By IBUKUN EMIOLA

Pastor Bridget Kolade, a convener of August Girls Assembly and girls advocate, says collapse of marriage, carelessness and civilisation are factors responsible for incessant rape cases in Nigeria.

She underscored the need for individuals to rise up to put an end to the menace and protect the future of children, especially girls.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kolade disclosed this in Ibadan on Saturday while speaking on ways to reduce the occurrence of rape cases in Nigeria.

Kolade noted that the annual August Girls Assembly was designed to address issues affecting girls, including the menace of rape which is now very rampant.

She stated that due to the effect of COVID-19, the largest gathering of girls in Ibadan known as ‘August Girl Assembly’ (AGA) will be virtual and the focus is addressing the issue of rape.

She urged parents to register their children for the programme which runs from Aug. 7 and Aug. 8 on WhatsApp platform.

“The August Girls Assembly is a programme of worth in womanhood Ministry of the Vine Branch Ministries.

“I and about 200 female instructors have been carrying out this programme for about 17 years.

“We gather girls together in the month of August for 3 days 10a.m to 4p.m from adolescent age bracket to girls of age 8 years old.

“We have lower the age group of girls who can participate because of the incessant rape issue that is happening in our society.

“We want to teach girls on how to protect themselves from this evil.

“God has used AGA over the years to glorify Himself; many of the participants which run into thousands have become mothers, many have come back as instructors and are trailblazers in their various life endeavors,” Kolade noted.

She said further: “It is unfortunate that we have rape cases on the increase and a lot of factors are responsible.

“We see more and more that evil is abounding, just what the bible told us in 2Timothy 3:1, that in the end of time, perilous time will abound.

“These are signs of the end and all forms of unimaginable evil are happening and rape is one of such.

“So, God has warned us ahead of time in His word that this would be; So we on our own part should take heed to ourselves.

“Because God wants us to live successfully at this time in spite of the fact that we are in an evil time.

“We can only pray for God to deliver us and keep us from evil.”

She noted that there were lots of factors that “are responsible for rape in our society beginning from the family.

“In the name of civilisation, homes are breaking up much more than ever before.

“Mothers are not there to do their part as they should and so children are left on their own.

“Even homes where you have parents who are there they are going after money and so they can’t give proper attention to their children.

“So, the children who ought not to have been exposed sexually are exposed.”

Kolade said that young girls also dressed indecently, though that should not be an excuse for rape.

She added that the perpetrators of this evil were in the community and so girls should not provoke evil them by their indecent appearance.

“A woman should not be naked or expose her body as all of these can cause a man to be aroused sexually.

“Though this is not an excuse for rape but we should take heed to ourselves.

“Sometimes you see that parents are so careless, they drop their child with strangers; your girl-child with a stranger, even your boy child, that should not be.

“We should be very careful as we live in dangerous times and we must work in godly wisdom.

“Though women ought not to be blamed for any rape incident but caution must be taken to avoid it as a lot of these incidents can be averted.

“Keep away from people who touch you freely in private places.

“Be it a pastor or whatever title a person bears, you should not allow such person to touch you inappropriately: flee from such quickly as they can destroy your life with rape,” she warned. (NAN)

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