Deceptive Holiness: Uncovering the Ozoro Rape Ritual, by Ugoji Egbujo

The festering issue of violence against women during a fertility festival in Ozoro did not emerge overnight, despite attempts to downplay the severity of the situation and feign surprise at the outrage it sparked.

The disturbing images from the festival told a story of hordes of boys roaming the streets, preying on girls, and subjecting them to brutal attacks, with the community seemingly condoning the violence.

A girl spotted riding a bike would be dragged down, her clothes ripped apart in broad daylight, and subjected to the groping hands of a thousand filthy onlookers, as the crowd cackled and filmed the horrific scene.

The complete lack of repugnance and empathy from the community will leave the girls scarred irreparably, making them fair game in their own community, where tradition had been perverted to justify violence against them.

This is not the original culture, but the notion that these boys invented this new, twisted tradition is nonsense, and the fact that it was allowed to mutate and spread is a damning indictment of the community's failure to amputate the cancerous practice.

This year's festival may have sparked national outrage, but it is unlikely to be the most heinous, as women who attended schools in Delta State have come forward to share their own sordid ordeals from years past.

A nurse recounted her terrifying experience as a student, when her bike ran into a horde of boys, and the Okada rider told her to cover her face and brace herself, before smashing through the blockade to safety, with the boys giving chase, only to be saved by security personnel at the nursing school gate.

The festival's dark culture is not limited to Ozoro, as many communities in Delta now share this depraved tradition, which was once a genuine fertility festival, but has since mutated into a rape feast.

The original festival had women seeking the fruit of the womb staying indoors, while older women performed rites on them, but the moment enforcement began to include stripping and harassment, the communities should have realized that the festival had become a twisted and violent spectacle.

It is heartbreaking to watch young ladies being chased through the streets like animals, while people cheer, revealing a communal complicity that is deeply troubling, with traditional rulers, local government, police, religious institutions, and state government all standing by and doing nothing.

A festival of mass sexual violence against women is not a spontaneous outburst of stupidity, but rather proof of chronic societal degeneration, where the rule of law and the criminal justice system have failed to protect the vulnerable.

The Ozoro traditional ruler claimed he was not informed, but this excuse rings hollow, as the chief priest could not have acted alone, and the traditional ruler's concern for reputational damage rather than the trauma inflicted on the victims is a damning indictment of his leadership.

The Student Union also claimed it was not informed, but even if it had been, it is unlikely that it would have taken decisive action to protect the female students, instead opting to hide them indoors until the festival was over, rather than confronting the twisted tradition head-on.

The police were nowhere to be seen, while the perpetrators roamed the streets, and their announcement that none of the victims had complained of rape is a stark reminder of the institutional failures that have allowed this festival to continue.

The fixation on penetration is a misguided one, as the psychological damage inflicted on the girls is immeasurable, and the police should know that most girls will not admit to penetration due to stigma, and that the priority should be to provide support and justice, rather than to downplay the severity of the attacks.

The videos showed clear attempted rape, and the fact that the boys did not even bother to cover their faces is a testament to the impunity that has been allowed to flourish, with institutions working tirelessly to deny the ferocity of the festival and perform late, self-serving damage control.

Nigeria is a hyper-religious society, yet ethical consciousness is paper-thin, and the chief priest's declaration of a fertility festival that had acquired darker connotations is a stark reminder of the fake spirituality that has ruined the country.

The fact that rogue politicians and criminals can beseech the gods with earnestness, while committing heinous crimes, is a damning indictment of the society's values, and the fact that the youths who perpetrated the violence did not fear divine retribution is a testament to the emptiness of the spiritual practices that have been allowed to flourish.

In the past, the deity of the festival would have dropped monkeypox on the bodies of the perpetrators, but now, the expired deities are hired to do more harm than good, and the rule of law and the criminal justice system have failed to fill the vacuum left by the decline of authentic ancient spirituality.

We must ban or radically reform every festival whose tradition relies on terrorizing or subjugating people, especially women, and traditions that cannot evolve to respect human dignity and women's rights should not survive, lest the infection spreads and the country is left to pick up the pieces.

Communities and leaders must prioritize victims' trauma over reputational damage and optics, and women and youth groups must push back harder, so that communal complicity becomes politically and socially expensive, and the combination of fake spirituality and the near absence of predictable consequences for crimes is breeding a frightening society.

Nigeria must maintain and publish a sexual offenders register, and arrest and prosecute every act of sexual harassment, including whistling at and groping women in markets and bus stations, if the country is to have any hope of redeeming itself and creating a safer, more just society for all.