The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Yerima

  • Of Yarima’s bill and the girl-child

    Granted, no nation is perfect. The type of leadership a nation gets has an influence on the progress or otherwise of the nation. Also, it is one of the yardsticks for measuring decency or immorality of the nation. Shrewdness in decision making, foresight in progressive resolutions and respect for people’s views on laws and governance are attributes of a decent nation.

    A few days ago, there was public outcry over a proposed law the Senate entertained, which is not in tandem with the citizens’ wishes. The proponents of the bill were seeking to get constitutional authority to force the girl-child into marriage at the age of 13.

    I watched the debates and drama on the floor of the upper chamber of the National Assembly. Unable to decipher the reason behind the move, I was compelled to question the audacity of Senator Ahmad Sani Yarima and his co-travellers in promoting a bill which will compel my younger sister in JSS 3 to marry, perhaps, an illiterate man at the age when she should be struggling to stabilise her life, at least academically.

    By entertaining the debate, in the first instance, the Senate took the nation back to an era defined by barbarism and unconventional civilisation. How does it sound for a nation that prides itself as a giant to be contending and debating the removal or retention of a preposterous law, which runs afoul with the rights of a girl-child?

    Yarima and his co-travellers remind me of some characters in Hollywood movies I watched lately. Indeed, they bear direct resemblance with the characters that, for one reason or another, fell into a slumber only to wake up centuries later when the society had advanced into civilisation. Dazed by the reality of the present period, their decisions and thoughts are not in tandem with the aspiration of the present society and the people. Rather than adapt to the new ways, they tried to take the whole society back to medieval times of barbarity.

    Truly, the foregoing depicts Yerima and his supporters; they have lost touch of the need of the present Nigeria and indeed, the aspiration of the people are grossly incompatible with theirs. It was said that the said proposed law had been part of the Constitution, but concealed by tissues of sections and subsections. But must a sufferer of leprosy refuse medication because he has lived with his ailment for a long time?

    I wonder if the supporters of the bill ever considered the short and long term consequences of their views on the girl child, especially in the light of the present awareness it has created. Did they consider the health hazard constituted by girl child marriage? Do they know of rectovaginal fistula and vesico vaginal fistula (VVF), which are medical consequences of early marriage? Do they feel the agony the sufferers of the ailments? Did they put into consideration the psychological implication of a teenager marrying to an old man?

    Did they put in prospective the fact that the controversial bill can promote child sale, trafficking and abuse? Are they unaware that the bill can increase the depraved libido of sexual perverts and pedophiles?

    Did it ever cross their minds that the bill, if passed, could result to a decline in girl-child education?

    Since the controversy started, my mind raced back to the thoughts of a distant relative, a woman, who I call Aunty. She used to tell me the stories of her life, which were filled with tales of unaccomplished dream. Aunty married at a tender age, when she was still nurturing the desire to become a civil engineer. She objected, but of course, the will of her guardians prevailed.

    She recounted then that older relatives forced her to smile and dance, even when as the marriage cut her dream short. She had dropped out of school. She could not be an engineer again because she married in her teenage years. The husband died and as a widow, she haboured regrets over botched dreams and marital disappointment. She also died and took the regrets to the grave.

    As an adult and a lady, who has been influenced by education, I am wise and have deeper understanding of life unlike when I was a child. I can take a decision in life which outcome I am solely responsible. And it is my submission that all teenage girls deserve the care of childhood, and the natural privilege of savouring every stage of their lives. They deserve the simple memory of childhood. They deserve to be nurtured as children and grow to fully realise their being at an age of maturity – the age of wisdom. Let no one force them into early marriage.

    The advocates of this ridiculous bill predicate their reason on religious teachings. However, our leaders must at all times be reminded that religion is a private affair. The Senate must always remember that Nigeria is a mixture of several ethnic nationalities; hence, its resolutions and decision must, at all times, be devoid of wishes or religious teachings of a tribe or a religious group.

    This, once again, brings a thorny issue of Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to the fore. There have been agitations from various quarters that we need a roundtable discussion on Nigeria’s sustainability. No time could be more apt than now to discuss the union properly.

    In the light of our language difference and cultural heterogeneity, it is my submission that Nigeria must be federalised now rather than later if we must not allow issues such as girl-child marriage to divide us. But until we have SNC, someone should nudge Yerima and his co-travellers to wake up from the medieval time and live in a civilised society.

     

    Uche, 500-Level Law, UNZIK

  • A word for Yerima and the paedophiles in power

    A word for Yerima and the paedophiles in power

    I expressed my concerns about the issue of paedophilia and child brides in Nigeria quite extensively in an essay that I wrote last week titled ‘’A nation of perverts and paedophiles’’ which was widely published and which attracted a lot of rejoinders and commentries from other writers and commentators from both sides of the divide. I do not intend to cover the same ground or repeat the same arguments here but kindly permit me to make a final contribution to the debate in this piece.

    The good news is that no matter what anyone thinks or says and regardless of whichever side of the divide one is on when it comes to this issue at least the Nigerian people are now talking about a subject which, hitherto, had been regarded as being ‘’off limits’’ and taboo and which had been essentially swept under the carpet. I commend the Nigerian press, the website magazines, the bloggers and the electronic media for standing firm, rising up to the occassion and bringing the matter alive and one can only hope and pray that they will keep the fire burning by continuing to reflect the heated discussions and various opinions on this issue. I was particularly impressed with and encouraged by the editorials of some of our leading newspapers on this issue including ’Thisday On Sunday’, ‘The Nation On Sunday’, ‘Leadership On Sunday’ and ‘The Sunday Vanguard’ which were all published on Sunday 28th July and which were titled “In Support Of The Girl Child’’, ‘’No Cover For Paedophiles’’. ‘’Much Ado About Child Marriage’’ and ‘’Building Nigeria On Deceit’’ respectively. With contributions like that from very serious and credible media like those there is still hope for the girl-child in Nigeria. I urge all those that have not read these contributions to please find them and do so.

    Yet despite the outrage expressed by the overwhelming majority of Nigerians and indeed the wider world about the plight of the girl-child in our country, on Sunday 28th July, a deeply defiant and unrepentant Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima, who was the individual that sparked off the whole controversy in the first place by insisiting that Section 29 of the Constitution must not be removed, told the Sunday Trust Newspaper that ‘’if the vote on the child marriage issue came up in the Senate again’’ he and his supporters ‘’would win a million times over’’. Sadly, given the nonchalant attitude that has been displayed by a large number of our Senators to the plight of the girl-child, paedophilia and infant marriages in Nigeria and their obvious reluctance to step on Yerima’s big toes and thereby upset his religious sensitivities he may well be right. If not for that how does one explain the fact that, two female Senators, Aisha Jummai Alhassan from Taraba State and Zainab Kure from Niger state, both of whom I gather have daughters, actually abstained when that historical vote took place? To drive home the point, the Senate President himself, Senator David Mark, only last week admitted that he and the entire Senate had succumbed to Yerima’s ‘’blackmail’’ on the issue of the right of the child-bride to renounce Nigerian citizenship and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, accepted the fact that the matter ‘’needed to be revisited’’ in view of the outrage expressed by the majority of the Nigerian people.

    Yet many of us do not expect anything to change in the near future simply because it is clear that the Nigerian Senate and indeed the Nigerian political class generally simply do not have the sensitivity, the courage, the wherewithal or the political will to do the right thing and to not only delete the controversial Section 29 but to also revamp and amend the Constitution in its entirety and insert a clause that specifically, clearly and categorically outlaws and bans  marriages that involve anyone under the age of 18 in Nigeria. Mrs. Roz Ben-Okagbue, in her article titled, ‘’Is The Removal Of Section 29 The Answer To Eliminating Child Marriage?’’ has made this point more eloquently than anyone else. I consider Roz’s piece to be probably the most insightful contrbution so far in this debate simply because she made all the relevant points and consistently hit the nail on the head. It is the inability of the Senate and other political stakeholders to introduce a new clause into our Constitution and ban child marriages and their penchant for continously pampering and seeking to accomodate the strange fantasies and perversions of those that enjoy marrying and having sex with 6, 9, 12 and 14 year olds that informed Pastor Tunde Bakare to proclaim, in a characteristically powerful and explosive sermon, that ‘’Nigeria is suffering from the rulership of ‘PINPS’ ‘’ (by which he meant ‘’Paedophiles in Power’’) and that the issue of child marriage has divided our country more than any other issue before it in our entire history. No-one could have put it better.

    Yet the debate continues to rage and only last week the respected islamic scholar Professor Ishaq Akintola, added his voice by saying ’’there is no age restriction in islamic marriage.’’ Most muslims would disagree with this because child-marriage is specifically banned by the laws and constitutions of 90 per cent of muslim countries in the world today but I respect the right of Professor Akintiola to hold his opinion about the tenets of his faith. And regardless of his views and fervency I honestly believe that islam, like christianity, is a humane and compassionate faith which seeks to protect the weak and guide its adherents on the path of righteousness and light.

    I must, however, point out that Nigeria is not a muslim state. And neither is she a christian state. She is a secular state and she is governed by secular laws. Religious laws have no place in our land or Constitution.Our Constitution is a secular docuement which specifically says that the state shall not adopt any religion. This must remain so if we do not want a divided country and if we do not want continued controversy, strife and possibly even a fully blown religious conflagration and conflict. We should all keep our religious sensitivities out of certain matters if we want continued peace.

    Paedophilia, child sex, child slavery, child rape and child marriage cannot be justified under any circumstances in any civilised country. It is not a matter of religion. It is a matter of human rights, civil liberties and basic morality. There is nothing more repugnant to the natural mind and wholesome soul than the prospect of a fully grown man mounting, defiling and having carnal knowledge of a child that is between the ages of 6 and 18.

    Every child, whether she be a christian, a muslim, a pagan, an atheist or an agnostic has the right to be fully protected by the state and by the laws of our land from sexual predators, sexual deviants, statutory rapists, unrepentant perverts and child molestors. That much we ought to be able to achieve and we ought to insist on. We are meant to protect our children and not bed them.

    Like I said earlier on elsewhere in this debate, even animals don’t sleep with their own infants. Some may hate me for these words today but I speak nothing but the truth and tomorrow the people will thank me for it. In the heat of this debate, my dear wife, Pastor Regina Fani-Kayode, made a pertinent assertion. She said, ‘’knowledge comes to those who seek it’’. This is wisdom and I would suggest that our muslim brothers and sisters that share Yerima’s views on child marriage and that seek to defend those views on religious grounds like my respected sister, Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, whose article titled ‘’Early Marriage?’’ I read with great interest, learn a little from this deep truism.

     

    •To be continued next week

  • Child marriage: women’s group seeks Yerima’s prosecution

    Child marriage: women’s group seeks Yerima’s prosecution

    A women’s rights group – Women Empowerment and Legal Aid (WELA), has called for the prosecution of Sen. Ahmed Yerima, a former governor of Zamfara, for marrying a 13-year-old Egyptian girl in 2010.

    Mrs. Funmi Falana, the Coordinator of the group, made the call on Tuesday while briefing journalists in Lagos.

    Falana said the marriage violated Section 23 of the Child Rights Act of 2003, which had been domesticated in Abuja, where Yerima was living.

    “We call on the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN) to ensure that Yerima is prosecuted.

    “If the Attorney-General does not take up the prosecution within one month, WELA will apply for a private fiat to prosecute him under Section 23 of the Child Rights Act”.

    She said that if Yerima was prosecuted, it would send a strong message to other protagonists of child marriage in Nigeria.

    Falana also urged the Senate to delete Section 29 (4) (b) from the 1999 Constitution.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the section states that “any woman who is married shall be deemed of full age.”

    She said: “Looking at the section, it will be discovered that the judicial interpretation goes beyond child marriage.

    “Regrettably, the interpretation of that section is that, any girl child who is married is deemed to be an adult and can, therefore, be presumed to have criminal liabilities.

    “She can, therefore, be entitled to vote and be voted for in an election. She has the right to own property.

    “That is the dangerous implication nobody has gone ahead to look at.”

    Falana called on the 12 states which have not adopted the Child Rights Act, to do so without any further delay.

     

  • Reps fault arrest, detention of Yerima

    The House of Representatives is to investigate the arrest and detention of Senator Sani Yerima, former Zamfara State governor.

    He was invited by the police for questioning following the comments he made during an Hausa radio phone-in-programme on the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna, which were alleged to be inciting by the police.

    Yerima reportedly said members of the yet-to-be- registered All Progressives Congress (APC) would protest the non-registration of the party by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The decision of the lawmakers followed the adoption of a motion by Ibrahim Gusau (CPC, Zamfara), who said the incident had negative implications on the freedom of speech and democracy.

    Saying the police action amounted to an infringement on the rights of the former governor, Gusau cited Section 39(1) of the Constitution, which says that: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and import ideas and information without interference.”

    Besides, Gusau noted that the implication of the treatment given to Yerima was that freedom of speech was in jeopardy as other Nigerians in similar circumstances would also not be spared by the police.

    “If a serving senator could be treated this way by the police, what would be the fate of the ordinary Nigerian,” he said.

    Deputy House Leader Leo Ogor (PDP, Delta) and Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta) argued against the motion, saying the incident “has not warranted the intervention of the House at this level.”

    The motion was adopted after it was put to a voice-vote. The Committee on Police Affairs was given two weeks to investigate the matter and report to the House.

  • Yerima’s supporters to sue police for his arrest

    Supporters of former Zamfara State Governor, Ahmed Sani Yerima, under the auspices of the Yerima Network, have threatened to sue the Kaduna State Police Commissioner for last Saturday’s arrest and detention of the senator.

    The National Coordinator of the network and Commissioner for Water Resources in Zamfara State, Abubakar Tsafe, an engineer, told reporters in Kaduna that they had contacted a lawyer to challenge the constitutionality of the arrest in court.

    Senator Yerima was on Saturday arrested by the police in Kaduna after appearing on Hanu Dayawa, a Hausa live phone-in programme on Radio Nigeria Kaduna, where he said leaders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) would embark on a peaceful protest at the Eagle Square, Abuja if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) refused to register the party.

    They alleged that for arresting the senator, the Police Commissioner must be acting a script from Abuja, adding that whoever ordered the arrest must be afraid of the rising profile of the senator and his political weight in Zamfara, the North and Nigeria.

    The group also alleged that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the powers that be in the country were afraid of the rising profile of the APC and wanted to do everything possible to truncate the rise of the party.

    They asked INEC not to hesitate in registering APC once it meets the constitutional requirements.

    They threw their weight behind the resolve of the senator not to join the presidential race if Gen. Muhammadu Buhari decides to contest the 2015 presidential election, adding that for the record, Senator Yerima has given his unalloyed loyalty to Gen. Buhari and has promised to support him if he signifies his interest in the poll.