Again, the Nigerian Senate has lived up
to its infamy. Their support for child marriage in the constitution has
confirmed Nigeria as a country of paedophiles — a country where men
frequently prey on minors either through rape or contracting them for
early marriage. Now, the vote in the Senate last week officially puts a
stamp on a crime that has been the greatest scourge of the girl-child in
our country today. This latest outrage by our lawmakers may also seem
unthinkable. But for those familiar with the malfeasance that has come
out of Nigeria’s “House of the Absurd”, it is not totally unexpected.
Are our lawmakers not known to have perpetrated some worst form of
violations against the Nigerian people in the Fourth Republic? Just a
few days ago, it was revealed by The Economist of the UK that
Nigerian lawmakers are the highest paid in the world. When last week the
Senate voted to alter the constitution in favour of underage marriage,
it was not without a precedent. After all, one of them was known to have
contracted a minor under the same circumstance.
Ahmed Sani Yerima, a former governor and
now senator from Zamfara State, had insisted that the Senate alter the
constitutional provision that stipulates that a woman shall not be
qualified for marriage until she attains the age of 18. The Senate was
reported to have deleted the age specification clause for women from the
1999 Constitution being reviewed and left the marriage age open. The
reason given by the Upper Chamber was at best nonsensical. It claimed
that a woman is deemed to be “of age’’ once she is married irrespective
of the age she did so. The import of this asinine rationale is that
even if a 10 or nine-year-old-girl is contracted for marriage, she is
considered ready because by virtue of being contracted (albeit
forcefully), she is deemed to be “full of age’’. How outrageous?
But the Senate’s volte-face is not
surprising. Earlier, while debating the issue, the house had retained
the age specification that pegged the marriage age for girls at 18
years. But the David Mark-led Senate later reneged. This it did in
submission to the alarm raised by Yerima who claimed that age
specification for marriage contravenes Islamic provision. He argued that
pegging the age of 18 for girls is at variance with Islamic laws. That
the Zamfara senator is at the forefront of promoting and legalising
underage marriage should not surprise anyone familiar with his lewd
antecedent. The senator in 2010 made headlines for contracting underage
marriage with an Egyptian minor. In spite of the uproar the marriage to
his underage bride provoked, Yerima defended his action as a religious
duty.
Now, Yerima and other perverted senators
have succeeded in getting the Nigerian Constitution to back this
absurdity. That the Senate can lend itself to an act that will further
worsen the plight of the girl-child beats the imagination. How could the
Senate President have allowed the body preside over a matter that is in
clear violation of all international laws and treaties signed by
Nigeria? Aside from being in contravention of all known laws that
Nigeria is a party to, how can our country morally justify the danger
this poses to our children? Given the emotional, social and health
hazards of early marriage, how can this government prove that it can
protect the Nigerian child? By its action, the Senate has shown that
religious injunctions override the extant laws as embedded in the
constitution. Why would the Senate agree to alter the provision on age
specification as earlier stated in the constitution? The 35 senators who
voted for the deleting of the age for marriage have by their action
showed that the interest of millions of girls in the North and other
parts of Nigeria is not their primary concern. By voting in favour of
primordial religious injunction, the senators have further put the
welfare of the girl-child at risk. Already, the Nigerian girl is at
risk. Recently, our country was rated one of the worst places to be born
as a child. The situation is worse for the girl-child. In Nigeria
today, the girl-child is at the risk of harassment, rape, forced labour
and trafficking. The girl-child is more likely not to be in school. This
is because she is seen as not culturally eligible to be educated. Early
marriage also prevents them from acquiring basic education needed to be
successful in life. The action of the Senate has legalised the practice
the United Nations through its various agencies has been fighting hard
to eradicate.
The Senate has also by this shameful act
made ineffective the Child Rights Act, which incidentally it passed,
that seeks to protect the girl-child from being contracted early for
marriage. Now, the girl-child in our country is an endangered species.
Now, the law protects their abusers. The law has also further reinforced
their victim status. In the North, the girl-child can now officially be
given in marriage at any age — even as a toddler — and defiled. The law
guarantees that. In other parts of the country, the rape of minors will
increase. After all, if an underage girl can be lawfully given out in
marriage what will prevent them from being defiled at any age now that
it has become the law? It is hard to believe that any rational person
will even contemplate this insane law?
Let’s even for argument’s sake accept
that the senators from the North are blinded by their hypocritical
allegiance to religion, how about the two Southern senators; Odion
Ugbesie (Edo) and Ayo Akinyelure (Ondo)? On what grounds did they vote
for this travesty? Can the two senators offer their primary school age
daughters to suitors? There must be a line between politicking and
upholding societal values. Now, will it be too much to ask that these
senators be recalled by their constituencies? Early marriage is a global
scourge and it is shocking that the Nigerian Senate does not realise
how its action negatively impacts on the future of the Nigerian
girl-child.
The United Nations Population Fund 2012
Report says if the current child marriage rates continue, more than 140
million girls will become child brides between now and 2020. Of these
140 million girls, 50 million will be under the age of 15. Nigeria is
said to be host to a greater percentage of child brides with the
majority in the North where Islam permits underage marriage. This,
however, contravenes Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child. While child marriage affects both sexes, girls are
disproportionately affected as they are the major victims. Their overall
development is compromised, leaving them socially isolated with little
education, skills and opportunities for employment and self-realisation.
This leaves child brides more vulnerable to poverty, a consequence of
child marriage as well as a cause.
The health hazard of early marriage is
also scary. When a child bride is married, she is likely to be forced
into sexual activity with her husband, and at an age where the bride is
not physically and sexually mature. This has severe health consequences.
Child brides are likely to become pregnant at an early age and there is
a strong correlation between the age of a mother and maternal
mortality. According to medical experts, girls between ages l0 and 14
are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women
aged 20-24 and girls aged 15-19 are twice as likely to die too. Young
mothers are also said to face higher risks during pregnancies including
complications such as heavy bleeding, infection and anaemia. These
contribute to higher mortality rates of both mother and child. By
endorsing child marriage, the Nigerian Senate has further worsened the
plight of the girl-child in the country. It is shameful.
by Bayo Olupohunda (bayoolupohunda@yahoo.com)
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