THE” CHILD MARRIAGE” BILL

THE” CHILD MARRIAGE” BILL
The senate on Wednesday the 17th of July passed a brutish proposal claiming that a woman is deemed to be “full of age” once she is married irrespective of the age she did so. This regressive action came after the senate’s resolution to alter section 29(a) of the proposed constitutional amendment stipulating that a woman shall qualify for marriage only when she attains 18 years, deleting age specification for women who were once married, claiming that a woman is deemed to be” full of age once she is married irrespective of the age she did so. This “child marriage” bill is motivated excessively by some men’s perverted state, some of whom have found themselves in the legislative body. These lawmakers who are given to such lewdness, carnality and immoral self indulgence have taken it upon themselves to sponsor and support an amoral motion instead of tackling national issues of utmost importance.
One of the chief crusaders for this shameful act is the much maligned senator Sani Ahmed Yerima a former governor of Zamfara who gained notoriety for his marriage to an underage girl from Egypt. You see Yerima was the first northern governor to adopt the sharia law where there were incidents of chopping of hands popularly referred to as the “short sleeve and the long sleeve cut” the fascinating thing is, the former EFCC boss Ribadu, indicted Mr “sharia” of direct stealing of state funds during his tenure as governor. It is a wonder why there is a selective adherence to the law, both the big man and the small man should have their hands chopped if they steal, that’s only logical right?
Nigeria is a large nation with divergence in socio-cultural milieu and religious beliefs so it is evident that we cannot all share similar ideas and views, and the respect and toleration of opposing views is advocated. However issues that deals with human right protection such as the child right act should supplant all deviations in opinion. Therefore Senator yerima’s statement a few years ago stating that he does not have to obey child rights Act because as it contravenes his religious belief was made out of bad taste. I’m a adherent of the believe that there should be a modicum of secularism in government and as much as possible religion should be separated from politics, and the constitution should be sovereign at all times so in the event there is a clash of jurisdiction the federal laws supersedes all other subsidiary law. I’ll rather not go into the intricacies of Islam’s view about marriage, but there are not many things I find more repugnant than using the religion of Islam or any other one for that matter to justify abominable practices. Mr yerima continual insistence on the passage of this bill based on Islamic tenet could be adjudged to be wrong as the Quran did not explicitly permit child marriage, and the common argument that prophet Mohamed had his wife Aisha betrothed to him at six and consummation cannot be verified, as the authenticity of that story has been debunked with historical events that contradict such a possibility. Some Islamic scholars through rigorous study of evidences stated that Aisha may have been at least 19 years of age during her consummation therefore putting to bed the myth of her being nine when she had her first sexual intercourse. And even if the practice was culturally acceptable during the prophet time on earth it must be noted that Islam is not against the evolvement of socio-cultural related laws.
This resolution which is reckless will result in the contravene section 21 of the Childs Rights Act which says no person under the age of 18 is capable of contracting a marriage; and any marriage contracted by a minor is null and void and has no effects whatsoever. If we say the constitution is supreme, and the Childs rights Act is part of the constitution, it contents supersedes any religious or social-cultural nuances. It is obvious that this motion spearheaded by senator Yerima is a selfish one, and a clear attempt to give legitimacy to the abominable marriage practice of him and men of his ilk. Nigerian must ensure that religious rights must not be used a guise for selfish purposes, and the fundamental human rights of all must be protected.
This move by senator Yerima and his cohorts shows the general insensitivities that public office holders have towards the plights of the masses, especially that of the girl child and this must not be allowed to stand, pressure should be put on the remainder of the legislative house to do the right thing and ensure that this motion is kicked out of this house, ensuring that Nigerian children enjoy the benefits of the Child Right Act of 2003 and the girl child is continually protected and given equal rights, especially from the implications and complication that comes up from early marriage, the VVF,RVF and the likes. Let us not be mere observers, we must do all that must be done to protect the rights of Nigerian children and as Edward burke put it “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”. GOD bless Nigeria.   Written by steve Jayeoba




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