Good evening, guys. This is Bekeme, aka mummy G. O. and you are listening to The Good Citizen Show. And this is season 6. Oh my God. Episode 9. And we have been on these for like 3 years now.
Thank you for keeping with us. For listening all time. To contribute as to how we can have a better nation. Today, we are talking about “Justice for Bamise.”
I hope you all had a fantastic week like I have had. It has been, I think my best week yet actually in 2022. You all remember, I enter the year feeling despondent, feeling like I hadn’t achieved all that I wanted to achieve. But everything is turning around now. I just think that, just to remind you all that, sometimes it may look like it is going bad. It’s the end of the world. It is no where next the end. Best at it. And it is better. And I am grateful to be here, to be celebrating International Women Day. For the time, I actually jumped on a social media challenge, and I am not going to tell you which (Laughs).
I felt so weird doing it, but I remember telling my sister, and hurrying to the office to do a challenge with my team. And the way she started laughing rockon. She does start laughing, like (she laughs). I felt these was a challenge. Because I hate it when it’s assumed that I can’t do something. So, I did jump on it. So, if you want to find out about it, go to my page, @bekemeo, or at CSR-in-Action page, @csr_n_action. @bekemeo or @csr_n_action.
And you know, our very first training on the Global Reporting Initiative, GRI, so, it’s sustainability reporting training workshop that only we are certified to do in the whole of West Africa. So, we being CSR-in-Action. And you know, people have become tired of not being able to meet physical. So, this first one, everyone was like, I hope it’s physical. And we have such great feedback. And again, the class rep in quote of the day, gave such a beautiful speech. And this thing just enforce for us to reason why we are doing what we are doing. It makes us feel proud that we are in this social enterprise space. An advocacy space, and providing training and capacity building for people, in other that, in different ways, who ourselves, as individuals through corporates that are able to contribute to Nigeria’s progress.
And as well, remember the CAHR awards we kept on announcing last year, the Community And Human Rights Awards. We are finally announcing the winners, so we have sort of kept it on ice, because we wanted to comminate 2021 with a powerful thrilling expose on the challenges that women face in the oil and gas and mining community. And you must have heard us say that during Covid 19, this became much worse. It was exasperated by the fact that everyone had to stay at home. And then, women suffered abuse more for things that we were responsible for and things that we weren’t responsible for.
And so, we are going to launch, we are ready to launch that powerful documentary on women in extractive communities. And we are going to award 9 spectacular humans who have contributed to their communities in some way, who have helped in managing negative impacts in their environment, and way of showing leadership at, first of all. There are 9 categories. Do go to our social media handles @csr_n_action, to find out more information about this launch.
Talking about Bamise, it’s unfortunate that we have to discuss these on the month of women. In the month for women. We are talking about Bamise, young woman, 22-year-old woman who was recently killed in Lagos. I remember that when I was a child here in Lagos, the most we heard was “Ogbomo Ogbomo”. And I don’t think I really saw “Ogbomo Ogbomo”. I mean, every time you went down the street, he was possible “Obgomo Ogbomo”, And then we ran and hid. But now, it’s almost normal. So, for every case that we hear, I assume that is about 1% of what actually happens. It’s usually a small faction of what actually happens.
And according to available information, Bankole Ayanwole was on her way from work, presumably from Chevron, the Chevron bus stop, which incidentally is the bus stop for our office as well. This was Friday, last week Friday. We are jumping on it, a little bit late, but we think it’s an important discussion too we had, February 26th.
She boarded this BRT bus at Chevron drive. You’d think that the BRT bus is safe. It’s owned by the government. It was supposed to take her to Oshodi. And then, she became a little bit suspicious when, you know, this man refused to pick other passengers. I mean, after a while, she did say that she saw two men and a woman enter. Which was also still weird. Everybody who lives in Lagos, knows usually, that’s the modus oparandi, random scanty number of people come in and then, she obviously got in touch with her friend and made sure that her friend saw the bus’s number and all of that.
And the thing is, I don’t know how loudly she did these, because I heard she was sat at the very back of the bus. So, I don’t know whether the culprit or culprits actually heard her. You know, she did things that she ought to do to let people know, this looks suspicious. And you know, her friend said to her, you know what, at the very next stop, make sure you get off. If you have this feeling, make sure you get off at the next bus stop. And then, unfortunately, I don’t think, she didn’t manage to get off. The next thing, the next day, after there was an uproar, after people started sharing on social media. Thank God for social media. In this case, she was found dead at Ebute Iron. And then, the following morning, the onlookers said she was thrown out of the bus.
With the bus zooming off, and a bus, a jeep, I beg your pardon following closely behind it. Some passersby say, they attempted to help her, but then, some other people, due to, you know, certain belief set, oh, you want to use her ruminant and all of that. Certain other people were scared that they will get into trouble by the police. Because if you carry someone who is almost dead. Who’s been in an accident, you know, you will be held back.
I don’t know what the police is doing to change that. And that we have heard before here, talking about being a good Samaritan.
Subsequently, the bus driver was never found, Andrew is his name, and he went into hiding, and eventually he was found. He denied having any knowledge of what happened, claiming that some armed men came into the bus, and forced him, and took Bamise by force. And then, another video was released, where he said, he is sorry for doing unprintable things to Bamise. we never found out what these things he did to her were.
So basically, that’s the story. A very very gruesome story, we head that her private parts were cut out. And obviously, Bamise was lying on the floor, bleeding to death. And I think what most people could do, was pour water on her.
So today, we are talking about, “Justice for Bamise”. and you know, I think the most important thing is to discuss how we truly can pursue justice for Bamise. and secondly, how we can avoid it, such that, other people, young women, men, adults, can avoid falling into this situation. I know we often say, yes, we will pray. Be vigilant as well. And we must not forget Imabong Maureen. Who was also killed, you know? Again, it had to do with, just going about her business, trying to make a livelihood and she was lured. This was in Akwa Ibom if I remember correctly, and she was lured to this random faraway place and she was killed, again, purportedly for rituals.
And I know that, elections are coming up very quickly, and so the unconscionable people are doing everything that they can. So, we are very very very on top of these, in order that people start this conversation, and do the things that we need to do. Too many, too many promising people, you know?! Are falling prey to kidnappers, ritualist, murderers, bandits, and everybody, and every Nigerian woman, every Nigerian person needs to have the ability to live the life to the fullness to achieve your god given potentials.
Before I go on, I would like to hear what you think. I think it’s important we all contribute to this discussion. Whatever the cases, nobody really should live in fear. We should be able to go about your business and whoever we want to be in the safety of our society, because we all have role to play. Do you have any suggestions on people can stay safe in Nigeria today? And how we protect our women better? Yes, we say that want equal opportunities for women, but we also know that women are physiologically not as strong.
The number to call is 0700-923-923-923. Again, it’s 0700-923-923-923. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this situation with Bamise. this situation with unrest all over the country and the challenges that we’ve had, alright?!
So, you know, I want to go back quickly before we go on a break. I want to go back quickly to set the scene. I think that people can find innovative ways of helping people in this situation. Because, just think about it, she may be alive today, if the passersby, the onlookers had done something about it. I mean, it (voice becomes inaudible), it’s possible that she could have survived. I would also like to hear innovative ways that we can help people who we find in this situation.
We are going to go on a short break, on The Good Citizen Show and we will be right back.
(Break)
Hi guys. Welcome back to The Good Citizen Show. It’s still me Bekeme, aka Mummy G. O. and we have been talking about Justice for Bamise. Actually, talking about tips, as to how we can keep ourselves and our young women and men safe in our economy today.
(Call comes in)
Bekeme: Hello
Caller: Good evening
Bekeme: Hello, good evening. Thank you for calling The Good Citizen Show. What’s your name sir?
Caller: My name is Davis
Bekeme: Davis or David?
Caller: So, Davis, yeah. Davis.
Bekeme: Davis, thank you for calling the show
Caller: Yeah, thank you. So, it’s like you are n mind. I was talking to my cousin just about an hour ago, and we were discussing this Bamise issue, and I was telling her that she has to go around with a hammer. It’s sound funny but a hammer in her bag because it is like nobody is going to protect us now. We are going to protect us
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: You have a hammer in your hand and just be mentally prepared
Bekeme: (Cuts in) Hmmm
Caller: For anything in Nigeria. Anything.
Bekeme: (Cuts in) Hmmm
Caller: Especially when you are alone
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: I was thinking, if the girl had a weapon
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: and breaking the glasses of that (voice becomes inaudible), the man would have stopped the vehicle.
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: (Voice becomes inaudible) You know?! But she wasn’t expecting something like that. If you have a knife, the police can say it’s a dangerous weapon, but a hammer, you can always say, you’re taking it home, you are a carpenter or something.
Bekeme: (Laughs)
Caller: So, with a hammer, it will break of the glasses of the car to attract attention. And then, perhaps, you could be safe
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: That is just my little idea
Bekeme: Thank you Davis.
(Call ends)
Typically, I’d say, oh no, that’s too dangerous, you know?! What does one say, basically, what I hear you say is that you know?! We need to, not only protect ourselves, but we also need carry devices that can protect us. So, the ready thing that comes to mind, pepper sprays for women. They do work. They do work, and if you can’t afford, because I have tried to purchase some before, and sometimes they can be expensive, but I think even something like, perhaps a sanitizer, and pour something more, “Otapiapia”, something inside, and you have it handy. You just spray it on someone’s eyes and sure it will destabilize the person. Because not everybody will have the presence of mind. I don’t think I can use a hammer on somebody. I don’t know if I could ever, you know?! But I could definitely spray in their eyes to stop their eyes to stop them from prawning me.
So, basically, you are saying, also be mentally prepared because sometimes, often times, its fear is the debilitating factor that stops people from actually protecting ourselves. You just, I mean, when you watch all those action movies, you’d see that it could have either way. But the fact that the person can just preemptively just jump up and take action, can make a huge difference.
Again, the number to call is 0700-923-923-923. Again, 0700-923-923-923.
We are talking about ‘Justice for Bamise”. And we are still go going directly how into protect ourselves, how to find innovative ways of helping victims of this kind of situation.
I have talked about it on the show before, of the time when I was a university undergraduate, I was going back home with a friend, it was evening. I think about 7. And at the time, I lived off airport road, here in Lagos…
(Call comes in)
Bekeme: Hello
Caller: (Speaks faintly) Hello
Bekeme: Hello?
Caller: Hello
Bekeme: Hello. Thank you for calling The Good Citizen Show. What’s your name, please?
Caller: Sarah from Ikorodu
Bekeme: Sarah?
Caller: Yeah
Bekeme: Did you say Tia?
Caller: You said what?
Bekeme: Sorry, your name again, please
Caller: Sarah from Ikorodu
Bekeme: Sarah, ehen ehen. Hi. Thank you for calling The Good Citizen Show. What’s your name, please?
(Call ends abruptly)
Oh, we have lost Sarah. Do call us back if you can. 0700-923-923-923. Again, it’s 0700-923-923-923.
So, we have someone just messaged saying, “Pepper spray can be handy too”. Okay, that’s from Kindomax on Instagram.
So, yes, pepper sprays are definitely handy for us to use. I was telling
(Call comes in)
Bekeme: Hello
Caller: Hello, good evening
Bekeme: Hello, good evening. Thank you for calling The Good Citizen Show. What’s your name?
Caller: Thank you. My name is Chinyere, and I was just thinking about the easiest thing you can get in terms of perf or body spray. You can put that into your bag. I use it too all the time. Basically, I have not been going out because of the Covid. But it is something that comes everyone can get handy
Bekeme: What? The pepper spray, right?
Caller: Body spray
Bekeme: Body spray. Okay. okay
Caller: (Voice becomes inaudible)
Bekeme: Hmmm hmmm
Caller: Your perfume, you can just (voice becomes inaudible). When it goes into your own eye, you will find out that
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: People should have their perfumes handy in their bags, their body sprays and have it, put your hand in your bag when you start seeing suspicious
Bekeme: (Cuts in) Yes
Caller: So, you don’t have to wait. I have been in that situation before, and I am telling the gospel truth
Bekeme: Hmm
Caller: (voice becomes inaudible) was hot. I didn’t want to drive. I have gotten to a bus
Bekeme: (Cuts in) Hmmm
Caller: And I was the only person that they were picking. And then, I smiled, and I greeted everyone. So, you have to be calm.
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: (voice becomes inaudible) can you just wait for me? I want to get something from the lady. I will come back, please wait. You know?!
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: I just said to myself, you know, by bye, be going. I am not interested.
Bekeme: (Laughs)
Caller: I was (voice becomes inaudible), but I had to have the presence of mind.
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: So, if that lady had been calm with a smile on her face and hold something. Because they are not expecting you to be calm
Bekeme: Yes!
Caller: When you are calm, it’s a signal to them that the lady, you know?! Is, I mean, because they don’t know what direction you will be coming from
Bekeme: Yes
Caller: So please, I have been asking ladies, be calm. Think with your feet.
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: How, look around and see a loophole. Capitalize on it.
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: If they are afraid, they are afraid, just as you are afraid
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: So, you need to know, and you need to take advantage of that. I have been a situation where somebody wanted to spray something on me, he said I should give him my bag and I knew that that was all I had as for me
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: he wasn’t expecting me to open the door and hit him, and that was what I did. And I opened the door and I hit him, and he ran
Bekeme: You are my heroine. That’s amazing
Caller: Thank you so much. Thank you so much
Bekeme: Thank you
(Call ends)
I think she said it all. Presence of mind. I think sometimes you may not get out of it, but there is a higher likelihood that you can be calm. We know that the things are happening more frequently. And so be calm. Especially those who say, you know?! They pointed a gun at me, you know? You are in noisy place, be smart?
(Call comes in)
Bekeme: Hello
Caller: Hello, good evening
Bekeme: Hello good evening. Thank you for the Good Citizen Show. What’s your name, please sir?
Caller: My name is Emmanuel, I am calling from traffic
Bekeme: Okay, Emmanuel. I hope traffic is not being bad
Caller: Hello?
Bekeme: I said, I hope traffic is not too bad
Caller: Yes, it’s okay. It’s bad. It’s not
Bekeme: (Laughs)
Caller: Well, what I am saying, after from Pepper sprays and body sprays, or being calm, I just heard a message just now, on a church group, that most BRT buses have an emergency button
Bekeme: Yes
Caller: And once you press that button, that bus must stop.
Bekeme: Right
Caller: It can no longer move any longer. I think once you press it, they also hear in their control station
Bekeme: Yes. Right. Okay. Great.
Caller: Now, locate the (voice becomes inaudible) that is very close to you.
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: (Voice becomes inaudible) They have no choice than to stop the vehicle, and then you can get out.
Bekeme: Yes sir. Thank you.
(Call ends)
I hear that too. So, thank you for giving that. That’s actually one of the tips we wanted to give today, to call us to say, look, or to listeners, BRT buses actually do have this emergency buttons, and BRT buses, if they are in, if they are still, if they are still in use for the day, they would have actually have their lights on.
For instances, if its nighttime, the light should be on in the bus. Not on, then they are not in comssion,a nd you should try not to use them. And in the case of Bamise, she did the right thing, but did she let them know that she had let other people know. I highly doubt that. She was probably whispering. Again, that’s the confidence that Chinyere talk about earlier. To just basically let them know, see I am in charge of this situation. If she couldn’t have come down without them doing something, say she pressed the emergency button and they had disable it in some way. Then I am sure that if she had let them know that she had done a video of all of their faces. Then they would not have been as brazen.
So, this emergency exit sign is a red latch that you can actually pull to activate the emergency brakes. So, as you have heard the caller say, it basically stops the brakes in it tracks.
I have another message from Oddy Lizzy on Instagram
(Call comes in)
Bekeme: Hello. We have a call though. Hello
Caller: Hello. Good afternoon or good evening.
Bekeme: Good evening. Thank you for calling The Good Citizen Show. What’s your name, please?
Caller: My name is John, I am calling from the road
Bekeme: Hmmm. John. Thank you for calling. What’s up?
Caller: Okay, where I want to contribute is on, I don’t know who made this law that people should not be attended to in hospital when they have bullet wounds or
Bekeme: (Cuts in) That they should not, they can be attended to. It’s just that the person who brings them will be held culpable until he can prove that they didn’t do it
Caller: That should be discouraged
Bekeme: Yes
Caller: Even if they are armed robbers, they should be treat them. The security operatives should go after them. And I don’t think armed robbers will even want to get to the hospital where they can be treated. They always have their arrangement. I don’t know who made such laws that they can’t. I have had an accident where people were intentionally hit when my people came
Bekeme: Hmmm
Caller: Yea
Bekeme: So, the person who takes you, right?! Police will hold them
Caller: People are skpetical. People are not encouraged to help people
Bekeme: Hmm Hmmm
Caller: Because they feel they will land themselves into trouble
Bekeme: (Cuts in) Yes.
Caller: Go and get police report. That should not be necessary.
Bekeme: Yes
Caller: the hospital that don’t treat casualties, should be penalized. So that it will be a time of
Bekeme: (Cuts in) Yes
Caller: Even if they are robbers, don’t bother if they are robbers. Don’t bother if they are robbers. If they are robbers, if you have information, then, as you are treating them, then you
Bekeme: (Cuts in) Yes
Caller: it is even easier.
Bekeme: Yes. Okay. Right.
Caller: That’s it
Bekeme: I understand. Thank you
(Call ends)
He is saying on the flip side, you do have private hospitals saying, oh, we can’t treat you until we know how come you got the shots and everything. That should be heavily discouraged. The Hippocratic oath, I am sure doesn’t allow for them to do this kind of thing. I think that people need to have innovative ways.
So if you are there, in the case of Bamise for instance, people could have actually recorded everything, saying this girl was just dropped and I am about to take her to the hospital. Do it live on social media. I am sure that when people see that, nobody is going to holding you in a hospital to say you caused it. There will be uproar if anybody tries to hold you culpable for that such of thing.
So, it is important that we find innovative ways around this kind of thing. You know?! Until all these law change. Because the time that I actually picked somebody up, her legs have been broken in pieces, and I was afraid. And my friend said, you know, we have to carry her. We cannot leave her here to die. but thankfully, in our case, as we were picking her up, the police van was passing by, and they stopped, and they escorted us to the hospital. And it was now, it was what, I don’t know, maybe 20 years. It was a long, long time ago. Yeah, over twenty ago.
But now that we have social media, with all its ills, there are merits to it, instead of just recording, and saying, hey, girl is dying here. You know?! Do something about it. Don’t worry about the #2,000 Uber that it may cost you to take her if that is your concern. Just do something like that and help a young person, or an older person, whoever, just you know, hold another day to live their lives to their full potential.
And we have another message, okay yes, that message that I was going to read earlier, she says, “the body spray cannot over the distance between the victim and the predator. The biggest sprays that cover that distance are far too obvious.” Oddy Lizzy on Instagram.
The thing is, usually, in the case of this bus drive, if you are scared, walk up and spray, and the person comes close as Chinyere has said, you know?! You have your hand in your bag already. As soon as he comes close, you spray t in their eyes.
Kndomax also, has sent us a message saying, “There is a device called Robocopp. That can create a non-confrontational deterrent by creating a 120 (voice becomes inaudible) alarm.” Wow. You know?! Robocopp is spelt, R O B O C O P P.
We need to look into that, you know? Some NGO some organisations can look into providing these of tools to women to protect our women.
You know?! It’s been great having these conversations. I hope that you have learnt something. I definitely if I going to find somebody in that situation. And I think that you should be compelled. We should be prepared to do the same for ourselves and for other people. I do hope that we get “Justice for Bamise”
It’s been a great great conversation. Thank you all so much for been a part of this show. Do follow us @csr_n_action to discuss this and more. And to follow some of the work that we are doing.
God bless you. It’s same time, next week Friday on The Good Citizen Show, 5:30 pm. And it’s me Bekeme, aka Mummy G. O.
Thank you to my team @csr_n_action and to ACT Foundation.
Stay bless.
