Stepping Stones Nigeria Pledges Full Support to Commission of Inquiry into Witchcraft Accusations and Child Rights Abuses in Akwa Ibom State

Open Letter to Governor Chief (Dr) Godswill Akpabio from Stepping Stones Nigeria

Your Excellency,

Stepping Stones Nigeria wishes to congratulate you on your recent establishment of Commission of Inquiry into witchcraft accusations and child rights abuses in Akwa Ibom State. We wholeheartedly welcome this positive move and wish to assure you that Stepping Stones Nigeria and its partner organisation – the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network – will provide the commission with our full support and evidence needed to show the true scale of the problem in Akwa Ibom State.

It is true to say that the child witch problem was indeed here before the advent of your administration in Akwa Ibom. It is equally true to say that you were the first Governor who was brave enough to confront the challenge of witchcraft accusations amongst children. By enacting the Child Rights Act in 2008 and making it illegal to brand children as witches you have shown that you are a true champion of child rights in Nigeria.

Stepping Stones Nigeria will be delighted to work with the Chairman, Justice Godwin Abraham, and all Commission members, along with national and international partners such as UNICEF, NAPTIP, various International Governments, CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera, Channel 4, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch to ensure that the commission receives as much comprehensive information on this issue as possible and upholds the highest international standards.

We look forward to the Commission helping provide access to justice for the numerous victims of this horrific form of abuse in Akwa Ibom State as, despite our partners reporting cases of abuse to the relevant authorities, there have been no successful prosecutions to date. This has been a source of great frustration for us. As such, you can imagine our great delight that you have shown the wisdom to set up this Commission in order to get to the bottom of this evil practice. We implore the Commission to use local media to encourage local community members throughout Akwa Ibom State to offer their own opinions about the validity of child witchcraft accusations.

Stepping Stones Nigeria also very much looks forward to reviewing the recommendations of the Committee and remains committed to working with the Akwa Ibom State Government to eradicate the abuse of child rights that takes place due to the belief in so-called child witches. Stepping Stones Nigeria believes that such positive steps to prevent the abuse of children and bring a brighter future to the lives of stigmatised children in Akwa Ibom will go a long way to further improving Akwa Ibom State’s reputation in Nigeria and around the world.

Once again we commend you Your Excellency for your passion to help Nigeria’s vulnerable and disadvantaged children and hope to have the opportunity to discuss these issues personally with you in the near future.

Yours Faithfully,

Gary Foxcroft - Programme Director – Stepping Stones Nigeria

Remembering Ken Saro Wiwa on Stage

Death is a debt that every one must pay. Though the how and when, unlike debts owed a bank or some magnanimous benefactor, we may not know. Yet, we still must pay. And the why, for sure, is different from one debtor to another. However, there can be nothing as dispiriting as knowing that you are going to die, as well as the manner and time of death.

For Kenule Saro Wiwa, the Nigerian writer, theatre producer, and environmentalist, it was a mixture of all, as re-enacted in Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba's play ‘The Killing Swamp', where the playwright, using his creative licence, digs dramatically into the final moments of the late Ogoni activist's life.

The play, directed by Chidi Ukwu, was staged in Abuja on Saturday, November 13, by an Abuja-based theatre company, Arojah Royal Theatre. It was to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of that execution, spearheaded by the then military ruler, Sani Abacha, an act that was widely condemned by the international community.

Patrick Otoro is Ken Saro Wiwa

The audience in Abuja, largely populated by members of the international community, was held spellbound by the delivery and interpretation of Patrick Otoro, who played the role of Kenule.

"The performance was so real that I felt like I was witnessing the exact incident as it happened... Kenule is a very strong character and the actor succeeded in arresting the audience," said Yoash, an Isreali in the audience.

He revealed that it was his first time watching a stage play since arriving Nigeria; and added that the lady sitting beside him was close to tears and murmuring repeatedly: "Did they really did that to him?"

Otoro, who endured the passing away of his father just days before, put up such a heart rendering performance. He could be described as a veteran of Adinoyi Onukaba's plays, having at various times produced, directed, or acted in some of the playwright's pieces. Among Otoro's earlier involvement in Onukaba's plays, are: ‘A Resting Place', ‘Tower of Babel', and ‘Her Majesty's Visit'.

"It's a great honour been given the responsibility of re-enacting the lifetime of such a great personality like Saro Wiwa. I am glad, however, that I did not disappoint. This will no doubt remain for me as one of the highest point of my active career as a theatre practitioner," he said of playing the lead in ‘The Killing Swamp'.

Other players in the four-man cast play were: Jibrin Ahmed as Major; Ikponmwonsa Gold; Seun Odukoya; and Adetutu Adebambo, who played Asabe in the first and second performances respectively.

Gaming with death

Though a dramatic imagination of the playwright, the last moments of the late Ken Saro Wiwa, as depicted onstage, moved the audience to tears. Kenule engaged in what Major refers to in the play as ‘buying time' with various demands.

The highpoint of the play was the late discovery by Kenule that his cousin is the Major who has been assigned to carry out his execution. This revelation was followed up by a long drawn argument about the real reasons behind his predicament, the foundation set up in the name of Bera's father, and the possibility that money must have exchanged hands. Having failed to talk him out of avenging his father's death, Kenule gave up his antics and orders Bera (Major) to carry out the execution, saying, "Go on, do what you are here to do."

The play opens and ends at a clearing in the bush, where Kenule and the Ogoni eight are executed. It employs a flashback at some point to re-enact the meeting of Asabe and Kenule at an audition and then the court scene, which had both players switching roles. The same technique was employed in the court tribunal scene, where Major assumed the role of the judge.

‘The Killing Swamp' offers fresh insight into the Niger Delta issue, especially as it relates to the intrigues behind the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa. The playwright, however, in his wisdom, employs humour in his treatment of some of the most salient issues in the play.

Commenting on the production, the playwright, Adinoyi Onukaba, praised the high quality of work put into the production by the actors and director.

"While it is right to say this is my play, what you have seen here today is beyond me. It is the interpretation of the director and his artists. You don't always have much influence on how your play is produced. Once the book leaves your hand and goes into the hand of a director, he gives it whatever interpretation that suites him, and in this case, I must say that the director, Chidi Ukwu, is very good and has done a good job."

SOS for children’s advocate

By Victor Ekpuk September 26, 2010 02:58AMT

For a long time, I have followed the unfortunate human tragedy, the abuse, killing and destitution of children accused of witchcraft in Akwa Ibom State.

I am a native of Ikot Afagha Idung Ukpa, a small village in Eket where the Child Rights And Rehabilitation Network Centre, which caters for the abandoned and rescued children, is situated. As a result of this so-called “Child Witch” phenomenon, that village has, of recent, been the focus of world media attention. Yet, I am proud of the kind-heartedness of my townspeople. I am particularly proud of Samuel Ikpe Itauma, the proprietor of CRARN for his forthrightness and magnanimity, for it takes a special human being to take on the burdens of other people’s children.

When I first learnt about this tragedy, the most that I could do was to offer my property free of charge to shelter the children until CRARN found a permanent site. With the help of UNICEF, Bristol Helicopters and Stepping Stones Nigeria and the generous contributions by anonymous donors, and, yes, initial support of the state government, many of the abused, abandoned and stigmatised children of Akwa Ibom State now have a safe place in a community that recognizes their humanity.

On August 25th and 26th 2010, CNN aired a special about the abuse of “Witch Children” in Nigeria. To my utter surprise, the state governor, Godswill Akpabio, who was interviewed for the programme, stated that the whole story is a scam and an exaggerated attempt to embarrass his government and paint a bad image of Akwa Ibom State.

Later in a radio address, the governor announced, to the distress of many, plans to put the police on surveillance around the CRARN compound.

Two days later armed men invaded Ikot Afagha village and shattered its peace. They shot firearms in front Sam Itauma’s residence and at the CRARN Centre where the children stay. They left the residents, particularly the already traumatized children, in shock. I recall that in the wake of the first international media exposé of the so-called “child witch” phenomenon by the BBC, suspected assassins went to CRARN in search of Sam Itauma and in the process they beat up some of the children and made away with Sam’s computer and digital camera.

Judging by the ongoing spate of kidnappings and assassinations in Akwa Ibom today, I fear for the lives of Sam Itauma of CRARN and Gary Foxcroft of Stepping Stones Nigeria, a partner NGO. As I write, Sam Itauma has gone into hiding. And in his absence, gloom hangs over the CRARN Centre. The children who call him “Uncle Sam” are fearful of their fate if the current situation worsens and the Centre, their only hope for their protection from the dangers of life on the streets, is forced to close.

It is interesting to note that the same governor who visited the Centre a while ago and expressed his support is now apparently unconcerned about the children’s wellbeing. So far the state government has not provided evidence of any breach of the law by Sam Itauma and Garry Foxcroft to warrant treating them like enemies of the state.

On my last visit home, in April 2010, I conducted an art workshop with the children at CRARN. I noticed that the goodwill of donors have been put to good use. For instance, there is a hostel for girls built with funds from UNICEF, another hostel donated by Bristol Helicopters was under construction, and more land has been acquired around to provide vocational training and accommodation for increasing numbers of rescued children.

There is a school and a few volunteer teachers, administrators and a counselor. The children, in spite of the physical and emotional scars inflicted on them looked healthy and cheerful, though most told me of their desire to go back home. The counselor on the staff helps to counsel parents and reunite some of them with their children. With the help donors inside and outside Nigeria, the children are getting education, food, shelter and medical care.

This September, Suomi Sakai, Nigeria’s UNICEF Representative commissioned a new building donated by UNICEF.

In light of the above, all people of good conscience in the media, governments and human rights groups must intercede and encourage Governor Akpabio to pursue dialogue instead of coercion as means of conflict resolution.

Governor Akpabio said on CNN that he has five children; if he were to see the vulnerable children at CRARN Centre as his own, he should surely realise that they need his protection not his wrath. As the chief executive of the state, the governor must do everything within his powers to ameliorate the lives of children in whose hands lie Akwa Ibom State’s future.

Victor Ekpuk is a Nigerian visual artist who currently resides in the United States.