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"Wonders,
as they say, shall never end. You mean
somebody can take a 13-year old baby as
wife?"
"If you
are talking about Senator Ahmed Sani
Yerima, former Governor of Zamfara
state, I don't see why you should bother
yourself. The man is a Moslem. He has
every right to marry wife No. 4".
"I am
not talking about number. If he so
wishes, he can marry 100 wives. I am
talking about the age of his latest
wife, the 13-year old girl from Egypt."
"They
all do it".
"They"?
"I hear
where Yerima comes from, it is
considered a cultural thing to marry a
girl of 10 or even much younger. Have
you heard anyone from that part of the
country protesting about the age of the
new wife in Ahmed Sani Yerima's
household? It is considered a private
affair?"
"But
the Penal Code, I think in Section 275
forbids an adult from having carnal
knowledge of a minor. Yerima is old
enough to be that young girl's
grandfather! And the Koran does not tell
anyone to marry an under-aged girl."
"Don't
forget that her parents willingly gave
her hand in marriage. He didn't kidnap
her."
"They
did it for the money. I understand
Senator Yerima paid $100,000. With all
the financial difficulties surrounding
you, I am sure you too may be tempted to
give away your daughter with that kind
of tempting amount!"
"God
forbid bad thing, My daughter will never
be sold into slavery!"
"But I
thought you were defending the man?"
"Me.
Never? In fact, I think the man is
shameless. His other wives should carry
placards. The Sharia police should
arrest him. He deserves something worse
than the treatment he himself gave
Mallam Jangedi when he was Governor of
Zamfara state."
"Something worse? What do you
recommend"?
"Something like... something that will
stop him from damaging the life of a
young girl. God! What a terrible thing
to be talking about such an old man
marrying a 13-year old!"
"You
know it is a terrible thing that is
going on in Nigeria today. When I read
strange stories about old men and young
girls, I shudder."
"And to
think Senator Ahmed Yerima is supposed
to be a distinguished lawmaker. A
leader. If the subject of child rights
were to come up on the floor of the
Senate, I wonder what his contribution
would be?"
"Are
you not aware that in many states of the
Federation, in at least 11 states, all
in one part of the country, the
lawmakers have refused since 1999 to
pass the Child Rights Bill for no other
reason than that sections of it violate
culture and tradition?"
"I
know. And the contentious sections are
the sections dealing with child marriage
and female genital mutilation. Although
one of my friends tells me that the idea
is to marry the girl when she is young,
and then you nurture her. No intimacy.
But how do we prove that?
"This
Yerima man, the man go school at all?"
"Oh
yes".
"Does
he read newspapers?"
"I
should think so".
"So why
is he not saying anything? Let him even
tell us that the story is not true.
Look, I am almost having hypertension".
"You
want to have hypertension over another
man's private matter?"
"This
is not a private matter. This is about
child rights."
"Suppose the man says it is his business
and not yours."
"How
old is he"?
"Fifty
I guess".
"Babangida
is vindicated then".
"What
do you mean Babangida is vindicated?
What has marrying an under-aged girl got
to do with Babangida?"
"Where
were you when IBB said that people like
him must return to power because
Nigerian youths cannot be trusted to
provide leadership. He says we are not
capable. It is this kind of behaviour..."
"Babangida
doesn't know what he is talking about.
What did he himself do when he was
young? Was he not a young man when he
was Nigerian Military President and even
before then? Didn't he and his
colleagues mess up Nigeria? He said his
administration would help build our
tomorrow. "For their tomorrow, we gave
our today" or how did he put it? Now, he
says that tomorrow is not good enough."
"But
you know Nigerian youths are problematic
- armed robbers, Oghara militants,
kidnappers, rapists, cultists, 419,
yahoo yahoo..."
"Yes.
IBB helped to create them all; and now
that he says we are useless, he can be
sure he has lost our votes. He must know
that he cannot be Nigeria's President in
2011 without the votes of the youths -
so who will vote for him? Careless talk.
Bad strategy. Good for him!"
"You
really think he needs your votes?
"Yes".
"You
are assuming that the people's votes
will count in 2011?"
"Our
votes must count".
"I like
your optimism."
"In any
case, don't bother. IBB won't be
President."
"I can
see Acting President Goodluck Jonathan
already flexing his own muscles too. The
fight for 2011 is going to be vicious."
"There
is nobody you'd put astride a horse who
will not throw his skull backwards.'
"Baa-ba
oh... You and your Yoruba English. Tell
them".
"Ogbulafor,
Chairman of the PDP is being charged by
the ICPC. The Navy, the Police, the
Army, the Air Force and all the
intelligence agencies are all looking
for James Ibori. You'd think the man has
turned into a pin in a haystack.
Jonathan is also summoning a meeting of
the PDP National Exco. What do you think
all of that is about? 2011, of course.
And just in case anybody is in doubt,
Jonathan is telling the world that a new
Sheriff is in town."
"Ogbulafor
says it is the work of the Devil."
"The
Devil gave him N170 million when he was
Minister of Special Duties?"
"No. He
says the Devil has taken over the PDP
and that the Devil is a liar."
"Oh. He
is just realizing that the PDP is the
Devil's party?"
"I hear
the other man in Aso Rock was sighted
coming downstairs to the living room.
They say he can now recognize people and
embrace them".
"I was
talking about Dr. Jonathan. You know
there was this other story I read in the
papers. Something about Jonathan
stopping members of the National
Economic Council from singing the
National Anthem before the commencement
of a meeting".
"I
don't have a problem with that. We don't
want Jonathan and co singing all over
the place; they should get on with the
task at hand."
"There
is even nothing to crow about. Have you
not heard that the Nigerian Government
is broke?"
"Who
said that?"
"Hamman
Tukur, the Chairman of the Revenue
Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal
Commission (RMAFC)."
"All
the money that OBJ saved? Foreign
reserves?"
"It is
so bad the Federal Government is now
planning to borrow N137.25 billion from
the World Bank."
"Nigeria, we hail thee..."
"That
is the Old National Anthem."
"That
is what we should be singing in
protest."
"Well
they seem to be doing something. I like,
for example, the way the Nigerian
Government through the High Commission
in London protested to the BBC about its
special documentary on Lagos in which
Lagos was portrayed as a slum".
"It
depends on what the BBC reporter was
comparing Lagos with. If you compare
Lagos and London, definitely Lagos will
look like a slum; in fact compared to
Dakar, Lagos will still look like a
slum".
"But
they have slums in London, New York,
Chicago..."
"There
are different kinds of slums. Look
rather than worry about the BBC
describing Lagos as a slum, let's worry
more about raising the quality of life
in Nigeria generally".
"At
least we are better than Sudan".
"Is
Sudan now the standard against which
Nigeria should be measured"?
"Sudan
has just concluded its general
elections. There was only one
presidential candidate, Omar al-Bashir.
In Nigeria, we at least manage to parade
50 candidates".
"You
can't be serious. What has happened in
the name of an election in Sudan is a
sham. When the Russians in their
statement said that the Sudanese
election is free and fair by African
standards, I can bet they had Nigeria in
mind."
"The
Russians said that? By African
standards?"
"I have
told you: the world no longer takes us
seriously."
"But we
can't give up on ourselves. We can't
keep moaning."
"Yeah,
we should act."
"Take
Lagos State. In this same city of Lagos
which the BBC reporter dismisses as a
slum, the House of Assembly is coming up
with a law to Provide Protection Against
Domestic Violence and for Connected
Purposes".
"I
know. It is sponsored by Mrs. Funmi
Tejuosho. And all the supporters are
women".
"Some
men too. It is not only men who beat
their wives. I used to know one man in
those days. Each time his wife started
beating him, he would start calling on
neighbours to come to his rescue. One
day, the woman chased him up and down
the street".
"Where
was that? Was that when you were living
in Alagbado."
"No.
Elewure."
"I
remember. It was Alakuko."
"You
are wrong. It was Onigbongbo."
"Well,
am I supposed to know all these funny
neighbourhoods where wives beat their
husbands?"
"You'd
be surprised it happens everywhere.
Domestic violence is everywhere. The
bill refers to different kinds of
violence - physical, sexual, emotional,
financial."
"Financial violence. I like that. So, if
a man refuses to pay his children's
school fees, or put down chop money, his
wife can go to court and send him to
jail. And emotional violence - how does
anyone prove that"?
"But it
is still a good law. My only fear is
that the likely cases may never go past
the police station. As a rule Nigerian
policemen don't get involved in matters
between husbands and wives. They'd tell
the aggrieved woman - go and settle with
your husband".
"That
is even putting it politely. I once
heard a policeman telling a woman who
had been beaten black and blue by her
husband - go back to your husband. This
is a police station not a marriage
registry! And the woman was bleeding".
"It is
like Yerima marrying a 13-year old girl.
There are too many customs and
traditions which stand in the way of
progress and human rights".
"But
are you really sure that some women beat
their husbands?"
"Ha.
You mean you don't know?"
"The
day a Nigerian man goes to a police
station to report that he has been
beaten by his wife, that will be the
day".
"It
happens. I tell you, it happens. There
are many victims, male and female in
that institution called marriage".
"Yerima's
13-year old 4th wife is one, certainly".
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