By Uthman Al-gurawy 

Gender Violence and Rape Cases in Nigeria (a Case Study of Yobe State)
Introduction
Despite how the current global Covid-19 pandemic became topic of discussion because of its economic and political implication, there is another pandemic that is worse than it which scatter everything in Yobe State and Nigeria in general known as Gender Violence and Rape Cases.  Rape cases in Yobe State doesnt stop only in opposite gender (male and female) but also extends to homo-gender, where men rape young boys. 
There are more than 700 cases of Rape in Yobe in a year, which now draw the attention of researchers and journalists and different human right organization to find a room of punishing the offenders and to find diffident measures to stop it.
This paper will make an attempt to find necessary solutions to the current rape problem in Yobe State by identifying what the Rape is all about and its causes as well as its implications and thus find a necessary way to overcome it.   

What is Rape?
The word rape derives from the Latin verb rapere, which means 'to seize or take by force'. It is a forced, unwanted sexual intercourse; it is sometimes also called sexual assault, which can happen to both men and women of any age (Medhelp, 2008).    
Some researchers believe that rape and sexual violence are deeply rooted in specific political, economic and cultural environment. That rape is motivated not by sexual motivation, but by the need for power and domination; and a failure to account for the cross-cultural and cross species occurrence of rape and male sexual coercion. Example, some politician and business men will go to BOKAS and MALLAMS and the BOKAS and MALLAMS will directed them to rape a male or female child with certain age. 
Rape as a sexual violence can be Rape of children by parents, elder relatives, and other relations. This form of rape is incest, and is committed by the child's parents or close relatives, such as grandparents, aunts and uncles. It is considered incestuous in nature but not in form when committed by other elders, such as priests, nuns or other religious authorities, school teachers, or therapists, to name a few, on whom the child is dependent. This is exactly what is happening in Yobe and Nigeria in General.
Causes of Rape and its Implications 
Lax rape laws in Nigeria: Its one of the main reasons why rapists in Nigeria are so free. The laxity of laws against rapist can be a real problem for the safety of women. The Nigerian laws lack of implementation. They are only available on the paper. At the same time, there is always a problem with social inequality within the country. On the paper, the citizens of Nigeria are equal with each other. Nevertheless, people may come from different social backgrounds and if a rapist has money and influence, justice will not be served. Therefore, as long as justice will not be provided for everyone, there is no stop factor for rapists. Its necessary to resolve the problem with law implementation in Nigeria. When people know that there will be justice for their actions, the level of crimes will decline drastically.
2. Indecent dressing: Even if women protest from the idea that their dressing is one of the reasons for rape, the statistics show that its true. The modern way of dressing provides the exposure of various erogenous zones on the body of women. It can provoke sexual harassment in male.
Also, some studies show that men see women with less closing on their body as an indicator for frivolous style of behavior. Therefore, these kind of women are considered to be more approachable for intimate intercourse. The deviant males consider less clothed women as a signal for intimate activity. The problem is quite simple, they have less control over themselves and they cant help their urge.
 Culture of silence: Silence is one of the worst causes of rape in Nigeria. Its true that a lot of families in Nigeria would prefer to cover the crime, even against the will of the victim as they are afraid that the woman will not get married because of that. Any rape can be considered as bringing dishonor to the woman in Nigeria. Moreover, it might be considered that this dishonor was brought on by themselves. Therefore, women in Nigeria prefer to hide, rather than get justice. Also, according to some shocking myths, HIV infected men may believe that intimate intercourse with a virgin girl may lead to the cure from HIV.
4. Alcohol and Drugs: Its true that most causes of rape in Nigeria are possible due to the problems with alcohol and drugs in Nigeria. Unemployed youth try to find succor in alcohol and drugs. This situation leads to the increase of violence among youth.

 Solutions:
The following are some of the ways solve the high rate of Rape in Nigeria:

Parents of Nigeria must understand that security of their children completely relied on them, they will know where and when to send their children. And the adults should stay at home regularly if possible.
Ladies must be more sensitive and careful, they must be careful with who are they interacting with and should restrict themselves to go to any event that will lead to any sexual act.
Also, the Nigerian judiciary must ensure that punishments of rapists must be swift  
Conclusion:
I urge Yobe State government to organize certain team of researchers and organizations to find out every necessary solutions and to support materially and immaterially the NGOs to help overcome it.