After being released from the prison over domestic violence, hotelier Lanre Gentry has questioned the government for neglecting their social responsibilities.

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The Nation was thrown into mourning in May 2016 when a man identified as Lekan killed his banker wife, Ronke Shonde during a domestic violence in their Egbeda residence. The case generated  a lot of fuss in the media, not because the couple were celebrities but for the way and manner it occurred – a promising young woman was cut down in her prime by the same man that promised to protect and preserve her, that is scary. 

While Ronke’s case was widely circulated in the media, but as far as violence against women is concern, many water must have passed under the bridge, or can we count how many incidences of such has happened that we are not seeing in the media? Can we count how many women are currently living with men who have turned to threats against their lives?

Forget the powder and lip sticks, who on earth would have believed Mercy Aigbe was going through domestic violence? I for one could not believe it, i mean, she looked too good to be going through such massive assaults, the main reason a lot of people believed her husband’s claim that she was lying and acting up. As it is with Mercy, so it is with most women going through physical assaults around us, some are not talking because they are afraid we will not believe them

This piece is not about determining who is right or wrong or to place the jury, but to address a statement made by Mr Lanre Gentry on his Instagram page after he was released from the prison. While recounting his ordeal and advising the government on improving the prison system, he said: , "If I may ask government, shouldn’t they leave what they ought to do and start involving theirselves over(domestic violence )..."

Is Mr Gentry advising the government to stop protecting women against violence in their marriage? Was he suggesting domestic violence, which has claimed the lives of some women is not important enough to warrant the attention of the government? Your guess is as good as mine, that's what he meant by such statement.

According to Mr Gentry, the government should restructure the prison system, make it a better place but leave the issue of violence against women, an act that took a person like him to the prison in the first place. Here is a question begging for answer, if we are all doing right, will there be a need for a prison? Or beating up a woman to the point of coughing out blood should not be considered a criminal offence? According to him, the government should focus on restructuring our prisons but should ignore domestic violence, the very act that led someone like him to prison.

This is so sad, so sad because Mr Gentry just voiced out the thought of many men caught up in this act, some men actually believe it is their home, their rules and this gives them the right to do whatever they wish with their wife and government's intervention even in cases like this amounts to act of intrusion, talking about sovereignty in the home.

This is so sad, and any man with such a mindset is a bully who must be made to face the full wrath of the law. That a woman has been given to a man in marriage doesn't mean he can do anything he wants with her, especially beating her to stupor. The man should be a defender, a protector, a defender anything short of these makes a man a predator and our law is against such men. 

This is a clarion call to the government at all levels to review laws protecting women in the society, no man who raise his hand against a woman either in his house or outside should be allowed to walk away without facing the full wrath of the law. Say no to domestic violence!

The opinions expressed in this article are strictly an opinions from the writer, Foluke Ogundiran