SEX EDUCATION, YOUTHS AND LGBT IN NIGERIA.

SEX EDUCATION, YOUTHS AND LGBT IN NIGERIA.

Sex education in Nigeria is a backward movement. This can be blamed on cultural bodies that forbid the utterance of the word 'sex'. A country with diverse cultures, values and norms, it is bitterly sad to see the everyday tabloids having one sex scandal or the other. These sex scandals come in different forms majorly affecting the youths and minorities who are deprived of their rights. Who are made to shrink themselves and raised believing that been outspoken is disrespectful and a disgrace.

They youths are suffering in silence. Out educational system plays minor role in education youths about sex. To an extent, it can be said that the only rightful place you learn about sex is at the secondary level and this can be traced to the subject 'biology'. Under this subject, we gradually get informed about reproduction as a topic. It is a topic or rather a subject that requires fierce teachers, who open to exploration with their students.

How many of youths in Nigeria are privileged to be educated to secondary level? Not many have this necessity which is more like a luxury. Even though we have rural areas that are striving so hard to keep up with the pace of learning, not much is been taught to them. A number of them have no idea about their rights. They have more knowledge about their cultural rights which are more of deprived rights in regards to the youths.

Cultural rights is a cancer to the youths.It is even more cancerous to the females because they are seen as mere degraded beings. They have no freedom of their own. No movement, no voice and say.

The impact of culture in regards to sex educationally wise can be said to have favoured a certain gender more than the other gender. Obviously, the females are the unfavourable gender who although culture has helped in shaping them into poised ladies but also been a detrimental element to them emotionally.

As youths, we are looked at as been untouchable by the adults who partake in abusing us sexually. Because culture regard sexual utterances as taboos, we are made to suffer and grieve silently. Reporting such case to a guardian worsens the matter. You end up regretting why you mentioned it at first.

This has made culture to be classified as a backward movement to sex education in Nigeria. It has failed in paving way for enlightment on the youths who are in the process of transitioning to parent, adults,leaders etc. It only sees the youths as forever young beings who maybe to their own understanding will never get to adulthood.

Sexual abuse is not encouraged by culture but it only paved way for its voice not to be heard with the laws of the law which doesn't encourage such act and which can be said is a tantamount action with negative background.
As kids, we questioned our births. The more we asked, the more ranges of answers are told to us. Some of us cease asking which automatically means our parents succeeded in shutting us up at that period while some persistently ask out of curiosity. They end up with varieties. It is left for them to select the best one to suit them at that period.

The private parts are conned in a manner sensed to promote modesty and guard the tongues of the kids by parents. The names sound funny depending. And then comes peers. The interaction with peers one day leads to the curiosity of body parts. Each one saying what his/her parents told them. Each of them with more knowledge about sex organs than the other.

Luckily enough, there is that one person who knows more and ready to spill it out. We sit and listen to every detail, we ask questions with no shame but courage and eagerness of the unknown.

Some go home ready to tell their parents about what they learnt from their peer. Some shut their mouths, pretending like they know nothing about sex organs. Their parents applaud them, labelling them innocent and encouraging that path while the open mouthed ones are beaten or scolded and even told to stay away from that peer that informed them because he/she has a negative influence to their growth. A bad egg.

This can be true to an extent but if you never wanted your kid to find out that way, why not tell/inform your kid in the way you see more appropriate?

The pretense continues. The curiosity and fire burning in us to know the answer to the unknown blazes more and we go in search of more answers. Legally or illegally. By crooks and nooks.

Some stumple upon good materials/information while some end up with wrong ones. This affects them as they grow older and plays an impact to their behavioural and emotional feelings. This paves way for pornograpghy, coming in contact with corrupt books, movies and learning all sexual acts portrayed in pop culture.

While some guard this knowledge, others misuse it. They take pride in knowing about forbidden sex organs. They feel superior than their other peers who know nothing or something or more than them but concealing it to avoid the negative tag it comes with.

And as kids, we love adventures/experiences. Some, as young as that age want to explore. They get deep and deeper. The more innocence we perceive them with, the more they linger to know more in elderly discussions. They listen to how fusion between males and females come together to form foetus.

They learn their existence within their environment with the help of their peers directly or indirectly. The cycle continues.
The teachers at the primary level after all are only to mention major body parts. We sing to them joyously. Head, shoulders, knees, toes, eyes, nose etc. It is so because we haven't reached puberty. Most of us have no interest in that aspect. Our priority then was to play on the playground or anxious wait for break time to eat.

At the secondary level, there is need for sex education. It doesn't matter the class but an early prevention is better than cure. Sex education is to be discussed stage by stage. It should be an open topic with freedom to ask andbe answered correctly. An interactive session free from judgement of an individual.

Questions should be asked anonymously. Privacy should be respected. No one would like to be pointed at as a victim to a pain.

Sex education should be taught to both girls and boys at same environment. They shouldn't be segmented into genders. Both genders are to have knowledge on both sexes. It will help to promote understanding and clear misconceptions and even enlightenment.

Lately, compared to before, there has been an improvement in sex education but this can be credited to some individual's interest to enlighten the youths due to some of them having passed that phase in their life.

But it should not only be a kind of volunteer enlighment. It should be a part of secondary school curriculum. It should be compulsory because it will help in shaping the society, behaviour wise or/and emotionally. It will be a long tern sanity program which will reduce the cases of abuse in our society.

Not only will sex education be discusses but also the rights of the Nigerian youths. Sex education will then not be really necessary at the tertiary institution because it has been tackled at the right time and place.

Helplines as regards to issues of rape, health and abuses should be provided rightly. It will help in saving lives and punishing grievous crimes committed before it gets late.

Sex education at this stage is the best because a lot us are going through puberty and full of questions to our body's changes. It is a very hard phase in our life that needs utmost attention and answer to. Helping the youths discover their mysteries at this favourable stage prevents some issues affecting society regarding sex.

This is a long term goal which will prevent and help in creating awareness to sexually transmitted diseases which is a case study in most societies to ways of preventing  teenage pregnancies, what to do and how to go about it and tackling of sexual abuses in the society.

Curbing it at an early stage can be sensed to be of help morally at tertiary institutions. At the tertiary level, if all right measures are taken to educate the youths on sex education, drastic improvement will be seen on the part of the youths participation and fight against immorality.

This leads us furthermore to government's support and participation. The government of Nigeria so far can be said to have neglected the youths. Forgetting we make up a huge population of Nigeria, we are not involved in government. This is a problem that needs to be tackled. There is lack of government's participation.

Government should make sex education a compulsory subject in primary and secondary institutions. Doing this gives room for orientation to the youths and moreover it is their right to have education, sex education is also their right. Although, primary institution sex orientation should be more on sexual abuse because it affects a great number of kids in this institution.

Kids at the primary level are affected by sexual abuse by people they trust and know. Strangers make up the list but not as much as the former. They should be taught to report any advance to their private parts. This will make them to be outspoken and prevent emotional trauma.

The government should support the youths in bringing back morality to the society it rules. They can help in alerting the public, concentrating on the youths on sex education. They can finance programmes because it won't be a wasteful effort. Government should join hands with the youths and listen to their cries.

The law can be made active too by government's aid. Any person with case of sexual abuse should be heard and the case judged justly. The guilty party must be made to face to law, in this way, others would take to correction.

Our parents, family and/or guardians are of major concern in the fight to enlighten the youths about sex education. They end up neglecting this role, making it seem like a major responsibility of our educational sector. They have to know that sex education is their part and it should be taught in the way best known to be understood Bu each and everyone's child.

Allowing peers discuss sex education with their fellow peers might lead wrong information. It will affect them especially at that early stage and some grow with such misconceptions

Pregnant teenagers shouldn't be neglected, rather, they should be supported because at that period, thatvis the only form of help they need. They shouldn't be looked down on and be made to go through emotional trauma which might lead to depression, suicide etc. 
Although there has been feedbacks as to parents teaching sex education. Teenagers at a certain period feel they know more than their parents. They disassociate themselves from their parents and feel the urge to fill up that space with whosoever the stumple on. It is important for parents to dialogue with their kids about sex at a very tender age before they go through that hormonal stage in their life.

The reality of the matter is that youths are engaging in sexual activities. It is sad but true to fight for the need to oriented the youths on sex. The world is selling sex. In the movies, music, games, cartoons, toys etc. Sex is selling rampantly.

The misconception parents have about sex education is that sex education is encouraging and selling sex. It is best to believe that sex education is more on orientation. Education is key.

Parents have to be sincere to also reflect back to the stage they started thinking about sex. This will make it easier for them, schools and the government to know the appropriate age to educate youths about sex.

The youths have to know what would happen when they take part in sex. No parent wants to pay for ignorance especially with sex related matters.

Abstinence programs as well as comprehensive programmes play key roles. Abstinence program which can be said to be the only effective and surest way of not getting pregnant and not having sexually transmitted diseases.

Comprehensive programmes which is sadly but the most truthful platform that explains sex in detail. It ssee doesn't encourage sex but sees the need to inform youths about the benefit of sex, how to make decision pertaining premarital sex, birth control pills and their side effects, sexually transmitted diseases and preventive measures and abortion.

An abstinence-only program typically teaches abstaining from sex, negative outlook on sex outside marriage, may not necessrily discuss condoms, birth control pills. It may even omit abortion and sexual orientation but rather focus on achievement of goals before sex.

Morally, abstinence programme can be said to be favourable but truth be told, with the era of pop culture influence and sale of sex especially in the media, there is need to assume that our kids even if innocent to be taught with focus on comprehensive sex education programme.

There can also be a blend of the two to achieve balanced goals. It is then left to the youth of our society to choose what's right and what's wrong.

There has not been any law on sex education in Nigeria but there is need for one to bring about sanity in the society.

These laws will help in even creating health care centres as well as serve as advisory body to the youths. They will implement compulsory sex education when the government looks into it and make sure it is well planned.

It will also help in eradicating misconceptions, focus on sexual orientation because knowledge is power.

Sex education has not been fully tackled but we have to look at it in relation to the new trend. The trend of LGBT.

Nigeria rejected the act of LGBT. Doesn't it make sense that educating our youths on sex education will help the youths be informed that homosexuality and other categories of LGBT is not an acceptable lifestyle to the general public and therefore punishable under the law.

Also will they be informed that LGBT has more health hazards and no safe method in engaging in such act.

This brings about the talk on gender identity. It is important that youths understand anatomy and structures in the most comprehensive manner in order to clear bluring images of gender identity.

In a world, where LGBT is fast becoming acceptable in various places, there is need to take preventive measures and accurately informed discussions to see to its failure to poison the minds of the youths.

It can be seen that sex education is a wide topic and needs attention in Nigeria especially to its youths. It is a short journey with obstacles. We can achieve a sane society curbing this epidemic. It begins with you and I. 

Written By Yahya Yakubu and Fatima Muhammad