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Yarima's Marriage: Why All the Propaganda? By Yusuf Dingyadi
It is disheartening to hear that some people across the country are campaigning for the prosecution of Senator Ahmed Sani Yariman Bakura over his celebrated marriage of an Egyptian girl, which the Nigerian media are awash with negative reports. For while the media continues to say it loudly to all those that care to listen that the girl is 13 years of age, Yarima has insisted that she is not. see Daily Trust (29th April, 2010)
Yarima who maintained that his marriage to the 13 years old girl as lies, because anyone decides to judge him according to rules other than those prescribed by Allah and the Holy prophet, then he is wasting his time.
Senator Yarima assured that his wife is already back to school in Egypt, in spite of the propaganda by the western media against the marriage, and described the ongoing propaganda as invasion of his privacy by asking his wife’s age.
Just within this week, the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges announced that it will investigate the Senator’s marriage issue. It was reported in the BBC Hausa service last Wednesday that part of the issues at stake includes Yarima’s violation of the Child Act No. 14 of the Child Rights Act of the United Nations.
The worst comment came from the Minster of Women Affairs, Madam Josephine Anenih, who told the world that they will ask the Minister of Justice to institute criminal charges against the Senator for his violation of Child Rights Act.
The Senate shows their double stand on Nigerians when it become silent and ignore abuse of office by the Chairman Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights, Senator Dahiru Tambuwal over Sokoto Election Appeal Tribunal case.
Openly Senator Dahiru Tambuwal confess to what he has been doing, as unethical and provocative for a Federal Legislator, of the upper chamber, who is the Chairman of a sensitive Committee to compromise his privileges by admission of involvement in an issue that is clearly an act of contempt and abuse of Ethics and privileges better and worse than Senator Yarima.
Both the Human rights group and Senate become aloof over this issue as hundreds of lives were affected as result of such injustice, now want to use the same medium on prosecuting the innocent man who use his religious obligation to fulfill his ambition.
First of all, the issue of Senator Yarima’s marriage is a domestic affair, concerning his personal and family life; hence so sensitive that no sensible person will indulge in.
As a Muslim, Northerner and also as married man, there is no reason embarking on unnecessary campaign against Senator Yarima’s marriage since it was in accordance with his cultural and religious orientation. And this is where the crux of the whole matter lies. Thus, those who are making noise over the issue must realize that the Senator has a well grounded culture and religion shaping his personal life and general worldview.
And as a matter of reality his culture and religion is not national or international to warrant equating his action with what obtains in either other parts of Nigeria or Europe.
It is the realization of these cultural and religious differences that might made opinion and religious scholars from North to remain silent on this fundamental issue. They might possibility speak out later, but the questions all is expecting them to answer are: Is Muslim permitted or not to marry a 13-year old girl? Is Yarima’s action a taboo or not in Northern Nigerian context? Is this the first time such an act is committed in the Muslim Hausa setting or is it a normal cultural practice?
The foregone questions should have been analysed by the media too before embarking on their campaign for Yarima’s head on the matter. No serious media expert would ignore the central place of cultural, historical and religious factors in analyzing the actions of men and women in a given society. They are a powerful force in shaping human action or inaction, behavior and value system. To ignore this basic ingredient in explaining humanity does more harm than good. By jumping up towards Europe and taking the personal life of European as a yardstick upon which to measure our way of life here is surely uncalled for. This can only be done where the campaign is politically motivated and one aimed at inflicting political injury on Yarima.
After all, for those insisting on Universal Law as set by the United Nations and making reference to European culture, the paradox is clear. Doesn’t the UN recognize fundamental differences in human cultures and religions? Is Europe morally upright than Nigeria? What does the European culture and dominant religion say about marriage, sex and human dignity vis-à-vis the ongoing sex scandal in the Church over there? In a sense the re-occurring pedophile issues rocking the papacy are sufficient to make Nigerian and European to stop aping the so-called standard morals set by Europe.
But true to their character, we are already taking the heat from the Yarima’s case and some of us are already running for cover. This is a mere distraction from the real issue. The real issue is now openly manifesting itself: that a section of elites who deliberately pretend ignorant of the Hausa Muslim culture and religious orientation is bent on using Yarima’s case to launch politically charged missiles on him with a view to raising the financial profile of their media outfits.
No doubt, Yarima is bound to emerge victorious when his action is weighed at our Law Courts, where it is the existing Laws and Acts that matter not political or personal sentiments.
However, it is pertinent to caution to some politicians who want score cheaps popularity by apportion blame on the Zamfara state government to have a rethink, because this issue is far above that, because this issue do affect every single and reasonable Muslim across the globe.
It is not Senator Yarima’s matter; it’s a plan to rebuke Islam and moral justice it stand for. Therefore, let no apportion blame on the doorstep of the government or people of Zamfara state.
I know Governor Mahmud Shinkafi of Zamfara state as a honest and good Muslim that can’t indulge his power to or allow to be misled or hoodwinked by any groups or individuals to sponsor such kind of sponsorship of propaganda against his former mentor Senator Yarima.
The statement credited to an aide of Yarima, accusing the government is more like a miss of reality; he ignored the main point of western enemy of Islam over this issue.
Going by the tactics of this political war against Yarima, it is not difficult to ascertain the sponsors of this episode coming from enemy of our development and progress. |