THE euphoria that heralded the recent birth and unveiling of the royal baby in Britain, a country that prides itself as one of the leading bastions of same sex marriage and abortion rights, calls to question the integrity and strength of their convictions and fidelity to the pro-choice and gay rights advocacy, which negates the primary purpose of marriage: the raising of children and the perpetuation of the human race.
Tributes, dripping with love, came in torrents from all corners of the globe, as world leaders and royal fans, expressed their best wishes to the royal couple, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, on the birth of the royal baby, said to be the third in line to the British throne.
On this glorious day, the American President, Barrack Obama, gleefully wrote: “On the joyous occasion of the birth of their first child, we wish them all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings. The child enters the world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations.”
The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, also wrote: “I am delighted for the Duke and Duchess now; their son has been born. The whole country will celebrate. They will make wonderful parents.”
Similar messages came from other world leaders, mostly those opposed to the banning of same sex marriage and the imposition of strong legislations against abortion.
Is it not, therefore, the summit of paradox and contradiction for the same countries that legally permit same sex marriage and the termination of pregnancies, both of which operate as enemies of child birth and natural family life, to also at the same time, roll out the drums in celebration of a new life born into a natural family of a man and woman, whether of blue blood or not. What a great irony.
The Nigerian parliament in a rare display of patriotism, had acted in consonance with the wishes of the vast majority of our citizens, when it boldly refused to succumb to external pressures from the international community, particularly, America and Great Britain, to pass the bill criminalising same- sex marriage in Nigeria.
This bill titled: “Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill, 2011” was endorsed to the consternation and discomfiture of the western powers, who were bent on frustrating its passage, in furtherance of their global agenda towards the legalisation of abortion and homosexuality. Note that a similar bill was earlier approved by the Federal Executive Council sometime in 2007 and presented to the National Assembly for debate at that time but could not sail through the two Chambers, until the advent of the present bill.
The final endorsement of this bill, first by the senate in November last year and later by the House of Representatives, in May this year, was completely shorn of any lobbying or political partisanship usually prevalent in the legislature, as both arms rose up in unison and with one voice, to defend our African identity by the overwhelming and unanimous passage of the bill, soon to be accented to by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, before coming into operation.
Even the sponsored but half- hearted demonstrations, in opposition of the bill by a few gay association members, during the public hearings on the bill, did not deter the national assembly from enacting the bill into law, drawing huge support from all strata of the Nigerian society, particularly the leaders of both the Christian and Islamic religions in the country, all vehemently opposed to homosexual practices, believed to be foreign to our African culture and traditions, in all its ramifications.
Under the new law, persons who enter into a same sex marriage contract, or civil union commit an offence and are each liable on conviction to a term of 14 years in prison. Also, any person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations or directly or indirectly makes public show of same sex amorous relationship in Nigeria, commits an offence and shall each be liable on conviction to a term of 10 years in prison.
While western nations now gravitate towards availing LGBT’s and same sex couples equal legal rights, as heterosexual couples, happily, more African countries, bent on preserving their identity, are rather tightening enactments against homosexuality to chagrin and disgust of those patronising nations.
The passage of the anti-same-sex marriage bill in Nigeria, brings to 39 African countries that have so far passed the anti gay marriage laws. Expectedly, this had attracted much umbrage from western countries which threatened to cut funding for our various AIDS and HIV control programmes, as well as other strategic interventions, if the President signs the bill into law.
However, the passage of the bill not withstanding, unnatural carnal knowledge, including homosexuality, lesbianism and bestiality, has always been illegal and, therefore, a criminal offence under our criminal code, applicable in both the Southern and Northern Nigeria. And even in some states in the North that have adopted the Sharia Law, punishment for this offence is death by stoning. Although in the South and under the secular criminal laws of the North, the maximum punishment for same-sex amorous activity is 14 years’ imprisonment.
Specifically, Section 214 of the criminal code provides: “Any person who (a) has carnal knowledge of any person against the order, or (c) permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, is guilty of felony is liable for imprisonment for 14 years.”
Equally as egregious is the case of abortion, which directly gnaws at the whole essence of life as the ultimate measure of all creation. In its stark reality, shorn of legalese, abortion, a derivative of the latin word aboriri, meaning, to “perish” simply refers to the termination of pregnancy by the forced or induced expulsion or removal of an unborn child from the womb any time between conception and before delivery.
Life begins at conception. A child is the product of natural evolution of the fetus or embryo, without which there is no life. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “In the normal course of nature the living embryo carries on its work of, self-evolution within the maternal womb, deriving its nourishment from the placenta through the vital cord, till, on reaching maturity. Abortion is a fatal termination of this process.”
Since the legalisation of abortion in many countries (excluding Nigeria), over 54 million unborn children have been killed, more than some country’s population and which translates to one baby every 20 seconds and with Britain alone accounting for more than 550 abortions daily. A scary statistics but true.
Abortions like homosexuality destroys the family by endangering the prospects of new births who are supposed to be bound together by the natural bond of marriage between a man and a woman, as every child needs a natural family for nurture, guidance and development of his or her personality.
The pro -choice activists always claim that it was the reproductive right of a woman to choose whether, a particular pregnancy was “wanted” or “unwanted” and as such was free to retain or terminate same, at will. But this argument is porous in the sense that where a private right is in conflict or injurious to a public right, it becomes void to the extent of such inconsistency with the public right.
In the words of Sonnie Ekwuwosi Esq, a Lagos Lawyer and frontline activist, “To begin with, right goes with responsibilities. There is no right to do whatever one likes, such as to become an armed robber or a murderer. More importantly, private choices can produce harmful public consequences.” Of course abortion remains a criminal offence under both our penal and criminal codes and is punishable under sections 228 and 229 of the Criminal code with seven years imprisonment.
You can imagine what would have happened if the Duchess of Cambridge had chosen not have the child for any reason in exercise of her reproductive right of choice, the royal baby would not have been born, and the royal family in communion with the whole world would have been denied the joy of celebrating the arrival of a future king of Britain, at this time. This is a ringing act of injustice against the right of the unborn, innocent and harmless child to life, having nothing to do concerning the circumstances of its conception.
Unless this twin towers of evil are urgently addressed by outlawing their practice in countries where they have been legalized, before they gain more acceptance in predominantly conservative nations, the world would not only face progressive extinction, but also will be thrown into untold ethical and moral crisis.
To defend these twin evils as a legal right is to turn a moral wrong into a civil right, What, we need is not a sexual liberation movement but a moral revolution movement, aimed at making this world a better place, than it is now.
BARR. FRANK AGBEDO CROWN CHAMBERS NO. 41, PIKE STREET, (3rd Floor) LAGOS ISLAND
