More Nigerians watch porn than other African countries and its effects are expanding. Why is nothing being done?
With the mention of the word ‘porn’, the addict’s heart palpitates, he/she looks around to see if anyone is watching what he or she is about to read, then he suddenly becomes curious waiting for the writer to drop the hint and describe the scene frame by frame… But this isn’t one of such pieces.
These days, pornography is everywhere. It is ubiquitous and cosmopolitan. In ads, fashion, movies, music, and magazines, as well as on television and video games. Porn is easier and cheaper to access on smartphones, mobile devices through websites, and online photo-sharing services. This is also catching on in Africa which now has numerous locally made porn platforms that are making it easier to share inappropriate x-rated multimedia files.
In Africa, there has been a surge in the number of leaked images and sex scandal videos. Has the pictures and videos are being leaked, blogs and porn sites are hosting and sharing them, making them available to millions of viewers across the world. Sometimes permanently labeling the individuals in the video as sex freaks even though they never agreed to the taping and release of the production.
Pornography, it seems, is a prominent feature of popular culture. It can also be said that the nature of pornography is changing. Professor Gail Dines writes: “Images today have now become so extreme that what used to be considered hard-core is now mainstream pornography.”
- Every Second: Nearly 30,000 persons view pornographic websites.
- Every Minute: Internet users send more than 1.7 million pornographic e-mails.
- Every Hour: Nearly two hardcore pornographic videos are released in the United States.
- Every Day: An average of more than two million pornographic movies are rented in the United States alone.
- Every Month: Nearly 9 out of 10 young men and 3 out of 10 young women in the United States view pornography.
- Every Year: The global pornography industry generates an estimated $100 billion (U.S.).
It has been well documented that that those who habitually view pornography nurture have “uncontrolled sexual passion,” which may result in their becoming addicted to sex.
Viewing pornography can become a habit with long-lasting, devastating effects such as deep feelings of shame, low productivity in the workplace, unhappy family life, divorce, and suicide.
On celebrating a year of being free of his addiction to pornography, one man wrote: “I have restored a sense of personal integrity that was missing.”
The Nigerian pandemic
Nigeria has no national laws prohibiting pornography, the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention) Act, 2015 only bans child pornography. Furthermore, the public display of graphic sexual material is illegal in Lagos. The confusion over the law that applies to pornography and its enforcement had created a widespread confusion among law enforcement officers.
Currently, Nigeria’s indigenous pornography industry produces exclusively heterosexual pornography as homosexual activity in Nigeria is illegal. But some Muslim politicians in the national government proposed a nationwide block on pornographic websites.
There is significant piracy of pornography in Nigeria, with pirated pornographic DVDs being sold from roadside stalls nationwide. According to Wikipedia, the first officially acknowledged hardcore pornographic film produced in Nigeria was Better Lover Valentine Sex Party. It was not submitted to the National Film and Video Censors Board for classification and it was immediately banned on the grounds of obscenity and immorality.
Internet pornography on the other hand continues to grow in Nigeria. In 2015 the monthly average for the number of searches for pornography was 135,000, and in December 2014 and 2015 the proportion of searches for pornography (relative to other searches) was higher in Nigeria than in the United States. In 2013, Nigeria ranked second globally for Internet searches for gay pornography. Currently, Nigeria has the highest number of Internet pornography viewers of any country in Africa.
The Nigerian movie industry which kicked off with films with themes of witchcraft, ritualism and greed has in recent years shifted in an attempt to be at par with productions from Hollywood and other foreign movie markers. But the impact is more severe in Nigeria where the degrading effects of pornography are overwhelming.
“It destroys relationships, they claim, demeans women, abuses children, and engenders a perverted and harmful view of sex,” an expert said.
Nigeria continues to record a surge in the number of child sexual harassment and molestation. Newspapers and blogs regularly publish stories of children as young as 3 years getting raped by much older male adults that are usually parents, guardian, teachers, relatives, neighbors and others.
Nigerian youth on porn
healthnews.africa spoke to the youth and a number of Nigerian young adults regarding porn and there was no consensus.
When asked what there perception of porn is, whether it is harmful or it a means of reducing boredom, Ikete Precious described porn as a way of learning how to please a sex partner.
“Secondly, it helps to satisfy immediate sexual arousal,” he said.
According to him, most Nigerian youths secretly watch porn and they have become addicted, largely unknowingly. He added that porn addiction is making many Nigerian porn addicts to see females as a sex object.
“And for the less privileged who do not have sexual partners it may bring to mind the idea of rape,” he added.
Okenyi Kenechi on the other hand disagreed that porn is bad.
“It is a good thing. It is an expression of passion,” he told healthnews.africa.
Studies show internet porn is creating bigger problems in Nigeria
While porn research remains difficult to carry out and reliably trust in Nigeria, a 2016 study carried researched the Influence of internet exposure on sexual behaviour of young persons who are studying at the University of Ibadan southwest Nigeria.
According to the researchers, Oyedunni Sola Arulogun, Ifeyinwa Arinze Ogbu, and Isaac Oluwafemi Dipeolu, more Nigerian young persons are getting exposed to pornography at an alarmingly rapid rate. 72% of the study participants said they have visited porn sites.
Their reactions included glancing through before closing (45.2%), closure of the sites (38.5%), and minimizing page to view later (12.5%).
Post-exposure influence on behaviour included engagement in oral sex (48.3%), body tattoo (18.3%), having multiple sexual partners (11.6%) and homosexuality (5.0%).
The result of the study showed that more males and frequent porn viewers were likely to report a change in sexual behaviour.
This was not the first study to put the blame of porn-related crisis in Nigeria on the surge in internet porn. A June 2014 study by Okafor Godson Okwuchukwu (PhD) of the Department of Mass Communication Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka-Nigeria on “Pornography and Child Safety on the Internet” also concluded that the internet is a source of concern for children and they may be exposed to inappropriate material that is sexual, and hateful in nature.
“Children who watch pornography online are learning a dangerous message from pornographers. They tend to imitate what they watch. Therefore, parents/guardians should ensure that children are safe on the internet in order to realize full educational and other potential of the internet,” the researcher said.
What porn negatively impacts
- Damages normal relationships
- Destroys normal pleasurable sexual experience with a partner
- Creates negative sexual tastes and behaviors
- Creates destructive sexist attitudes towards women
- Causes depression and anxiety
- Causes erectile dysfunction in more than 50% of men
- Causes loss of memory and concentration
- An inability to enjoy normal everyday pleasures
- Can make addicts lose friends, perform poorly at work and at study
Nigerian children are also affected
Available statistics show that the primary consumers of pornography are boys between the ages of 12 and 17. Experts believe this development is due to the children’s reliance on pornography as primary source of sex education.
“For decades, Nigerian parents have become reluctant to talk about sex with their children. Maybe they are being religious or uncomfortable about the topic. Or maybe they believe the children would want to have practical sessions to demonstrate what they’ve been thought. This reluctance has pushed many children to turn to the internet for lectures and demonstration on sex. When they go online, they easily get to porn sites,” Ms Amalokwu Justina, a counsellor told healthnews.africa.
On the effects of porn on children, Dr. Judith Reisman, President of the Institute for Media Education, said: “Health-based neurological observations about the instinctual brain-imprinted response to pornographic sights and sounds indicates that viewing pornography is a biologically significant event that overrides informed consent—and that is harmful to children’s [moldable] ‘plastic’ brains because it compromises their grasp of reality and thus their mental and physical health, their well-being and their pursuit of happiness.”
Testifying before a U.S. Senate committee, Reisman said pornographic visual images imprint and alter the brain, triggering an instant, involuntary, but lasting, biochemical memory trail [that is] difficult or impossible to delete.
“I will never be able to completely erase the images”
Some youths who were once addicted to pornographic materials said the images are engraved on their minds.
“They pop up unexpectedly. It feels like I will never completely be able to erase them,” one of them told healthnews.africa
But experts believe that porn addiction can be treated.
A therapist said: “Plan effectively with actionable ideas to give yourself the tools and confidence that recovery from porn will last. You need to believe it will work. Belief is a powerful driver of change. Studies have shown that people have more success replacing addictions and entrenched bad habits than those who don’t believe they can change. Get help from others. This is very important because, Pornography addiction is so secretive and shameful that you feel you can’t ask for help. You think you can beat it by yourself. But that is not true. You can beat it only with help.
“Never also forget to Identify and avoid potential triggers. What are those TV programs that makes you feel like watching porn? What magazines introduces you to porn? Does surfing the internet in a lonely area makes me feel the urge of watching porn? If any of the above mentioned questions could not be answered positively, then “Identify your weaknesses, and avoid them.”
“It may be a difficult battle,” says Dr. Victor Cline, who has treated hundreds of sex addicts: “Promises don’t work. Good intentions mean nothing. [A sex addict] literally cannot do this by himself.” He finally advised the young ones or youths to often talk to a trusted friend or family member who can be a pillar of strength. Regardless of who is involved in the treatment, Cline has one unalterable rule: Talk openly about the problem and any relapses. “Secrets ‘kill you’,” he says. “They create shame and guilt.”