Categories Civil Law, Legal Advice

RAPE: A LIFETIME EMOTIONAL DISTORTION (PART 1)

Author Ayobami Olatunde Categories Civil Law, Legal Advice Posted on

BY Titilope Adeyemi, Esq

Preambles

Brutal  rape cases were reported in May and June 2020: Barakat Bello was raped and killed in her home; Grace Oshiagwu, inside a church in Ibadan, Oyo State; Vera Uwa Omozuwa also raped and murdered  in her church in Benin City, southern Nigeria; and another a 12-year-old girl raped by 11 men in Jigawa, northern Nigeria¹.

It was reported by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics that “During the coronavirus lockdown, we started receiving four to seven cases of assault per day and 70% of them were related to rape.” It was also reported in a survey published by NOIPolls that one in every three girls living in Nigeria could have experienced at least one form of sexual assault by the time they reach 25².

Several activists, Media Influencers from women-led groups marched and sent a memo to Nigeria’s House of Representatives, demanding Nigeria adopt and properly implement the 2015 Violence Against Prohibition Person’s Act (VAPP). Up till now, many States in the county are yet to domesticate the law.

Nigeria declared a state of emergency on rape and sexual violence in all 36 Nigerian States. This  seems to be more of media charade as a result of the prevailing situation than a strong show of intent to curb the menace.

Despite this new state of emergency, a culture of rape and impunity persists, making it difficult for victims to hold their abusers accountable. One in four girls and women will experience rape and/or sexual assault in Nigeria before the age of 18, according to the United Nations. However, there are fewer than 80 total recorded rape convictions in Nigeria.³

Shola Allyson, a Nigerian gospel singer recounted how she was abused in different ways at different stages and almost got used to it. She didn’t leave out the toll it has on her marriage even after several years. The case of Busola Dakolo is another amidst several more⁴

Meaning of Rape

Merriam-Webster defined rape as “unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person’s will or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception”⁵.

Under the Criminal Code of Nigeria, Rape is defined, as having unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind, or by fear of harm, or by means of false act, or, in case of a married woman, by personating her husband. This offence is punishable by imprisonment for life, with or without caning.

(See Section 357 and 358 of the Criminal Code Cap “C38”, Laws of the Federation, 2004)

In plain language, in Nigeria, a person has committed rape when he has sexual relations (carnal knowledge) with a woman against her will; or

a)      Without her consent or,

b)      While putting her in fear of death or hurt or,

c)      Misrepresenting as the husband of the woman or,

d)     Having carnal knowledge of a girl under 14 years, with or without her consent or,

e)      Having carnal knowledge of a girl with unsound mind.

Under the Penal Code (applicable in Northern part of Nigeria), it goes further to say even where the girl is a wife of the person, such person will be guilty of rape if she has not attained puberty.

Types of Rape

Rape can be categorized in different ways: for example, by reference to the situation in which it occurs, by the identity or characteristics of the victim, and by the identity or characteristics of the perpetrator.

1. Date rape: The term “date rape” is used to refer to several types of rape, broadly acquaintance rape, which is a non-domestic rape committed by someone who knows the victim, and drug facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), where the rapist intentionally drugs the victim with a date rape drug so that they are incapacitated.

2. Gang rape: Gang rape occurs when a group of people participate in the rape of a single victim.

3. Spousal rape: Spousal rape also known as marital rape, wife rape, husband rape, partner rape or intimate partner sexual assault (IPSA), is rape between a married or de facto couple without one spouse’s consent.

4. Rape of children: Rape of a child is a form of child sexual abuse. When committed by another child (usually older or stronger) or adolescent, it is called child-on-child sexual abuse

5. Statutory rape: It is the law citing an interest in protecting “young people” (variously defined but sometimes synonymous with minors) from sexual exploitation, treat any sexual contact with such a person as an offense (not always categorized as “rape”), even if he or she agrees to or initiates the sexual activity. Others include serial rape, prison rape etc.⁶

Several things and situations have been ascribed to causes of rape such as victim precipitation, male pathology, male hostility, indecent dressing, psychological and emotional distortions, alcohol etc. I will like to posit emphatically as there is no justification for rape.

Effects of Rape

According to (Independent Domestic Abuse Services) IDAS “The effects of rape will vary for each person as we are all affected in different ways and recover at different rates. However, working with survivors we know that there are some common responses to rape and sexual violence. We also know that the effects can last many years and can take many years to show themselves.

Here are some of the common effects:

1. Physical effects: These may be instantly obvious if the assailant has used violence during the assault and you may need immediate hospital treatment.

2. Disassociation / emotional numbness: For many an initial reaction to being raped is one of shock and emotional numbness. Many people initially feel calm and shut off from what’s happened.

3. Fear: Depending on the circumstances you may feel fear about a number of things.  

4. Embarrassment & shame: A significant number of people who’ve been sexually assaulted feel embarrassed or shameful about what has happened.

5. Guilt: Feeling guilty when you’ve been raped is common. You may feel that you could have done something to prevent the attack or, if you know the attacker, you may feel that you somehow ‘provoked’ the rape.   

6. Practical factors:   You may feel a strong need to get away and to make practical changes in your life. Your priority should be to feel safe.

7. Depression: Depression can be expected as you start to come to terms with or recover from any major trauma or emotionally charged event.

8. Recurrent dreams and nightmares: You may experience recurrent dreams and nightmares as your brain tries to process, understand and recover from what has happened.

  • To be continued- How do you help rape survivor to get justice? Recovering from rape, what are the punishment for rape, and much more in the next edition.  

References

1. https://healthwise.punchng.com/rape-a-costly-lifelong-burden/

2. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52889965

3. https://globalvoices.org issue of 3rd of July, 2020

4. abused-a-lot-in-different-ways-at-different-stages-and-i-almost-got-used-to-it-gospel-singer-sola-allyson.html

5. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rape#

6.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_rapehttps://www.myjobmag.com/square/article/26/rape-under-nigerian-law

Categories Legal Advice

Doctor/Patient Relation: Patient’s Rights through Patient’s Bill of Rights (PBoR)

Author Ayobami Olatunde Categories Legal Advice Posted on

As the popular saying goes ‘There are two people you shouldn’t lie to; your doctor and your lawyer.’ From the time immemorial the relationship between patient and doctor has always been sacred with ultimate confidentiality.

 The patient–doctor relationship comprises of four main elements: knowledge, trust, loyalty, and regard. These elements have doctor and patient aspects to them, which may be reciprocally related. However, over the centuries there are reports of abuse of the relationship especially from the doctors.

The purport of this short article only seeks to examine the right of patients in relation to the Patient’s Bill of Rights (PBoR).

A patient’s bill of rights is a list of guarantees for those receiving medical care. It may take the form of a law or a non-binding declaration. Typically a patient’s bill of rights guarantees patients information, fair treatment, and autonomy over medical decisions, among other rights. [1]

The rights of patients in Nigeria are not new to the medical & legal environments. There are various legislations including the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the National Health Act, 2012 and various codes of ethics for healthcare practitioners which make conscious provisions on the rights available to users of healthcare services.

Sections 33, 34 and 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), provides for fundamental rights to life, dignity of human person, and personal liberty respectively. These rights are inalienable rights and the apex court in Nigeria has given it a judicial flavour in the case of Mustapha v. Governor of Lagos State (1987) LPELR – 1931 (SC) said these are rights which encompass all humanity, and attach to a man because of his humanity.

The patient Bill of right sets standards for operation for both consumers and healthcare providers in the country and to ensure optimal consumer satisfaction in the health sector.[2]

A bill of right is the compilation rights of citizens of a country. The purpose of bill of rights is to protect those rights against infringement. The Bill provides for 12 basic rights for patients.[3]

1. Right to relevant information in a language and manner the patient understands, complete and accurate information about diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, other procedures and possible outcomes. This right also guarantees the patient to fully participate in implementing the treatment plan and making decisions.

For effective claim of this right, the patient has a duty to Seek information from the hospital or health facility about their services, Understand the treatment plan, Provide details about any changes occurring during, or on account of treatment and Report dissatisfaction to appropriate authority

2. Right to timely access to detailed and accurate medical records and available services. This gives the patient the right to know the skill of the medical practitioners attending to him. Hence, patient need to request for these information.

3. Right to transparent billing and full disclosure of any cost. Each drugs and treatment received by the patient must be itemized and the financial implication stated.

4. Privacy and confidentiality of all information and medical records unless disclosure is vital and in the interest of public health in accordance with prevailing law. The patient is duty bound to be completely truthful and accurately disclose any medical history, medication and complaints to the medical practitioner.

5. Right to clean and safe healthcare environment. Patient has the right to equitable quality care but not to constitute a nuisance or in any way endanger others.

6. Right to be treated with respect without discrimination. This right encapsulates that patient must be treated with absolute respect without prejudice to gender, religion, race, ethnicity, allegation of crimes, geographic location, disability or socio-economic  circumstances. Also the prior wishes of the patient or of the next of kin (where legally applicable) are respected to the fullest extent practicable at the time of death including cultural or religious preferences, to the extent of its  consistency with extant laws including coroners laws.

7. Right to receive urgent care immediate and sufficient intervention and care, in the event of emergency. Patient that need urgent medical attention in the event of an emergency must be prioritized over other factors including cost and payment, as well as law enforcement requirements.

8. Right to reasonable visitation in accordance with the laid down rules and guidelines. However, the patient must respect that the health care facilities reserve the right to modify rules to maintain decorum and ensure security of patients and medical practitioners, provided reasonable notice of modification is given.

9. Right to decline care subject to other prevailing legislations. Patients at all times, retain the control of their person and must be informed of their power to decline care upon full disclosure of the consequences of such decisions.

10. Right to decline or accept to participate in medical research or clinical trials. Patients have the right to c o n s e n t o r d e c l i n e participation in medical research, experimental procedures or clinical trials in the course of treatment.

11. Right to quality care in accordance to prevailing standards. To be informed about impending interruption or disengagement of services of medical personnel.

12. Right to complain and express dissatisfaction regarding services received. To express dissatisfaction regarding service and/or provider including  personnel changes and abuse. Patient must however complain in accordance with redress mechanism of the facility and provide sufficient details of dissatisfaction.

Conclusion

There is no gain saying that the development of the healthcare sector in Nigeria will be hasten only through the delivery of quality and affordable healthcare services. Thus, the protection of rights of patients is crucial to this growth. More sensitization and education is needed for Nigerians to be aware of these rights available to them.

[1] https://www.proshareng.com/news/Business-Regulations,-Law—Practice/Nigerian-Patient%E2%80%99s-Bill-of-Rights–5-T/41193

[2] https://www.pulse.ng/bi/strategy/strategy-explainer-heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-patients-bill-of/922nk4w

[3] http://fccpc.gov.ng/uploads/files/patients-bill-of-rights-full-version.pdf

Categories Legal Advice

SHAPING PEACE TOGETHER: 2020 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE

Author Ayobami Olatunde Categories Legal Advice Posted on

Introduction

Today, 21st September, 2020, Biola Adimula & Co. joins the United Nations and the entire globe to celebrate International Day of Peace. Commemorating the Day through education and public awareness on strengthening the ideals of peace, through advocacy for  non-violence and show of love to others.

Background

Globally the International Day of Peace is observed  on every 21st  September  as  declared in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly  vide Resolution  (A/RES/55/282). Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire. International days are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. By the celebration of international day of peace,  the United Nations invites all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities during the Day, and to otherwise commemorate the Day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace and in  strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.

Uniqueness of 2020 Peace Day Celebrations

COVID-19 pandemic,  a global health crisis unlike any other one is spreading human suffering, destabilizing the global economy and upending the lives of billions of people around the globe. Vulnerable populations in countries with weaker health systems are facing humanitarian crises and are at great risk. The virus has thrown our world into turmoil and forcibly reminded us that what happens in one part of the planet can impact people everywhere, making it  clearer than ever that we are not each other’s enemies. Rather, our common enemy is a tireless virus that threatens our health, security and very way of life. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on all warring parties to lay down their weapons and focus on the battle against this unprecedented global pandemic. While the message is intended for armed parties, solidarity and cooperation across borders, sectors and generations are also needed to win this new fight against the worst public health crisis of our time.

For the first time in the history of mankind a virus has affected the whole earth, beyond what the world has experienced in biological and physical weapons attack in the past. All nations experienced “lockdown”, “stay home”, “stay safe”. To ensure peace for all, utmost commitment to hygiene in regular washing of hands with soap, application of hand sanitizer, wearing of face mask and social distancing became the global watch word. These were unprecedented!

Shaping Peace Together

This year,  to mark its 75th  anniversary, the UN has invited millions of people worldwide to join UN75, the largest and furthest-reaching global conversation on building the peaceful and prosperous future that we want. My Department in University of Ilorin Nigeria- Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies- hosted an all encompassing dialogue on global peace and security in the face of COVID-19 pandemic. As a Rapporteur of the dialogue, an intellectually responsive discussions and brilliant suggestions were summed up in the robust report submitted to the UN in April, 2020.

In furtherance of this, other ways to shape peace together include:

  1. Add your voice to the struggle to defeat COVID-19, your voice is more important than ever.
  2. In the face of  difficult times of physical distancing, join online dialogue   and contribute your  ideas to shape global peace.
  3.  Unite with the UN  and share your thoughts on how to weather this storm, heal our planet and change it for the better.
  4. Be resolute that even though we may not be able to stand next to each other, we can still dream together.
  5. Celebrate the 2020 International Day of Peace by spreading compassion, kindness and hope in the face of the pandemic.
  6. Stand together with the UN against attempts to use the virus to promote discrimination or hatred, so that we can shape peace together. 

 Last words

Global solidarity is not only a moral imperative, it is in everyone’s interests.  The United Nations is committed to ensuring that all people have access to all the tools to defeat COVID-19 and to live in peace. Join your hands with the UN, Biola Adimula & Co., peace scholarship and practice to  make your contribution no matter how small and be a part of shaping global peace.

By: Ruth Abiola Adimula, Ph.D

Categories Family Law

THE FORGOTTEN SURVIVORS: EFFECTS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON CHILDREN AND YOUTHS

Author Ayobami Olatunde Categories Family Law Posted on

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence or intimate partner violence is a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors including physical, sexual and psychological attacks, as well as economic coercion used by adults or adolescents against their current or former intimate partners.

Examples of physical abuse include slapping, shaking, beating with fist or object, strangulation, burning, kicking and threats with a knife. Sexual abuse includes coerced sex through threats or intimidation or through physical force, forcing unwanted sexual acts, forcing sex in front of others and forcing sex with others.

Psychological abuse involves isolation from others, excessive jealousy, control of his or her activities, verbal aggression, intimidation through destruction of property, harassment or stalking, threats of violence and constant belittling or humiliation. Most studies show that in between 40% – 60% of families where there is domestic violence, there is also child physical abuse (Edelson, 2001).

Children and Domestic Violence.

Some of the biggest victims of domestic violence are the smallest. Children as small as 4 month old get to experience domestic violence too, their reaction may not be overt as older children but it cannot be ignored.

 Children who are exposed to domestic violence are categorized into two:

  1. Victims of abuse :
    1.  these are children who are directly harmed, injured, or killed as a result of the occurrence of domestic violence
  1. Witness of abuse:
    1. These are children who observe the occurrence of domestic violence as it takes place.

Children who witness domestic violence or are victims of abuse themselves are at serious risk for long-term physical and mental health problems. In a home situation where domestic violence occurs, the immediate focus is usually the spouse who is abused.  However findings show that children who are exposed to violence in the home may suffer a range of problems that are severe and of lasting effects. And they are more likely to be victims of child abuse.

Most often times than none, children are not the primary concern. They are often described as the forgotten victims of Domestic Abuse. They unfortunately do not have the power of choice in some certain age until they grow past the dependent stage, where they can leave home, regrettably the damage would have been done by then.

Children who witness violence between parents may also be at greater risk of being violent in their future relationships. They are affected not only by directly witnessing abuse, but also by living in an environment where usually their mother is being repeatedly victimized. Abnormal forms the map of their norms. Children in such a home are also at greater risk of being victimized themselves or are being used as a weapon to control the mother

What are the needs of a child?

To fully understand the impact of domestic violence we need to know what children need to grow into a total and balanced adult.

  1. Children need a safe and secure family life, free of violence.
  2. Children need parents that love and protect them.
  3. Children need parent that can instructions and direction for daily living
  4. Children need to have a sense of routine and stability, so that when things go wrong in the outside world, they can go back home,. And so therefore they need;
  5. A home which should be place of comfort, help and support.

When what they need can’t be provided they seem to have a life that is not balanced. A home with occurrence of domestic violence throws the child out of balance.

Effects of Domestic abuse on children

Children are different individuals and may tend to experience domestic violence differently based on their personality. There are three different kinds of reactions/symptoms: hyper arousal; re-experiencing; and avoidance.

  1. Hyper arousal means that the child may be fearful, nervous, jumpy, and react strongly to any other scary experience.
  2. Re-experiencing means that the child may have repeated or intrusive thoughts about what happened or keep feeling sensations in the body that are tied to what happened.
  3. Avoidance means that the child may try to avoid any reminders of the trauma. This may cause him or her to withdraw from normal activities.

Young children who witness domestic violence often worry about their caregivers and are afraid to be separated from them. Children may express their distress through physical symptoms, such as stomach aches or headaches. Young children may use play to act out certain aspects of what they’ve witnessed. Sometimes they just act out the same events over and over again in their play; sometimes they express a wish to change the outcome.

Domestic Violence also affects how children at different stages of growth and development, develops emotionally, mental, socially and behaviorally.  Children in the earliest years of life are particularly vulnerable: studies show that domestic violence is more prevalent in homes with younger children than with those with older children

Children who are victims of domestic violence may experience it in the form of physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological, and financial abuse.                                                                           

Physical Abuse in Children

Intentional use of physical force against the child that results in – or has a high likelihood of resulting in – harm for the child’s health, survival, development or dignity. This includes hitting, beating, kicking, shaking, biting, strangling, scalding, burning, poisoning and suffocating. Much physical violence against children in the home is inflicted with the object of punishing.

Sexual Abuse in Children

Child sexual abuse ranges from non-contact form to contact-abusive form. Sexual abuse does not have to involve penetration, force, pain, or even touching. If an adult engages in any sexual behavior (looking, showing, or touching) with a child to meet the adult’s interest or sexual needs, it is sexual abuse.

Contact-Abusive physical contact or touching includes:

  • Touching a child’s genitals or private parts for sexual purposes
  • Making a child touch someone else’s genitals or play sexual games
  • Putting objects or body parts (like fingers, tongue or penis) inside the vagina, in the mouth or in the anus of a child for sexual purposes

Non-contact sexual abuse includes:

  • Showing pornography to a child
  • Photographing a child in sexual poses
  • Encouraging a child to watch or hear sexual acts
  • Deliberately exposing an adult’s genitals to a child
  • Inappropriately watching a child undress or use the bathroom

What Children who have gone through domestic abuse needs

Children can be better protected from the effects of domestic violence and better supported in healing following exposure to this violence.

  1. Children need a safe and secure home environment.

 Every child has the right to grow up safe from harm and should feel that those they love are also protected. Violence in the home shatters a child’s basic right to feel safe and secure in the world. Children need the violence to stop.

  • Children need to know that there are adults who will listen to them, believe them and shelter them.

 Adults who work with children, including teachers, social workers, relatives, and parents themselves, need the awareness and skills to recognize and meet the needs of children exposed to violence in the home and to refer children to appropriate services. Close, dependable relationships can also help children reduce the stress of living in a violent home. Children who have an adult who gives them love, warmth and attentive care cope better than those who do not. Children who are exposed to violence in the home need to know that they are not alone and that the violence is not their fault.

  • Children need a sense of routine and normalcy.

Violence in the home can turn a child’s world upside down. Routines such as going to school and participating in recreational activities are vital for children’s development and well-being and should be maintained.

  • Children need support services to meet their needs.

 Responses to children exposed to domestic violence should be comprehensive and holistic, taking into account the range of effects and needs of different children. Children must have places to go that are safe and supportive, whether it be with extended family or at a domestic violence shelter. Studies suggest that providing interventions to abused mothers can also have benefits to children, especially where these efforts take into account the specific needs of children.

  • Children need to learn that domestic violence is wrong and learn non-violent methods of resolving conflicts.

Children must hear it re-affirmed that domestic violence is wrong. They have to see alternative role models in order to grow up with a positive idea of the future. Several countries have instituted programmes that teach young people how to avoid violence in personal relationships. Schools are key in the strategy. School-based programmes can reduce aggression and violence by helping children to develop positive attitudes and values, and a broader range of skills to avoid violent behavior. Other successful programmes emphasize conflict resolution, cooperative play and positive role models.

  • Children need adults to speak out and break the silence.

Children who are exposed to violence in the home need to know that things can change and that violence in the home can end.

  • Children need hope for the future.

Public education and awareness-raising campaigns on domestic violence should focus more on the impact on children and specific ways to address this hidden problem. Governments and other public institutions should speak out about the impact of violence in the home on children.

written by LENN FIDELYS, ESQ.

ICT and Its Daily Benefits to Mankind
Categories Uncategorized

ICT and Its Daily Benefits to Mankind

Author Ayobami Olatunde Categories Uncategorized Posted on

Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage and audiovisual systems, that enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information. The term ICT is also used to refer to the convergence of audiovisual and telephone networks with computer networks through a single cabling or link system (Wikipedia, 2020)[1].

 It is no longer a news that the world is in the digital age especially with 4.57billion internet users in the world today which represent 59% of the total global population. On the average, each internet user spend 6hours 42minutes per day using the internet (datareportal, 2020)[2]. As a matter of fact, we are living in a constantly evolving digital world. ICT has an impact on nearly every aspect of our lives – from working to socializing, learning to playing.

The digital age has transformed the way young people communicate, network, seek help, access information and learn. We must recognize that young people are now an online population and access information through a variety of means such as computers, TV and mobile phones etc. This is the reason why educational technology and e-learning is taught in or out of the classroom since educational technology is used by learners and educators in homes, schools, businesses, and other settings. It is in this view that this write-up considers the benefits of ICT in our daily life if well leveraged on through new technologies.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have been at the heart of economic changes for more than a decade. ICT sector plays an important role, notably by contributing to rapid technological progress and productivity growth. Firms use ICTs to organize transnational networks in response to international competition and the increasing need for strategic interaction. (Ýsmail Seki, 2008)[3].

Here are some benefits of ICT:

Economic Benefit: Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has an important economic role in the world since we are now in the information age era. With ICT, the company can make the business easier to happen with the client, supplier and the distributor. It is also very important in our daily business lives. The lack of appropriate information at the right time will result in low productivity, low quality research works, and waste of time to pursue information and even to do research which actually others had done or in other countries. Nowadays ICT cannot be separated with our daily economic needs.

Digital computer and networking has changed our economy concept to the economy with no boundary in time and space because of ICT. It brings a lot of advantages for economic development enabling millions of transactions to happen in an easy and fast way.

Educational Benefits: The use of ICT in education add value in teaching and learning, by enhancing the effectiveness of learning, or by adding a dimension to learning that was not previously available. ICT may also be a significant motivational factor in students’ learning, and can support students’ engagement with collaborative learning. It helps our learning process and educational life as many people leverage on the internet to teach their children, read local newspaper using the online newspaper and get information.

ICT improves quality of human life when its being used as a learning and education media. The mass communication media could be used as a way of promoting and campaigning practical and important educational issues relating to health and social life. It provides wider knowledge and can help in gaining and accessing information.

Career and Social Benefits: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of organizations find it difficult to continue their day to day activities without violating the social distancing measure. But with ICT, we now have organizations, religious institutions and political offices organizing interview, meetings, webinars, conferences, conventions, seminars, services and tutorials via teleconferencing which now help people career wise and allow them to work remotely/virtually. ICT has broken the barrier of location as it is very easy for people to still get connected with family, friends, relatives, or colleagues even if in abroad by using the electronic mail, yahoo messenger, call conference, or video conference.

Entertainment Benefits: ICT has made our entertainment life easy as we could watch entertainment and media contents such as art works, music, videos, news and games online. With ICT watching more shows and films on streaming services, using social media, messenger services, music streaming services, playing computer or video games are now easy activities.

Daily Life Benefits: Finally, ICT has become an integral part of everyday life for many people. It makes life easy for people especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of people were able to cope with covid-19-related lockdowns, kept their children entertained and engaged, helps people with their shopping, improve their mental health and wellbeing, helps improve their income and finances.

Importance of ICT in people’s lives can neither be overemphasized nor exhausted and it is on the increase and is expected that this trend will continue, to the extent that ICT literacy will become a functional requirement for people’s work, social, and personal lives[4].

Written by AYOBAMI, Olatunde M.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_and_communications_technology

[2] https://datareportal.com

[3] Ýsmail Seki, 2008. “The Importance of ICT for the Knowledge Economy: A Total Factor Productivity Analysis for Selected OECD Countries,” Papers of the Annual IUE-SUNY Cortland Conference in Economics, in: Oguz Esen & Ayla Ogus (ed.), Proceedings of the Conference on Emerging Economic Issues in a Globalizing World, pages 72-90, Izmir University of Economics.

[4] https://pcdreams.com.sg/importance-of-information-and-communications-technology-ict-in-our-daily-life/

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