As I sat down pondering over what to write this week, my mind began to capture some of my recent posts on topical issues of national interest.

As I maintained absolute silence in my small study room, with my only partner (radio), turned off in anticipation of bright ideas to flash in, I began to recall that I had written on virtually all the current issues of public interest.

So, what is it that is news-worthy which I've not written about, I began to ask myself. I continued to importune myself with these thoughts as if there was something at stake, or I was trying to beat a deadline.

This I did till I became absent-minded, as I was engrossed in deep meditation due to several thoughts that ran riots in my mind.

As I regained placidity (so to speak), I took a trip down memory lane and began to revisit (mentally), some of the old stories I did some years ago on Facebook, particularly those on human angle.

So, while mentally glancing through some of these old posts, I came across a particular one that actually ignited my interest. And like I earlier stated, this post was written over five years ago!

A semi-literate friend of mine on Facebook had come hard on me, and furiously challenged what he described as my "big grammar" in my write-ups. He did this without one iota of courtesy or decorum, as if we were quarrelling.

The word which angered this fellow whom I suspected to be having early symptoms of schizophrenia, was a figure of speech (onomatopoeia), which I used as a reference in one of my articles.

Sorely irked by what he probably thought was my own coinage, a piece of solecism or arrogant linguistic showmanship, this friend queried; "Uba, which one is onomatopoeia again?"

He observed that he has been following my write-ups religiously, but later got disenchanted with my inveterate penchant for bombastic words, coupled with my provocative propensity to show-case my literary skills, only to end up confusing people.

In order not to offend the sensibilities of the esteemed readers of this article, I've decided to jettison a barrage of the language of a guttersnipe which he hauled at me with reckless abandon, while venting his spleen over my style of writing.

I guess one would be curious to know my reaction after going through such unprovoked vituperative outbursts.

Well, my response was simple. I merely replied "Thank you, and God bless you." That was all, as I reasoned that I was most likely dealing with someone who wasn't quite mentally stable, hence the futility of joining issues with him.

However, I feel immensely encouraged by the preponderant majority of my friends, who have continued to cherish my style of writing. In fact some of them address me as Prof, even when many of them know that I'm not. 

Be that as it may, I wish to seize this opportunity to appeal to those great friends of mine, who usually find my grammar a little bit difficult to disentangle or construe, to kindly bear with me.

Writing, as we all know, is an art, just like dancing, singing and the rest of them. Everyone has his/her own unique style which is very difficult to change. 

And like a popular dictum which says that one does not learn the use of left hand at old age. The English version of this idiomatic expression states that, "It is fruitless to attempt to indoctrinate a superannuated canine with innovative maneuvers."

Your reaction to this personal experience which I've shared with you, would be highly appreciated.

Ordinarily, I don't engage in this kind of discussion that relates to the above topic, as I usually shy away from it. 

But in tandem with a popular Igbo aphorism which says that "An elder does not stay at home and watch the she-goat deliver while tethered," I feel constrained to put pen to paper on the above subject matter.

Over the years, the issue of rape in this country has become a recurring decimal, and assumed such frightening and unacceptable dimensions.

The most worrisome is that even some highly respected members of the society, are equally involved in this execrable act of devilry.

Presently, the print, electronic, and social media have been awash with the bizarre story of a man in Warri (Delta State), who parades himself as a "Bishop," that raped one of his church members (a 19-year-old girl).

The culprit, Bishop Elijah Orhonigbe who is the Founder and General Overseer of the Victory Revival Fasting & Prayer Ministry, was said to have told the mother of the victim (name withheld), that he had a dream that death was hovering over her family.

He went further to state, that for peace to reign and  such catastrophic consequences averted, she should bring her daughter for deliverance.

Narrating her ordeal, the victim stated that the cleric told her that she slept with an Internet fraudster (Yahoo-Yahoo Boy), who cleaned her up with a handkerchief, with an intention to use her for a ritual.

Continuing, she disclosed that the cleric gave her olive oil to drink, and some to insert into her private part. 

Thereafter, she was asked to strip naked and lye face down on a mat, after which the cleric started having sex with her through the back. Chei! Someone who calls himself a Bishop?

Presently, the cleric who is cooling off his heels in the police cell in the oil-rich city, has denied everything as mere allegations, claiming that the lady came for deliverance which he ministered to her.

Wondering aloud, what is it that could be more atrocious and abominable, than a dog eating the bones that were hung on its neck (as Ndigbo would say).

While "Bishop" Orhonigbe may not be the first among his fellow self-ordained pastors that had committed such despicable anathema, one begins to wonder, what has actually come over our present generation.

It sounds rather paradoxical, that with the present proliferation of churches in every nook and cranny in this country, with  commensurate influx of converts, the crime wave has continued to rise in geometric progression.

In one of the live audience participatory programmes on a popular Radio station in the South-East, during which the issue of rape was discussed, I had advocated that any person found guilty of this heinous crime by any court of competent jurisdiction, should be made to undergo an orchidectomy (call it castration, if you like).

During this interactive programme which was aired some years ago, some callers had recommended life imprisonment with hard labour, while others advocated death by hanging. I wonder which of these recommendations that has been implemented, ever since then.

Most unfortunately, these rapists seem to have no particular targets, as they rape even the toddlers, minors, adults, the elderly, including the mentally deranged!

Even the aged with their characteristic debilitating health conditions are not spared, as octogenarians had been reported to have been raped as well!

Some critical observers have disclosed that most of these cases of rape are not committed for mere pleasure, but for high-profile ritual purposes, which could serve as an alternative to using human blood.

Since it is said that desperate situations call for desperate measures, it then behoves on the government to be courageous enough to implement any of the above recommendations.

This will definitely go a long way in preserving the dignity of the womenfolk, and save them from further barbarism, vulnerability and dehumanization.

The picture below shows the monstrous images of some of the convicted rapists, though their jail terms weren't specified.

(Bishop Orhonigbe's picture deliberately omitted here).