POSTED BY OPEYEMI SOYOYE ON AUGUST 6, 2022

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has called on Nigerian parents to appeal to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to call off their lingering strike.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Keyamo stated that the government had done its best and appealed to parents whose wards are affected by the ongoing strike to beg ASUU.



“Should we go and borrow to pay N1.2 trillion yearly? You cannot allow one sector of the economy to hold you by the jugular and then blackm@il you to go and borrow N1.2 trillion for overheads when our total income would be about N6.1 trillion. And you have roads to build, health centres to build, other sectors to take care of.

I will tell the parents, everybody to go and beg ASUU like the President said the other time, those who know them should appeal to their sense of patriotism. The nation can not ground to a halt because we want to take care of the demands of ASUU.

The moment ASUU went on strike we intervened. What is the manner again beyond that? The moment they declared the strike even when the strike began, we called them to a meeting. What manner is more than that? It’s not that we left them, to go on strike first and we were sleeping. And three months later we said okay can we start talking. The moment they declared, we immediately called them and said let us start talking. And as the talk started they still went on strike.” He said.

The academic union embarked on a 30-day warning strike on February 14 over the federal government’s failure to honour agreements signed by both parties, and the strike has lingered to this date. The union is demanding the withdrawal of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, and the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS. They equally seek the University Peculiar Payroll and Payment System, U3PS or UPPPS for the non-academic unions, among others.

 

The Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Bill, 2011, that was cleared on Thursday in the Union Cabinet, says that sex under the age of 18 —even if consensual — will be deemed as statutory rape and an offence that will be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act, carrying a maximum punishment of three years imprisonment. The bill, though, has evoked mixed responses. While child rights activists are calling it regressive, sex experts and counsellors are welcoming the move. The teens in the city are appalled that the law makers are not taking note of ground realities.

 

Teenager Surya Rau, says, “The rule is too harsh. Why should we wait? No one is going to wait till they turn 18 to have sex. Puberty hits at the age of 13, what do you want us to do for five years?”

 

Naina Kothari, aged 17 too, says, “We are young and want to experiment now. You can’t expect us to wait or give us an appropriate age limit to have sex. By the time we’re 16, we pretty much have the knowledge we need about the matter. We also have sex education classes which are adequate.”

 

According to sex and marriage therapist Dr Vinod Chebbi, “Children as young as 13 indulge in some form of physical intimacy to satisfy curiosity. For them, sex is for thrills and not a responsible act,” he says and adds, “Adolescents think they are too young to get pregnant, but old enough to have sex.” However, he says, “Physical intimacy is best entered into at 18 years and above. Fixing the age of consensual sex should never be based on physical growth. What lawmakers have to look at is if a young couple is emotionally prepared for the same. A youngster at 16 is definitely not.”

 

Teenager Shamaila Khan believes that teens will not be deterred by the new rule, “Nobody cares about the age limit and no one is going to follow it. But an 18-year-old will be more mature — emotionally and physically. Parents need to make their children aware of the consequences of sexual activities rather than have them face punishment,” she says.

 

The problem, says social worker and child counsellor Niveditha Kashyap, is that urban children are exposed to visuals and messages with sexual overtones through TV, the Net, books and friends. “They’re sexually aware and want to experience physical intimacy at a young age. Making sexual acts among them punishable can have serious after effects. One good thing is that those engaging in physical intimacy with underage youth will be punished,” she says.

 

Experts call for sex education to be imparted to children as young as 10. “The first step is to teach children the concept of privacy so that he/she can resist abuse. Also, sex education should not be confused with lessons on intercourse,” says sex expert Dr Rajan B Bhonsle.

 

Teenagers speak Nobody cares about the age limit and no one is going to follow it. But Parents need to make their children aware of the consequences of sexual activities. — Shamaila Khan It’s good that the age bar has been raised, but no one is going to follow it unless it is enforced. they won’t really understand what they’re doing wrong. — Manisha Rao I highly doubt that the age restriction has any effect, illegal or not, because when people want to do something, they will eventually do it. — Anish John The rule is too harsh. No one is going to wait till they turn 18 to have sex. Puberty hits at the age of 13, what do you want us to do for five years? — Surya Rau

End of the article