Massive protests have continued to trail
the Senate’s passage of a resolution to retain the provision of Section
29 (4) (b) of the 1999 Constitution. Under the section, a married
underage girl is deemed to be an adult.
Prominent Nigerians and human right
organisations took to the social media to protest what they described as
legalisation of sexual abuse of underage girls.
The protests were held in parts of the
country on Saturday such as Abuja and Lagos among others. Also,
petitions were signed to protest the law.
The protesters might besiege all state
Houses of Assembly and the National Assembly on Tuesday to call on the
Senate to reverse itself.
Those who protested queried why underage
Nigerians could not exercise their franchise at the poll but were being
subjected to marriage at tender age.
On Twitter, several petition handles were created on Saturday, where users condemned the Senate position.
Lagos-based pastor and motivational
speaker, Sam Adeyemi, twitted, “If Islam permits something that the rest
of the country and many parts of the world feel is detestable, then
it’s a serious issue. We cannot take away from a Muslim the right to
practice his/her religion.”
Former Federal Capital Territory
Minister, Nasir El-Rufai, also twitted, “We need your support. Please
comment on #ChildNotBride. Criminals, from time, use religion to cloak
perversion.”
Two of the many tweets by a former
Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, read, “We kid ourselves to
think that we can catch up and compete with the rest of the world, when
the #GirlChild is constrained.
“I got married at 24, after my first post-graduate. Some think 24 is early but then, I was ready to make sound decisions.”
Nigerian actress, Omoni Oboli, also
twitted, “I shudder to think I wouldn’t be who I am today, if some
perverts had convinced my parents to marry me off before I turned 18.”
Nollywood actor, Nonso Diobi, stated,
“If she can’t vote, then she can’t marry. A female child should be taken
to the classroom, not labour room.”
Broadcaster, Mo Abudu, expressed her
concerns, saying, “My heart is broken by the news from the Senate on
#ChildBrides. This is not the Africa of 2013.”
Star reggae artiste, Majek Fashek, also
said, “How can a man of 40, 50 or over marry a girl of 12, 13yrs? What
kind of paedophilia is this?”
Eme Ewa of Change.org, an organisation
described as the world’s biggest petition platform, has written an
online petition to the United Nations, titled, ‘United Nations: Stop The
Nigerian Senate From Making Under-Age Marriage The Law!’
NigerianEYE readers were not left out...
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We know those that need to "SLEEP" with 12/13 years to RENEW their POLITICAL JUJU so this was not a SURPRISE.
YARO BOYS, ALMAJIRIS, AGBOROS turn POLITICIANS.
RUBBISH!- This is sad! These senators are hypocritical and despicable people.
Every time this country takes one step forward, they insist on pulling
us two steps back. In what world is a 12/13 year old an adult? They are
just a bunch of pedophiles... anyway, most of them are following a man
that married a 6 year old!
Another reader had this to say
Shame on the senate and the perverted Senator Ahmed Yerima. I am disgusted and appalled by the new constitutional amendments and how it affects the rights of children. Especially the girl child. If passed into law, It will basically make it legal for any sick bastard to have carnal knowledge of a girl child under the pretext of marriage. The senators have voted for the amendment. They plan to pass it into law. I am outraged. I am livid. Not my child. Not my sister. Not my niece. Not the daughter of that poor relative of mine in maiduguri. Nigerian women & indeed d men must make a statement. We must protect our children. Let these senators allow their 13yr olds marry to prove they believe its right. They are rich and powerful, their child isn't in immediate risk. What of the millions of girl children? Don't stand by and watch as our rights & the rights of an already vulnerable and violated Nigerian girl child get trampled upon. Please, I beg you. Show up and make a change. It'll take 10 minutes of your life. Stop the senate from passing this into a bill. Senator Ahmed Yerima wasn't even allowed to marry his underage bride in Egypt but because we are lawless and useless, he flew in the child and married her here in Abuja. Back then, he broke the law but he is a big time ex gov senator so he wasn't charged to court. With this new move, as a 60 year old, he can have a harem of 12yr olds and no one can legally take action against him. Not on our watch. Pls step up!!!
Like we all know, there are two sides to a coin, some supported the move and called it 'democracy'- We have freedom of religion in this country so our religion gave us the right to so therefore nobody will stop us.
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Thank to those who voted that is democracy.
- Dats d reason there are so many cases of raping, defiling, molestation etc in the southern part of the country. You can find a child of 14years she is pregnant! How can u handle this? And alot of baby factories in the south! How can u handle this? Mumu people!
- This is sad! These senators are hypocritical and despicable people.
Every time this country takes one step forward, they insist on pulling
us two steps back. In what world is a 12/13 year old an adult? They are
just a bunch of pedophiles... anyway, most of them are following a man
that married a 6 year old!
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What is the world turning into? Just like it was predicted in the bible.
ReplyDeleteShameless Yerima and his useless supporters in the Nigerian Senate. I can't belief in this stage of our development some people are still engulfed in selfish sexual orientation that will impede the girlchilds' success. Nigerians must rise up to challenge this ugly situation.
ReplyDeleteYerima is just the most foolish. He has left their org "BH" untackled for child marriage. I don't just know how to describe our senate and its contents so called senators. None of you guys has suggested to allow those children vote. May God punish your intents. Gush!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is only in Nigerian that we vote people into power so that they can kill us. God dey OOOO!!!!!!
ReplyDelete“If Islam permits something that the rest of the country and many parts of the world feel is detestable, then it’s a serious issue. We cannot take away from a Muslim the right to practice his/her religion. Its @least not binding on anybody of different religon or even Islam to practice it, its a thing of will..."
ReplyDeleteProf.Wole-Soyinka once made a statement sometines ago that This Generation is Wasted, so let's live this Senate for all this Old-Fools to manage to the best of their understanding, the next Generations of Senators and House of Rep will clean-up all these Mess.
ReplyDeleteMany things have spoiled in Nigeria, we're just deceiving ourselves to say we are moving forward, Nothing works in Nigeria bcz we lack good leaders, Generations coming-up will change many of the Nigerian-laws.
ReplyDeleteI would love have a list of those senators that voted for this disgusting child abuse whose children were married off at 12/13yrs. If they're not up to 75% of them then pple should just know we don't have the right people there. One issue we've not really dealt with is; While Nigeririan Citizens are doing the Nation proud individually in various sectors of human endeavour,our leaders always give us reason to be ashamed of presenting ourselves internationally as Nigerians. We Need a kind of revolution that will wipe away all these God-forsaken old fools who can never think right if we're dreaming of being one of world's 100 biggest economies by 20-20.
ReplyDeleteI AGREE WITH YERIMA.LET ANYBODY MARRIED CHECK HIS HOME,IF YOUR WIF WAS OVER 15 WHEN U MARRIED HER,U CAN NEVER FIND HER A VIRGIN.THATS WHY NORTHER GIRLS ARE USUALLY VIRGINS WHEN MARRIED EARLY.BUT AM NOT SURPRISE.THE WORLD IS GOING AGAINST THE COMMAND
ReplyDeleteYou are bastardly a fool. How old are you. Me Am 38 and i had a girl friend at the age of 19 and my girl friend was 17. We had sex many time but we didnt marry ourselves. Nowadays. Who the fuck cares about virginity. Leave the young girls to go school and have fun with some boy they prefer and get married to whoever she wants but not the fucking bastards like our senator (yerima) so yo say.
DeleteAm Lanre in the UK
I'm so against this preposterous action. The Girl child should have a right, we are all created in God's image and deserve better lives. It's not a question of 'if she can't vote she can't marry' because the greedy leaders in power might decide to swing the law in their own favour to permit children voting and hence marriage. I bet you if this becomes the order, Nigeria will have more than the problems we are already experiencing...
ReplyDeleteNaija wat a gwan?where goeth thou!Afront on the rights of the girl child!Enslavement of d teenage girl child!We must stand as one and condemn what is Bad..Fellow Nigerians!
ReplyDeleteThe North voted in Perverts rather than Senators.
ReplyDeleteSad!
We have to take a firm position. Less talk. More action. Enough is enough. This is unbelievable. Do this sick senators know anything about VVF? About time the North form their own country, their own Koran seem to be different.
ReplyDeleteThese are the kind of things northern senators will support. They want to rule Nigeria so that they will continue to make and suport useless laws. So backward human beings, hiding their foolish behaviours in the name of religion. God will punish all of those senators that voted in favour of the useless law. Nigerians must resist it, they will never succeed.
ReplyDeleteThis shows that senators are parks of wolves without any thing to offer the country.They are boko-harams.Now that BH will die a nature death they are try to create another social-cancer.They will fail!
ReplyDeleteThis shows that senators are parks of wolves without any thing to offer the country.They are boko-harams.Now that BH will die a natural death they are try to create another social-cancer.They will fail!
ReplyDeleteThis is why Nigeria has the highest rate of vvf in the world. I'm appalled that these senators and others don't consider the physical and mental health of their own daughters. What has this world come to? If your religion allows you to practice paedophilia, you on your own, can you not decide to rise above the low standards of morality?
ReplyDeleteAnd those people suggesting that child marriage is the cure to child molestation, I wonder what kind of logic that is. I pray you never hold any form of power with that stupid mentality. Increase in security, education and a stiffer sentence for those caught in those terrible acts are the solution to the problem, not child marriage! You cannot solve one evil with another evil.
Any sexual relationship without having GOD`s blessing is sin . Therefore a man who wants to marry a girl of 12 or 13 years of age because he feels she is a virgin , is the man a virgin ? Some brains in our national assembly are not functioning properly . You see this is why even their respective families are not proud of them . How will you feel when the man you call your father, that the only thing he can make to function as a law in Nigeria is for people to marry girls who are under aged .The funny thing is that some of them (empty heads)are aspiring to be our country`s president or governors of their respective states . God we have really gone astray , therefore we need your divine guidance .
ReplyDeleteThese senators who conspired and did the voting really know what they are doing because it is another way of making Nigeria ungovernable as the one of their ogas from the not north promised our country . Signing of that nonsense is the duty of the executive, let us see if Mr. president will sign it into law .
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine a girl of 13yrs geTting married to a man of 40 or above. what wud she call the man? What activities wud they engage in? These questions should be channelled to our myopic senators
ReplyDeleteI think the Nigerian Senate has lost its value! Nigerians can do without this Senate! They have betrayed this nation. Our fate should not be trusted in their hands. These are dis-honoura ble men and women! This is not the Senate we applauded for say ing "no" to same marriage craze of the oyinbos. We know better now!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 8:25AM. What you are saying is a very great lie, though I am not a northener but I was born and grew up in the north. From what I know, the northern girls are more promiscous because their mothers assist them at child birth by widing their vagina oreufus with fingers and boiled eggs to prepare them for early marriage. As fot the Nigeria Senators, they don't have any plan for Nigeria, imagine sitting down and talking about SEX? Tell me how a full grown man will get married to a little small girl and not touch her? We are talking about his legally married wife (12 or 13)? Check out other countries and see how develop they are, carrying youths along in making important decisions! You all sit there and sleep around with your selves, soon you will support the bill of sleeping with each other. May God forgive us all.
ReplyDeleteThese politicians are not satisfied with being theives, ritualists and corrupt things... they now want to mess with kids.. When other countries are looking for how to send their kids to school, give them proper health care e.t.c. you people want to start marrying our own kids off... well here is a fair deal for you perverts...why dont you marry your daughters or grand daughters or great grand daughters... and if our dear God was loving enough not to give you any female descendants then not to worry there should be young demons in hell... it's only a matter of time...
ReplyDeleteThey are trying to legalise this nonsense to prepare the grand for YERIMA THE PAEDOPHILIAN to run as vice president with Jonathan in 2015 and later come as president. look you can only become a president when God is no more God.
ReplyDeleteplease this Yerima, have he not married before or the girl is his number what wife
ReplyDeleteGod help us all.
ReplyDeleteSince your religion allow you to marry underage girl, all your children will be married to men at the age of seven, no one will reach ten years old.
ReplyDeleteShame to senate if they all that needs attention in this country and sit down to deliberate on child marriage. this is strictly child abuse because a child of 13 can not dictate for her self. if Nigeria should allow this, then our liberation from the white that is called independent is useless. Come to think of if can this so call Yerima give out his 13 years old child that is suppose to be in junior secondary school out in marriage? pls do to others what can be done to you. He also said in his comment that any woman that is married is aged point of correction a 13 years old child is not a woman nor adult but a child that has right to education and right to life.
ReplyDeleteNigerianEye, you don't seem to care about the uncontrolled outbursts of your commenters. People are making unbearable remarks on so many of your posts; Insulting, accusing and cursing other religion, Please I beg you to take action on this except your intention is to use your blog to divide or destroy what is left of our nation. God bless Nigeria today and always
ReplyDeleteDon't see anything wrong with people's comments on this blog. The truth must be told. What is worth condeming must be condemned! NigerianEye keep up! Child abuse must STOP. This is babaric. We cannot go back to stoneage. A female child can only understand marriage at 18 not 13. If we check it, it's old men in thier 50s who are purporting this evil. We must protect our children of any religion!
ReplyDelete