Matrimonial battering – otherwise referred to as domestic violence – among married couples – is obviously on the rampage in the contemporary global society.

Battering is a pattern of bahaviour used to establish power and control over another person through fear and intimidation, which usually include the use of violence. In the same vein, matrimonial battering is a situation whereby a man or woman is battered by his/her legitimate spouse.

However, it’s noteworthy that it is the womenfolk that usually fall victim to the menace. This is to assert that in most cultures, the perpetrators are commonly the men of the family.

Battering, which is indeed a criminal act, takes place when a person believes he/she is entitled to control another. In recent times, the most worrisome form of battering is the one that happens between married couples, which has degenerated into an alarming state.

Battering of a family member can take many forms. It may include emotional, economic and sexual abuses as well as isolation, use of male privilege, employment of threats and a variety of other behaviours used to maintain fear, intimidation and power.

Among all forms of battering, it could be classified into two major types namely, physical battering and psychological battering. Physical battering is a situation where the abuser employs physical attacks or aggression, while psychological battering involves verbal abuse/harassment, excessive possessiveness, segregation of the woman from friends and family, deprivation of physical and economic resources, and destruction of the woman’s personal property.

It is worth noting that physical battering, which is prevalent in most African homes, particularly Nigeria, can also lead to psychological trauma.IN other words, the latter is not unusually necessitated by the former.

Battering, which has taken a different dimension in several families in Nigeria, and Africa at large, can be attributed to immaturity, alcoholism, temperament, infidelity, and/or lack of love. Other local causes include lack of male children, alleged barrenness, selfishness, influence and ignorance.

Among these, the most prevalent factor that leads to battering is lack of love because if one truly loves his wife/partner, he can never make any attempt to hurt her even when he is under the influence of alcohol.

Survey shows that battering remains the major cause of the ongoing high rate of divorce or estrangement among married persons in Nigeria. Needless to say that if an adequate and drastic measure is not taken towards curbing the anomaly, it is likely to render millions of our children vulnerable in near future, thereby affecting their upbringing.

Acknowledging that marriage is the most intimate relationship two human beings can experience, second only to a relationship with God, and that it is the only intimacy that brings out the best in someone, there is no gain saying everyone has a responsibility toward preventing or eradicating battering or any form of domestic violence against the womenfolk.

We can individually or collectively join in the crusade aimed at ending domestic violence or abuse, which has brought a colossal upheaval in various homes, by challenging any thought or attitude that allows such acts to prevail in our respective societies.

Let’s be conscious of the fact that a woman who is suffering from matrimonial battering can do anything to protect herself or the marriage, with a view that such aberration would continue to repeat itself.

In one of her books titled ‘Trauma and Recovery’, Judith Lewis Herman – an author and psychiatrist stated, “The guarantee of safety in a battering relationship can never be based upon a promise from the perpetrator no matter how heartfelt. Rather, it must be based upon the self-protective capability of the victim…” She went further to state that “Until the victim has developed a detailed and realistic contingency plan and has demonstrated her ability to carry it out, she will remain in fear and danger of repeated abuse.”

The above quote signifies that a woman who suffers domestic violence is liable to resort to any approach in a bid to saving herself or averting the repetition of such ungodly act, especially in a situation whereby the victim is surrounded by friends who aren’t God-fearing.

Considering the aforementioned primary attributes of matrimonial battering, it is obvious that anyone irrespective of status or age is liable to patronize the monster. Thus, no one is exempted while discussing the unending societal menace.

To this end, parents or guardians must ensure their children or wards, as the case may be, have attained a reasonable maturity stage before they would be encouraged to settle down or get married. In view of this, we ought to acknowledge that maturity is not only based on the age of the parties involved but their level of exposure or experience.

As regards child bearing, acknowledging the tradition or desire of most men, particularly on the African continent, that a marriage yet to boast of a male child or a child at all, is useless, our men must be meant to understand that a child is a gift from God and not by the making of their wives as they presume.

In other words, anyone who is yet to have a male child should remain steadfast in his faith, and must note at all times that a woman cannot be confirmed or proven to be barren unless as stated by her creator.

Inter alia, we ought to always have it at the back of our minds that marriage is “For better, for worse” as written in the Holy writ. The religious organizations have a very vital role to play in this regard.

Above all, there is an urgent need for the lawmakers to enact a law that would assign a capital punishment to anyone found guilty of matrimonial battering or any form of domestic violence or abuse.

All in all, prospective couples must take into cognizance that love isn’t an ultimate factor that brings a formidable matrimony, but understanding among the partners involved.

Apparently, everyone desires to hear that the society he or she belongs to is addressed by all and sundry as ‘a well decent, disciplined and peaceful group of persons’.

In the same vein, it is worthy of note that no society would be recognized as a ‘decent or disciplined society’ if it is proliferated with touts.

A tout is a person who renders services or sells things such as tickets unofficially or illicitly, usually at charges/prices which are higher than the official ones. A tout can also be defined as someone who solicits business or employment in a persistent and annoying manner.

A tout can be found in places to include motor parks, airports, seaports, railway stations, tourist centres, government quarters, schools’ admission points, shopping complexes, and stadia, just to mention but a few.

Touting can take place in so many forms. A person who frequents tourist areas and presents himself as a tour guide, particularly towards those who do not speak the local language, but operates on behalf of local bars, restaurants, hotels, or what have you, being paid to direct tourists to certain establishments, can be referred to as a tout.

Taxi touting refers to a kind of illegal taxicab operation, which involves taxi drivers and the touts in which they attract potential passengers by illicit means. For instance, calling out travelers or fetching them and their luggage to an area where the taxi drivers are waiting in their respective vehicles.

They often charge the drivers exorbitant fees upon arrival or while departing, possibly using threats to ensure payment, thereby hiking the transport fare.

Another devastating method is ticket touting. A ticket tout is someone who engages in ticket resale for more than the face value of the ticket. Recently, ticket touts have moved into internet ticket fraud.

On the other hand, shop touting has also become rampant. A shop tout is a person who is engaged by a shop owner to loiter outside their office, sometimes outside the building or outside their competitors’ shops.

The tout then promotes the sales or services of the shop to a passerby and afterwards escorts him or her to the shop in question for patronage. The tout is invariably paid a commission for each person he lures to the shop.

Though touting has rescued millions of unemployed youths in Nigeria from idleness, on the contrary, it’s noteworthy that it is indeed a social and economic menace in any society where it is harboured. Owing to the inevitable dangers attached to touting, it has been tagged by analysts as ‘a colossal societal cankerworm’.

Touting has been a serious threat to the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) sources of any government. Take for example; virtually in all the localities in Nigeria, one would hardly see the commercial motor drivers making use of the officially designed motor parks situated in their respective areas of operation.

In recent times, the motor parks, among other transportation parks/stations, which are one of the paramount revenue sources of any government, have been turned to mockery grounds by the various touts littered all over the nooks and crannies of the country, thereby posing an enormous danger to the purses of the affected governments.

Tax collection, which is an official activity required to be carried out by government officials, has also suffered similar maltreatment in the hands of touts. Currently, one would hardly know who is actually standing in for the government when it calls for tax collection due to the manner in which the touts have hijacked the routine.

In most cases, they operate in disguise as genuine agents unknowingly to the firms or individuals involved. Most pathetically, sometimes the government employees indulge in such illegal acts or may in some occasions, prefer to act as an accomplice, just as it is presently found in various institutions of higher learning during the admission era. This incident often makes several companies or entrepreneurs dodge tax payment, which is supposed to be obligatory.

The sports arena is not left out. During any sporting competition anywhere in the world, touting activity is usually observed at the stadium that is meant to be used for the tournament. The touts are illegally engaged in selling tickets to the prospective spectators. This illicit practice has severely hampered the activity of sports’ organizers across the globe, particularly in Nigeria.

Touting had on various occasions caused the death of many innocent Nigerians. To say the least, even the lives of the touts are mostly at risk, which is usually attributed to rivalry, envy or greed that are often witnessed among them.

In a nutshell, touting, which has become the order of the day in Nigeria, has succeeded in maiming as well as terminating lives of thousands of our ebullient youths on a daily basis.

Thus, it’s needless to state that if severe and drastic measures are not taken towards eliminating the menace, it is most likely to become one of the major causes of death rates and economic mayhem in the country in the nearest future.

To this end, the lawmakers are enjoined to put hands together toward ensuring the societal cankerworm, which is on the rampage and ubiquitous, is duly taken to the history book.

The various labour leaders on their parts, ought to endeavour to fish out the saboteurs or bad eggs in their midst as regards touting, so that he or she would be made to face the wrath of the law.

Above all, in our individual capacities, we are expected to work hand in hand with the government in order to ensure that touting won’t only be eradicated but shall continue to be seen as a monster by all concerned for eternity, so that we will live to embrace a thorough decent and disciplined society, which everyone prays for. 

Uber has thrown its differences with local taxi operators in New York away to onboard them into its ride-hailing app. The ridesharing giant reached an agreement to integrate New York City’s yellow taxis, in a first-of-its-kind deal that will see about 14,000 taxi drivers receive ride requests through Uber Driver’s app.

The WSJ reported that under the deal, the city’s licensed technology providers, Curb Mobility and Creative Mobile Technologies, will integrate their software with Uber. Yellow cabs, which can be hailed using smartphone apps owned by the two companies, will gain access to Uber’s much larger customer base, which could translate into higher trip volumes and more money for beleaguered cab drivers.

The new deal marks a significant shift in the rivalry that has characterized Uber and local taxis coexistence in New York, and signals a new approach to the ridesharing company’s business sentiment.

Uber has faced rising disobedience from drivers demanding better welfare. In California, its largest market, the company narrowly escaped the AB 5 employment law designed to ensure minimum wage besides other workers’ benefits for gig workers. Coinciding with the pandemic which dealt a heavy blow to the ride-hailing business, Uber was confronted with the harsh reality of shortage of drivers which has been compounded by the mass resignation of workers, affecting almost every sector of the American economy right now.

The idea to integrate local New York taxis into its system suggests that Uber is looking to fill the gap in its business created by waning driving interest. While Uber has partnered with the taxi industry in countries around the world, including Spain, Columbia, Turkey, Germany, Austria, South Korea, and Hong Kong, the company had little or no aggravated feud with them compared with New York. New York City’s taxis’ and Uber ending their longstanding animosity post-covid movement restrictions suggests that the integration has been borne out of desperation to survive.

Uber co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick once described his primary competitor as “an asshole named Taxi.” Headwinds from new regulatory policies targeting the gig business model and drivers attitude is forcing a change in Uber’s view of taxis. Now the company sees taxis as partners not competitors, and hopes to eventually include every taxi in the world on its app.

For the taxis, who have been reeling on the mercy of Uber and other ride-hailing companies, the idea is much more than a consolidation of cab transport service in New York. It will help the competitors sheath their drawn swords while they help each other to stay in business.

“Our partnership with Uber is a natural step forward in the expansion of ground mobility and, as a driver-first company, we will remain committed to our taxi drivers and fleets as we work with Uber to generate enhanced stability and financial wellness for members of the taxi industry,” said Amos Tamam, CEO of Curb, in a statement.

Andrew Macdonald, SVP, mobility and business operations, said in a statement: “Our partnerships with taxis look different around the world, and we’re excited to team up with taxi software companies CMT and Curb, which will benefit taxi drivers and all New Yorkers.”

The integration is part of Uber’s recovery plan from pandemic-induced strains that plummeted its revenue. As economic activities resume across cities in the US, the yellow taxis are also hoping for a rebound, and believe the Uber partnership will help.

“Our partnership with Uber is a natural step forward in the expansion of ground mobility and, as a driver-first company, we will remain committed to our taxi drivers and fleets as we work with Uber to generate enhanced stability and financial wellness for members of the taxi industry,” said Amos Tamam, CEO of Curb, in a statement.