Is Nigeria A Country Of Paedophiles?

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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