I've always had a problem with introductions. To me, they don’t matter. The main thing you need to know is that I'm a leader who loves to get things done right. I'm the twenty-four-year-old man who does not mind rolling up his sleeves and jump straight into the mud to get things done for the common good.
As a little boy, I had big dreams. I, Nwachukwu Ikechukwu, wanted to grow up and become a surgeon because the prospect of saving life is noble, exciting, and fulfilling.
However, as years passed, that aspiration did not come to fruition because my parents could not afford the fees. My ambition shattered. Nonetheless, as I grew, I discovered that there is more than one road to success and self-actualization. Since my passion has always been to save life, I believed that everything good will come.
Presently, the year 2020 has been the best year of my life. Although, it's been rough due to the lockdown orchestrated by the coronavirus pandemic, still I rise, saving lives. As expected, the pandemic led to a sudden, sharp rise in unemployment, which in part, resulted in an increase in the number of idle hands. An idle hand, it is said, is the devil's workshop. But a hand that is both idle and poor is the devil's headquarters.
Idleness and unemployment is the mother of crimes. The pandemic resulted in an increase in the number of 'reported' violence against women, particularly rape, in Ibadan, where I live. Since the pandemic kicked off, more than ten rape cases have been reported to the local authorities, yet nothing was done to curb the menace. It was in parts, due to corruption, and in other parts, rape apologists who are ambassadors of rape culture with such nonsensical questions as 'What was she wearing? When and where was she raped? What was she doing there? Wasn't she a whore?
I was saddened by this evil. In fact, I was angry at the authorities. It is the kind of anger that brings about positive changes. I had to fight the good fight. I organised the first peaceful protest against rape and rape apologists in my local community this year. We masked up and stormed the communities. We stayed on the windward side of the law by exercising social distancing even in open spaces. Our objective was specific; to remind everyone that the lives of our young girls matter. No woman, no nation! Physical protest was not enough. We launched the hashtag#JusticeforBarakat who was raped and murdered before our protest. We encouraged victims to stand up and speak up.
Two days after our protest, the police launched a successful manhunt for the rapists. I am very self-fulfilled that they have been brought to book. Martin Luther King said, 'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.'
My partners and I are organising free skill acquisition and empowerment programmes for the youth in my community.