'...if you see a good fight
get in it...'
Vernon Johns
I am pained and when in distress I naturally turn to that which is my weapon of war-writing! A friend of mine took to face book in the midst of this public protest concerning the amendment of section 29(4b) of the Nigerian (1999) constitution and opined
"... before 18 years,she needs a dictionary not a D***,
"... before 18 years,she needs a dictionary not a D***,
give her a pen, not a P****,
give her money for her text book not for ante-natal,
she should be playing swell with friends not watching a sick pervert 'swell'.
Ask her for books not her Boobs,
give her good education not Ejaculation,
she should be watching Ben 10 not going on round 10,
It is completely wrong psychologically,socially and morally to give out an underage child for marriage!' ...
Kudos Idowu Omoloja for being the spark that invigorates the fire that has cooled to smoldering ashes over the last four years.
Section 29(4a) of the 1999 constitution reads:'full age means the age of 18 years and above', while (4b) states: Any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.'The legal implication of this is that the constitution recognizes 18 years and above as a marriageable age.There are citizens who even argue that the acceptable age should have been 21, as an 18 year old within the Nigerian context is still very much a child in the opinion of the general public.
Little wonder, Senator Ahmed Rufai Sani Yerima's utterances, claiming marriage (Islam) as a basis for the automatic transformation of under aged teenagers into full fledged adults has opened up public's displeasure at the practice of child marriage most prevalent in the North of Nigeria.This is no surprise coming from a man whose past antecedent included marrying a 13 year old Egyptian girl in 2010,having previously married a 15 year old girl in 2006. Calls for his continual incarceration were in order, however under article 61 of the second schedule of the Nigerian constitution, the government has no power to legislate on marriages contracted under Islamic/customary law thus the Senator had no legal case to answer.
Little wonder, Senator Ahmed Rufai Sani Yerima's utterances, claiming marriage (Islam) as a basis for the automatic transformation of under aged teenagers into full fledged adults has opened up public's displeasure at the practice of child marriage most prevalent in the North of Nigeria.This is no surprise coming from a man whose past antecedent included marrying a 13 year old Egyptian girl in 2010,having previously married a 15 year old girl in 2006. Calls for his continual incarceration were in order, however under article 61 of the second schedule of the Nigerian constitution, the government has no power to legislate on marriages contracted under Islamic/customary law thus the Senator had no legal case to answer.
Rumor had it, that his Egyptian bride cost him $100,000 (£66,000) in dowry.This from a legislator of a country where citizens can barely afford to keep up with three square meals a day and cater to their health needs!(the argument might be that Nigeria doesn't practice the welfare system of governance) but does the thought of an impoverished citizenry (60.9%) deter such a man from wasting such an amount of money on such a debatable action? -no!
Recent statistics,'show that Nigeria a country with two percent of the world's population possesses ten percent of VVF patients, most of which occur in the North of Nigeria. Three quarters of these VVF/RVF cases are young girls who are not yet physically mature and have suffered trauma in their first pregnancy, caused by a tear in the flesh between the virgina and the unitary passage due to prolonged labor.This also results in uncontrolled urine or feces in the case of recto-virginal fistulae. Most of these young girls are subsequently abandoned by their spouses and lack the funds to pay for the requisite correctional operation.
Statistically 144 women loose their lives in child birth in Nigeria every day,with the North east alone recording 5 times the global rate of maternal mortality yet the Senate see no reason why they should be bothered with this.
Statistically 144 women loose their lives in child birth in Nigeria every day,with the North east alone recording 5 times the global rate of maternal mortality yet the Senate see no reason why they should be bothered with this.
It is pathetic enough that pressure groups such as The Gender and Constitution Reform Network [(GECORN), a coalition of women's rights organisations across Nigeria] are ignored in the face of such outrage, but I wish to ask, where are our female senators? where are our female commissioners and ministers? please I implore you-lend your voices! Diziani Alison Maduike, here is the time for your nasty retorts, the likes of which you un-apologetically dealt Nigerians with, during the fuel subsidy strike.Patience Jonathan, our honorable first lady-please this is time to shine, are you silently sitting down, ignoring a fight that should be first and fore most yours? These girls may not be your daughters but your name will be written in gold if you choose to honor this fight.
There are a thousand and one reasons why this fight is a good fight,child marriage in my opinion is ultimately worse than slavery.It stands in the way of young adolescence who have dreams of acquiring an education, it denies them access to information,knowledge and economic empowerment and productivity and most important to note, it is dangerous to the girl child's health and will no doubt run Nigeria to a halt if nothing is done about it as it deliberately creates an avenue through which female children are stalled from reaching their full potentials .I know,that in frustration some might say, why bother fighting ? for how long will we keep talking,writing and protesting? but the words of I.F Stone from Curtis White's 'The middle mind why Americans don't think for them selves '(pg. 201) ring true in this circumstances as a source of comfort-
'The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you are going to lose, because somebody has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do wins.In order for somebody to win an important, major fight 100 years hence,a lot of other people have got to be willing - for the sheer fun and joy of it-to go right ahead and fight,knowing you're going to lose. You mustn't feel like a martyr. You've got to enjoy it.”
I choose this day to lend my voice to 'the protection of the dignity of the girl child' for as my Mother used to say, 'let no mountain scare you, in a bid to reach your dreams.To conquer that mountain, you either attempt to climb that mountain,walk around that mountain or bore a hole through that mountain,one drill at a time!
