The Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo III, has called for urgent moral reorientation and stronger community leadership as part of efforts to address the growing incidence of violence against women and girls in Nigeria.
Speaking at Nigeria’s Sixth Men-Only Townhall Meeting held at Alausa, Ikeja, themed “A Cultural Roadmap to Ending Violence Against Women and Girls,” the monarch emphasized the need for cultural accountability, community responsibility, and active male involvement in ending gender-based violence (GBV).
Represented by the Bobagunwa of Egbaland, Toye Okanlawon, Oba Gbadebo described the current situation as alarming and requiring immediate collective action.
“This kind of engagement is long overdue. When you look at what our girls, our sisters and daughters are going through today, the situation is appalling,” he said.
The monarch noted that rising cases of GBV reflect a deep erosion of moral values within families and communities, warning that violence at home often shapes future behaviour in children.
“When a father beats his wife or a wife abuses her husband, what example are we setting for the children? They grow up to replicate what they see,” he added.
He stressed that preventing GBV must begin at the family level, where discipline, balance, and accountability in parenting—especially in raising boys—are prioritised.
“We must raise our sons with the same sense of accountability and discipline as our daughters. When there is no balance, society pays the price,” he said.
Oba Gbadebo further urged traditional rulers and community leaders to take decisive steps in dismantling harmful cultural norms that shield perpetrators or silence victims.
“Custodians of culture must take a stand. What is wrong is wrong, and it must not be tolerated in any community,” he declared.
Chairman of the occasion, actor and production manager Yemi Sodimu, described the initiative as a necessary response to a pressing national crisis requiring urgent collaboration.
He stressed that communities must take ownership of the fight against GBV, noting that the South-West region continues to play a leading role in social reform.
“What is bad is bad; it has no two ways,” Sodimu said, warning that inaction would leave a damaging legacy for future generations.
He cited troubling statistics, revealing that Ogun State records an average of 41 domestic violence cases daily—about 15,000 annually—while Lagos State documented 8,692 sexual and domestic violence cases between August 2024 and July 2025.
According to him, “one in three girls in Ogun is likely to experience sexual abuse before age 18,” while victims in Lagos include children as young as 18 months.
Also speaking, Founder and Executive Director of The Gnosis Help Initiative, Barrister Olumide Omosebi, revealed that GBV cases in Lagos rose sharply from 3,943 in 2020 to over 8,600 within 11 months in 2024—an average of 28 cases daily.
He noted that about 86 percent of sexually abused children are familiar with their abusers, often relatives or close family members.
“Children are now more likely to be abused within their own homes than outside,” he said, adding that harmful cultural practices such as settlement culture continue to enable perpetrators to evade justice.
Omosebi called on traditional rulers to reject out-of-court settlements in abuse cases and ensure offenders face legal consequences.
“The only way forward is for custodians of culture to reject harmful practices and ensure justice is served,” he said.
The townhall was organised by the Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation in partnership with Women Radio 91.7, with support from the Ford Foundation.