Okogie’s warning on pornography By Sun News Publishing Wednesday, December 3, 2008 The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, recently expressed worries over the growing, flagrant display of pornographic materials in public places in the country. The respected clergyman, who drew attention to the development in a statement to the media, decried a situation in which law enforcement agents partake in immoral activities in some nightclubs under the guise of keeping law and order. The Archbishop urged the Federal Government to curb the activities of striptease nightclubs that are sprouting up in big cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt “so that Nigerian cities would not be turned into Sodom and Gomorrah.” We appreciate the concern of Cardinal Okogie. His warning is a timely response to the increasing reports of nightclubs where girls dance naked on stage in Lagos and some other big cities in the country. The problem of open display of pornographic magazines, books and videos, which has for long been in Nigeria, has also considerably worsened, with school age children sometimes found hawking the unwholesome items in open markets and at bus stops in Lagos. The uncontrolled display of these unwholesome items and the involvement of children and youths in the pornographic trade can only have deleterious consequences on the morals of these young ones. The unfortunate situation demands the urgent intervention of law enforcement agencies to ensure that children are not exposed to such perverse influences that could corrupt their morals. The rate of spread of pornographic materials in the country has become alarming and Okogie’s well-meaning advice is commendable. Luckily, the nation’s law books have provisions like the Pornography Act to deal with the problem of pornography. The law is still in force and should be strictly enforced to protect minors from the growing culture of unrestrained pornography and obscenity in some nightclubs that can only have unsalutory effects on the larger society. Nigerians should not mistake pornography and obscenity for modernization because the nation has absolutely nothing to gain from aping such base practices from other countries. Morals apart, Nigeria, which still largely depends on foreign aid to manage and control the spread of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), is ill equipped to tackle the social and medical consequences of an explosion of sexual immorality. This base entertainment is certainly not what Nigerians need now. While we recognise the right of consenting adults to any entertainment of their choice, we advise that such unwholesome pastimes and their items of trade should be kept out of public places like bus stops and open markets that are easily accessible to children. Let the government act on Okogie’s well-intentioned advice. There should be a holistic approach to solving the problem. The law enforcement agents should enforce the nation’s pornography and obscenity laws. The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) should do more to regulate the influx and marketing of adult home videos in the country. There should be sex education for youths to teach them the dangers of unbridled sex, which pornographic materials tend to promote. The government at all levels, parents, school, traditional and religious leaders should share Okogie’s worries about the descent to vulgarity in Nigeria and be involved in the effort to curtail the trend in the country. Join discussion...