Wednesday, 11 June 2014

Child Abuse

My Life Has A Price: A True Story Of Celebrity Child Abuse

According to Leadership On May 30, 2007, 19-year-old Tina Okpara watched in frightful relief as her adoptive parents, former Super Eagle, Godwin Okpara and his wife Linda, were sentenced to 13 years and 15 years in prison, respectively, on charges of rape, torture, assault and trafficking.
It all began four years earlier. Tina’s father, Simon Omaku, signed papers proving the legal adoption of his daughter by the Okparas. The deal included the sum of N30, 000, the name ‘Okpara’ and the promise of formal education for the then 13-year-old Tina. Alone and unprepared for the harsh climate fate and, perhaps, poverty thrust her into, she arrived in winter-ridden France, and conscientiously receives the coat her new father draped around her shoulders. She never dreamt that warmth will be snatched away.
Four years later, she became a victim of child abuse, assault and rape by her father, the popular and well loved Godwin Okpara who played for several popular clubs in the French league. Her story is a graphic one and details events as they happened to her.
The result of her travails and final victory is My Life has a Price, a book co-written by Tina Okpara and French journalist, Cyril Guinet. The work deals with themes of child abuse and trafficking which presently plagues our society and the struggles of many children who, through no fault of theirs, lose a parent(s) or find themselves alone in the world. It also beams the searchlight on the secret lives of celebrities and brings to the fore the fact that they are just ordinary people.
The book has, to its advantage, simplicity of words strung to facilitate easy read. With rich imagery, the narrator paints graphical images of the emotional and physical torment which lingers, long after the evil deed was done. A good example is the sentencing of the Okparas and the horrid images of razor blade cuts and of hot spice injected into her privates. For an autobiography, the application of literary ploys threads the fine line between fiction and non-fiction. It keeps the reader going till the end. Not out of suspense, though; this was tactfully employed in the first chapter to reel in readers.
Although, according to Tina, her father had no intention of selling her. But in the eyes of the world, money changed hands. Countless parents admit to similar trickery in many such cases of child trafficking. The question also arises over what legal channels were employed in the adoption of a child whose parent are still alive.
It is worrying that, in a developed country like France, abused minors have no choice but to remain with their abusers until they are of age. Some cultures or religion even force the abused into marriages with their abusers. Actions in the form of bi-literal legal agreements between countries should be put in place to get to the minors early on and avoid the unnecessary extension of abuse and resultant death of vulnerable children. Child protection laws vary from nation to nation. In some countries, child benefits are paid to parents of children within a certain age bracket. Nigeria is yet to adopt such practices.
Readers are held spell-bound on the setting of the story – the family of the once famous and rich footballer Godwin Okpara. From indications, Linda, who is far older than Okpara, was wealthy and owned properties home and abroad. It is not inconceivable to believe that she, at some point, provided for the family. Indeed, Okpara admitted in an interview that she withdrew all the money in their joint account. In several scenes, the narrator conveys his inability to confront his wife on issues concerning her education and her eventual abuse. The excerpts from Tina’s interview – “he was perhaps a courageous defender, but in life, he behaved like a coward. He was afraid of her. She dominated him psychologically. He was the child and she the mother” – clearly depict the nature of the relationship between the couple.
In response to this statement, Okpara accepts that since he was away most of the time, issues may have cropped up that Tina must have been afraid to tell him about. He also affirmed that his wife Linda was “problematic”.
Having been released late last year, after a second appeal which reduced his sentence to seven years, Okpara still claims innocence and the intention to clear his name. More interestingly, he insists his children can bear witness.
Tina’s emotional suffering and disgust stems from the accumulated feelings of maltreatment meted out to her. Though the writing acts as an act of purging, it took a long time [for her] to deal with her feelings.
She eventually got an education. The state of these rehabilitation centres played a great role in helping her overcome her experience. What is the state of rehabilitation centres in the country? Is the system fair? Girls are raped all over the world daily, but the fear of stigmatisation and ostracisation from the social rights of marriage, have made them opt for silence. Indeed, the call by Borno women to the United Nation for a clinic of sorts for the counseling of their girls is quite apt.

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