Violence has been part of Nigeria from time – Prof. Uji
An associate professor of History at the Federal University, Lafia Nasarawa state, Wilfred Uji has identified violence as an integral part of Nigeria since the beginning of the nation.
Prof. Uji in his paper titled: “Historical perspectives of violence in Nigeria: The way out” presented at the public lecture organized by the Benue state chapter of the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) in commemoration of the international day of non- violence held in Makurdi.
Uji, who is currently the executive secretary of Benue state Teaching Board, said Nigeria and Nigerians need to go back to the drawing board to right the wrongs by redefining the nation’s equitable distribution of resources and restructuring of educational sector for practical purposes.
The way out of the nation’s woes, Prof. Uji said is the introduction of economic reforms that can provide for the well- being of all Nigerians as well as building of small scale enterprises for youth empowerment and strengthening of democratic institutions which seek to provide for checks and balances for good governance.
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In her presentation on the topic, “the psychological effect of violence on women and children”, Dr. Victoria Daaor said it has been estimated that up to one billion children aged 2-17 have experienced some form of violence in the past year.
She pointed out that types of violence against children can result in negative health risk behaviour, death, and severe injuries, including impairing brain and nervous system development while in the case of women, the psychological impact of violence manifests in various forms including suicide, depression, traumatic stress disorder, isolation and eating disorder.
According to Dr. Daaor, a child exposed to violence or is a victim is at risk of being a perpetrator themselves while women withdraw from friends and loved ones usually hiding the fact that they are facing violence.
The vice president of NAWOJ, Zone D, Comrade Jemila Abubakar called for the domestication of the law against violence as it will protect victims and urged other state chapters of NAWOIJ to take a queue in championing the fight against violence.
