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Government Plan To Outlaw Same-Sex Marriage! By Tony Ishiekwene LONDON
I was very disturbed when I read in Nigerian dailies recently, of a bill been proposed by the presidency to be sent to parliament for approval, of the federal government plans to ban same-sex marriage or relationships. President Obasanjo and Mr Ojo the attorney general of the federation want to foist on Nigerians their own cultural and religious beliefs as yardsticks for moral evaluation. Sometimes I wonder whether those in positions of leadership in Nigeria, really understand the enormous problems facing the country, when they always want to chase shadows and "make a mountain out of a mule." Do these people in various government positions realise that many able-bodied Nigerians are chronically unemployed, including thousands of degree holders? That there are no good health care facilities available, or even when they exist, the hospitals are ill-equipped; roads and public infrastructure are in shambles, leading to loss of lives in many fatal road traffic accidents.
Institutions for proper planning and governance are no where and government is not thinking of making institutions work, but instead they want to sermonise as to what is African culture on who you can marry, as if culture is one static thing that never evolve! Till this moment Nigeria does not know its true population and the distribution and composition of the population. Births and death are hardly recorded and people change their birthdays through dishonest affidavits as they deem necessary to suit a particular purpose they want to achieve and the federal Government don’t have no clue, nor concerned on how to rectify this important planning tool, that is taken for granted in other serious nations.
Yet their problem is how to criminalise Gays and Lesbians! And what about the crisis in the Nigeria delta, where the government and unemployed armed militia men of the area are engaged in a dog fight, leading to kidnappings of oil workers and disruption to production of the golden geese? There is a politically induced crisis in Oyo state with a notorious god father blatantly fouling the environment with an illegal impeachment, and anarchy looming while Obasanjo and his ministers are “looking the other way.” Yet their worry is how to make criminals of harmless and innocent gay and lesbian relationships. People in government in Nigeria just cannot think and plan ahead but prefer a fire-brigade, snake killing approach to fighting problems. When they do to impose their own beliefs and religion on all Nigerian as if Nigeria has no "freedom of Association" or Human Rights in its constitution, nor do they subscribe to the united nations Human rights acts. This bill been proposed by Obasanjo and the likes of his sycophantic ministers, the information and Justice ministers inclusive is abuse of human right and denial of the freedom of citizens to association and free speech.
It is discriminatory and of no real value to a system already overheated with multifarious problems and challenges. Why is it a problem that the man or woman, a man or woman for that matter, want to live with an issue that government should bellyache about, particularly at a time when the world is moving towards letting people decide who they want to live with? I am getting really fed up of this bible-quoting government and its hypocrisy! Nigeria is after all a secular state and the people can make their decision on who they want to marry. I personally do not like same sex marriage, but that does not mean I must stop others who prefer to live that way, if it makes them happier. At the end of the day we do not need sermons on marriage ethics passed as laws of Nigeria according to the taste and caprices of Obasanjo and his holier than thou ministers.
Why would a government with so many problems in its hand that it has no clue on how to solve, busy itself with chasing shadow and wasting tax payer’s time and money or criminalising same-sex marriage? So you give five years jail-term for someone who only exercised their human rights to choose which partner they want to live with and then you jail a murderous thief, who stole N17 Billion for Six months after conviction. What a country of clueless leadership. Surely it cannot be a criminal offence to be gay or lesbian, for those who choose to live that way. This government want to turn Nigeria into a Nanny State or the big brother watching us as to what we eat, how we have sex and who we have sex with. What a busy-bodied government! This bill does not need to see the light of the day and I hope the Legislators throw it where it belongs- the trash can. Nigeria is a secular state and Obasanjo must stop his hypocrisy and the preaching of bible to Nigerians and concentrate on governance and face the enormous challenges, and the many problems of Nigeria.
Tony Ishiekwene LONDON |