Yetunde Fashina Arebi is the Deputy Woman Editor, Vanguard Media Ltd. She has for the past 22 years anchored the column The Human Angle, in Vanguard Newspapers which features true life stories on human experiences and other related issues.

And after many years of writing in the Newspapers, this writer and counselor is set to present her new book titled, Youth, Sex and Wellbeing to the public. The presentation is scheduled to hold on Saturday, July 6, 2013 at the Afe Babalola Auditorium, University of Lagos, Akoka at 11.00 am.

In this chat with Vanguard Arts, the woman behind several other columns like Love zone, Women and Governance and others bares her mind on a wide range of issues relating to the book. Excerpts.

*Yetunde

WHY did you choose  the title, Youth, Sex and Wellbeing?

Youth, Sex and Wellbeing was chosen because of the focus of the book. The book is about sexual orientation and attitude of people generally. It has elements of everything that is associated with the sexual act and sexuality of individuals and the implications. It is a fact that sex as a subject for public discussion is no longer a taboo, especially among young people. Unfortunately, the focus is not about the implications of the sexual act.

There is too much attention on how to enjoy sex, how to be sexy and attract sexual attention, how to be sexually independent and adventurous and engage in sexual escapades. All these have their negative impact on young people as they can sometimes help to fuel their curiosity just as they are misleading.

That’s part of the reasons I chose to write about sex. The focus on youth there is a very wide one. It encompasses young people and the young at heart, especially those who are already sexually active and those on the verge of making that decision.

The twist in the book is that it also captures all these elements I have mentioned with the use of little stories of people’s accounts of their personal experiences on the various issues. These extracts are part of previous works I have published in my Human Angle Column over the years.

Finally, even though the idea is not to scare or repulse anyone about the sexual act, it is however important to educate them, constantly too, about the implications and risks one takes, especially when one engages in unprotected sex and high risk sexual behavours.

What message do you want to pass to the readers?

The main message here is to young people in Nigeria. Knowledge is power. When you know about something, it will help you in making the right choices and decisions concerning yourself and others. Its no longer enough to just tell young girls that “don’t allow a boy touch you”!

You need to explain what “touch” means. Anyway, who are you kidding? They already know more than you think. Unfortunately, we live in a very hypocritical society where we know the truth but because of other considerations, we pretend not to.

We know that there are many, many young unmarried people who are sexually active, many people who are unfaithfully married and even many people with sexual perversion but we turn a blind eye to these problems. On the part of the government or our so called leaders, there is a lot to be done.

For as long as our economy remains the way it is, for as long as our infrastructures remain the way it is, for as long as the ordinary man cannot find succor, especially through provision of social welfare programmes across the general divide of the population, then we will continue to have problems with sex and sexual attitude of people.

The society also has its own take in this, lack of or low moral values, societal values and even religious values all contribute to sex and sexually related problems. We need to be truthful and serious about addressing our problems.

What actually inspired you to write the book?

Everything I have told you are part of what informed the writing of this book. I just want to lay the subject open and let very young people see it the way it is. The way things are, the situation is very challenging and complicated for many young people in Nigeria. Unfortunately, sexual issues are seen more as personal issues and that’s not the way it ought to be. The implications of sexual issues affect everything, human, economic, society, etc

You have a column in Vanguard where you have been treating similar issues, why did you decide to put it in a book?

A writer is all I’ve ever wanted to be after I discovered the joy that writing brought to me. And after 22 years of writing in the newspaper, the next natural thing to do is add a personal touch to your professionalism. So, like most people who write regular Columns, I wanted to do a compilation of my works.

When that became a herculean task due to the huge pile of work spanning over 15 years at that time, a colleague advised that rather than do a compilation, which according to him is a lazy job, why don’t I segment the write ups according to subjects.

That way, I can have several compilations in little book forms. I bought the idea and some counseling into it, since I’m constantly involved in counseling, I turned it round into what I have here. So, this is a first of several books I have lined up for publication. The book will be launched on Saturday, July 6, 2013 at Afe Babalola Auditurium, University of Lagos, Akoka.