Parents Flee As Family Plans Circumcision For Daughter

In spite of the campaign and awareness against Female Genital Multilation (FGM), some families in Yoruba are still holding unto the tradition that places premium on female circumcision. 

Among other tribes in Nigeria, FGM is commonly practiced in Yorubaland, though there is remarkable reduction in the practice.

However, some families, especially those who are royal lineage, are yet to do away with FGM, findings have revealed. 

This medium gathered that some daughters and mothers of such royal families are having traumatic experience and navigating through unpleasant developments in the fight against FGM at their various homes. 

In searching for victims of FGM, this medium came across the Adeyemi lineage of Odesunisi compound, Ijebu North, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, where a family of five (father, mother and three children) have reportedly fled to avoid their daughter being circumcised.

It was gathered that every female child of the family are usually circumcised when they clock 12 years old. 

An elderly man who identified himself as Adeyemi Baba Kemi (the head of the family) told this medium that it is a traditional ritual for family to circumcise their female children at the age of 12. 

But the circumcision would not be done until some rites are performed on the female child. 

Adeyemi Baba Kemi didn’t not disclose the kind of rites to be done, but hinted that the said female child will start undergoing the rites immediately she clocks 11 years of age.

Asked about the family of five who have reportedly fled, the elderly man said the mother of the female child to be circumcise influenced her husband, Adeyemi Adewale Yinusa, who is a prince to run away in a bid to avoid the tradition of the lineage. 

He gave the name of the mother as Adeola Adeyemi and the daughter as Adeyemi Aderayo Sofiat. 

According to the man, the mother absconded with the female child after the family informed her husband of the need to begin the ritual process for her circumcision when she clocked 11 years in December this year. 

“We discovered that few days after we informed her husband of the need to begin the ritual rites for the process of circumcising Sofiat, her mother ran away and some days after, our own son, Adeyemi Adewale Yinusa, was also nowhere to be found. Both the husband and wife and their children – Adeyemi Toheeb Ademola and Adeyemi Muiz Adetokunbo” are nowhere to be found currently”, said the family head. 

However, it was gathered that the father of the little girl to be circumcised, Adeyemi Adewale Yinusa, had in 2008 lost a female child to circumcision when he was living in Osogbo.

“The little girl bled to death after she was circumcised”, said a family source. 

It was gathered that the mother of the circumcised girl fled with a set of twins with her, Adeyemi Babatunde Femi and Adeyemi Badmus Bolaji, after the incident. 

This medium learnt that the case was reported to the police in Osogbo and some people in the Adeyemi family were arrested. 

But the case was later settled because of the intervention of some stakeholders in the family who didn’t want the matter to be taken to court, according to sources.

According to a family friend, Adeyemi Adewale Yinusa, might be avoiding a repeat of what had happened to him; thereby running away with his female child to avoid circumcision.

All effort to get the father and mother proofed abortive as their phone numbers were said to be switched off.