My intention today is simple. For those who have a sense of history, the recent alleged child molestation scandal that rocked the Queen’s College, Lagos has cast a shadow on the reputation of Nigeria’s elite girls’ college and has some historical precedence. Queen’s College, Lagos has never been free of child molestation scandals. What is happening in the college today is a sad reminder that our public education is rotten and must be fixed fast. The incident also mirrors the moral decadence that has permeated the entire school system in the country.
As an educator, I see this unfold every day. Indeed, our school system is troubled. Let me also add that my thoughts here should not in any way be interpreted as an indictment of the Biology teacher at the centre of the molestation case. He deserves a fair hearing. But I also expect the investigative report of the Federal Ministry of Education to cause a fundamental shift in the administration of public education, especially in the Unity Schools for the safety of our children and the integrity of staff.
Every Nigerian parent who has a girl-child must also be outraged by the response of the principal of Queen’s College, Lagos, Mrs. Lami Amodu, who had hurriedly put up a soulless defence for the alleged child molesting teacher even when an investigating team had not been constituted. If one may ask, why pre-empt investigation? The chain of events that had followed the online letter by the alleged parent, Mrs. Chinenye Okoye, was shocking. But I was not surprised. The response of the school principal who quickly rallied round to defend one of their own before an investigation makes the whole saga intriguing.
To recap, someone purporting to be a parent had written to an online blog to report a case of molestation involving her child by the Biology teacher in the school. She also alleged that the principal had attempted to discourage her into further pursing the case. According to her, her child had told of the teacher’s alleged lewd and inappropriate behaviour towards her and other girls. She recounted an event of one night when the teacher was alleged to have been drunk and seen around the girls’ hostel.
On that night, Mrs. Okoye wrote that the teacher had attempted to forcefully kiss and touch her daughter’s private parts but she raised the alarm which roused other students who were later dispersed to their rooms by the house mistress. Mrs. Okoye said she approached the school and was rebuffed by the authorities. She then decided to approach a blogger.
Queen’s college is a prestigious school that has produced the cream of Nigeria’s female elite. Admission into the school is competitive. This makes the school prone to admission racketeering. Many parents will go to any length to secure admission for their daughters.
The most recent admission scandal that rocked the school was the 2002 expulsion of 30 students over fraudulent admission by some employees of the school. According to reports, some candidates were issued admission letters and registered. When fresh admission letters were rolled out by the Federal Ministry of Education, the first set of letters was cancelled. However, the old admission letters were still sold to some pupils who used them to secure entry and registration into the school until they were expelled. I have digressed to show that the institution has never been free of scandals.
The current child molestation case also evoked a déjà vu feeling. In 1998, the media widely reported an alleged rape incident involving a Queen’s college student and a member of staff of the school. The incident had prompted a meeting of the Parent-Teacher Association that met to deliberate on the rape case. Just as in the present case, the alleged rape had involved a 12-year-old Junior Secondary School girl and a laboratory technician in the school’s physics laboratory. The incident, which would have gone unnoticed, was broken by The News/Tempo magazine in its May 9 edition of that year. It was later widely reported by other media sources.
The Tempo story was entitled, “Rape of Innocence”. The young girl was said to have gone to the physics laboratory to check with the technician who normally brought messages from her parents, whether she had any message. The laboratory technician had reportedly tricked her into a corner of the laboratory, and overpowered her.
It was the poor girl’s screams that reportedly attracted the attention of other students who also alerted the school principal. An emergency school assembly was summoned. The alleged rapist, husband of two wives and father of four children, was handed over to the police. The school principal, according to the report, wept profusely. The students were told to steer clear of the male teachers in the school.
The current case bears an eerie resemblance to the 1998 case. The fact is that Queen’s college seems to have a history of molestation of girls by male teachers. That such is not reported regularly does not mean it is not happening. Why was the principal in such a hurry to defend the alleged molester? Queen’s college and other public schools must exorcise the demons of child abuse in their midst. They must investigate and expel abusive teachers. Sexual harassment is an unspoken truth that haunts our public boarding school system. That a teacher produces good results does not make him or her morally upright. The argument stands logic on its head.
I think it will be revealing to interrogate cases of child molestation that have gone unreported in the school as well as other public schools. If the investigative team digs deeper, it will find girls, past and present, who have been sexually abused verbally or physically and have just refused to come out because of shame factor. While I am not pronouncing a guilty verdict on the teacher, the action of the principal who was quick to absolve the suspect of any blame speaks volumes.
By defending the alleged child molester and her school even as investigation has not been conducted, Mrs. Amodu should have been penalised. How can a principal want to cover up an alleged crime so desperately? Why not wait for the investigation to be completed. The principal also did something unimaginable. In her desperation, she looked away as students of the college embarked on a protest in defence of the alleged molester. The girls carried placards with messages that absolved Oshifala. It’s a shame. What the principal did is in breach of the law. They are minors under her care. What if they had been injured? The government must rethink staffing single sex schools. I strongly recommend that only teachers of the same sex be allowed to teach in single sex schools. The ongoing investigation must be thorough. All those involved must be punished. If the allegation is a hoax to embarrass the teacher, those behind it should be exposed. Beyond this, our school system must be repositioned to reflect integrity in staffing and quality of teaching.
PUNCH
END
Well scripted. Thank you.