Awojemile said that launching of the book OGORIRE is to help publicise the book to the general public.
“It is a drama so it’s something that can captivate the audience and with that, we hope people will want to read it, not only to read it will hope to have it acted out on stages, after the luncheon, we are going into the next stage, which is to introduce it to secondary schools, introduces to youth Corps members, introduce it to the society generally. So that with reading of the book, definitely we are going to hit institution,” he said.
Partnership
He also noted that there was plan to partner with the Ministry of health and hospitals so that the book can be part of details that would be talked about at anti natals.
“Because we have found that that even with legislations, in some states, we have found that there is still a kind of medicalization of the practice in the sense that nurses are found to want to encourage old and new mothers to bring their their children for their daughters for circumcision, so by approaching it through that angle, we hope to be able to reach a lot of audience and be able to stop the practice,” Mr Awojemile said.
According to him, ” we hope to be able to reach a lot of audience and be able to stop the practice.
“we are looking at having it on Amazon. We are looking at having it on the indigenous platform for for ebooks, and we’re actually looking at other avenues. We’re looking at pushing it into Twitter, Facebook and other social media platform so that people will be interested in getting a copy or going to read the copy,” he stated.
A former Director, Federal Civil Service Commission, Mr Olowoofoyeku James Osuji said that there was the need to educate the practitioners of Female Genital Mutilation, FGM otherwise known as Female Genital Cutting, FGC on the dangers it portends.
Mr Osuji also noted that the circumcisers should be economically empowered to stop this dangerous practice.
He said efforts should also be made to use them as referrals to standard hospitals where mothers who believe in such can be educated on the dangers of FGM.
“It is necessary for us to take the important message of this book beyond here in order to stop this practice, i therefore commend the writer of this book for his initiative and for deeming it fit to organise this forum which is also an awareness and sensitization to educate the youth, family and the larger society on the dangers of FM,” he explained.
He said the survival of children especially the female child, their protection, growth to adulthood, education and overall general development should be the focus of all.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on everyone here present to join hands with government to stop this practice. It is capable of denying the female child their much deserved rights. It should therefore be discouraged in our society. I hope that the lessons learnt in this book will be put into practice to avail us the chance to achieve societal development,” he said.
The book; OGORIRE: OUR BLOOD, THEIR BOND would be added to other literatures available on Female Genital Mutilation, otherwise known as Female Genital Cutting, FGC.
Confidence Okwuchi
