Submitted by sokari on 30 April, 2010 - 16:11
A coalition of Nigerian women’s groups, activists and academics signed and delivered a Petition to the Senate calling for an investigation into the marriage of Senator Yerima to a 13 year old Egyptian girl. They also asked for Yerima to be suspended. Whilst the Nigerian government is busy complaining to the BBC over the TV documentary “Welcome to Lagos” for damaging Nigeria’s image, the same gutless government is refusing to condemn and suspend one of it’s members for marrying a 13 year old. Instead they have asked the coalition of women to take the matter to court making them complicit in this crime. If this was anywhere else given the seriousness of the matter, we would expect a statement from the President – Silence.
“Section 22 prohibits betrothal of a child under the age of 13. Today one of our senators, Senator Yerima, who is a member of the highest law making body in the country, is committing the same offence that attracts the penalty of five years imprisonment or N500,000 fine or both.
“If we have a man like Senator Yerima, what happens to our bill on child abuse? We are calling for his withdrawal because it is a shame that Senator Yerima should contract marriage with a thirteen year old.
“This year, the one he married when she was fifteen would be seventeen this year. If we allow this to go on, by this time next year, he would be marrying a six-year old girl.
“We want the people of Zamfara State to start the process that would recall him from the senate. We are not afraid.”
As I wrote a few days ago, I believe only 13 states have actually signed the Child Rights Act, whilst many of the Sharia northern states claim it is anti their religion and culture [I'm not sure if Zamfara State is one of the states on or not].
In 2005, The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) made an official protest against adopting the Child Rights Act and again in 2008 the Kano House of Assembly said the Act was against the religion and culture [of the north].
“Gafasa, in an interview with THISDAY, also said that the Act is ” Against the wishes of Kano and entire Northern part of the country as its against our religion and culture”
The Petition
The attention of the Nigerian Human Rights Community has been drawn by media reports on a marriage which reportedly took place recently between Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima and a purported 13-year old Egyptian child at the National Mosque in Abuja, paying the sum of $100,000.0 (one hundred thousand U.S. dollars only) as ‘dowry’. The said media include: The Punch, THISDAY, LEADERSHIP, NEXT, NATIONAL LIFE and TRIBUNE.
Following these publications which, to date, have not been refuted, the human rights community in Nigeria and beyond has expressed concern and consternation at the alleged actions of the Distinguished Senator which are considered both condemnable and patently illegal, especially as they relate to Nigeria’s statutory and case law as well as its international status. The allegations include, but are not limited to the fact:
1. That the said Senator Yerima “enticed” a 13 year old Egyptian child into marriage
2. That the said marriage could not be formalised in Egypt for reasons of child marriage being prohibited under their Law.
3. That a sum of $100,000.00 (about N15m) was paid by Senator Yerima as ‘dowry’.
4. That about 30 members of the said Egyptian child’s relatives were in Nigeria at the Senator’s expense for the said wedding
5. That the Senator is alleged to have married in 2006 or thereabouts, a 15 year old (Hauwa’u) who, Senator Yerima also allegedly caused to drop out of school at JSS 3, as his fourth wife.
6. That Senator Yerima recently divorced the same Hauwa’u (now 17 years old and nursing a child for him) to make room for yet another marriage, again, with a 13 year old Egyptian child.
These allegations have far reaching consequencies especially for the following reasons:
1. A seeming violation of Section 21 of the Child Rights Act 2003, which is applicable in Abuja where the said marriage purportedly took place. The Child Rights Act forbids marriage with anyone under 18 years and criminalises same with a fine of N 500,000 or 5-year jail term, or both.
2. A seeming violation of Nigeria’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child an International Human Rights Instrument to which Nigeria is a party.
3. The treatment of women and girls who by the Senator’s actions in reference, not only dehumanises them but also has implications for truncating the education of female minors thereby jeopardizing their future and healthy livelihoods.
4. The implications for immigration and the scourge of human trafficking considering allegations of wrongful entry of the child bride and 30 members of her family into Nigeria.
Based on these and the need to hold all Nigerians accountable for their actions and inactions particularly when such actions involve violations of Nigeria’s domestic and international obligations for the promotion and protection of the rights of citizens; the Senate is being urged to kindly, as a matter of urgent national interest, to:
1. Cause these allegations to be thoroughly investigated with a view to establishing the actual names of the child-bride, her age and the circumstances of her entry into Nigeria;
2. Establish the legality or otherwise of this action, considering the high personal status of Senator Yerima , his status in society as a lawmaker and leader, and the negative effect of such acts on the image of Nigeria
3. Cause its findings and decisions to be made public for the same reason as indicated in (b) above.
Your Excellency Sir, it is indeed, in the interest of the Senate to ensure that these allegations are thoroughly investigated, as it cannot be acceptable that the distinguished and hallowed Chamber of the Senate be a safe harbour for impunity by its highly placed members.
Your Excellency, xxx submits most respectfully that it is your responsibility to ensure that the Senate and its reputation are protected of any real or percieved wrong doing. Nigerians who are signatories to this petition look up to your person and office to assure them of the Constitutional guarantees of protection for all citizens irrespective of any leanings.
Comments
I am utterly shocked and appalled by the naivity/stupidity of someone who mistakenly calls himself "Prince" I am hoping for the sake of royalty that the Prince part of your name is just a nick name, else you should be a disgrace to nobelty.
Assuming you have been married a while now, how does your 13 year old daughter or your grand-daughter (if you have one) being sexually active with a man your age mate and being ready to be handed off in marriage appeal to you. One question, are you an irresponsible dad to hand your 13 year old daughter out in marriage? Even honourable poor men will rather send their children to school than marry them off at such a tender age.
What would you do if you had a daughter who came home saying she was pregnant? I bet you will beat the living day light out of her and yet you champion Mr Yerima's cause from an imaginary moral high ground.
You speak about constitution and breaking of the law, let it be know to your myopic self that if this man was reported in the international scene he will be arrested just about anywhere on charges of being a paediophile. People get locked up for viewing child pornography and yet you stand exalting a man who has selfishly chosen to marry a child who has only just started her TEENAGE life. There are 7 teenage years and she is still at number one and you think she understands what it means to leave with a man?! Please refrain from leaving such shameful and incriminating opininon on places like the internet, you never know who is putting you up on the "To Watch" list for child molesters, abusers and traffickers. Also do not express your inhumane opinions to the outside world, your barbaric thinking can land you in deep shit!
You talk about roads and accidents, what physical/financial effort have you put in, from your own sweat to add to your cause??? Help to develop the road to your house, (not your street) and then you can hit back at those women who are trying to save a child from this monster, who has already divorced another teenager!!!
Hi Mr Djackal
Thanks for your response, but dont forget that l, like any other person, including you have our rights of opinion and such opinion should be respected and not to be subjected to insults and abuse, otherwise what is the purpose of the Nigerian constitution that guarantees us freedom of expression and association? I want you to incorporate an NGO to tackle this issue of child abuse cos its everywhere in Nigeria. We in Accident Prevention & Rescue Initiative are advocating for safety of road users in Nigeria and please join us to know what we in our personal effort and funds have expended to improve road safety in Nigeria but the glory goes to Government agencies whose efforts we are complimenting.
Prince Fidelis Nnadi
The condemnaion of some human rights activists and women groups on the alleged marriage of a 13 year old Egyptian girl by Senator Yerima is quite unfortunate and proves that ignorance breeds contempt and unlwful action. The distingushed Senator is as innocent as any one who has not been pronounced guilty by any court of the land. Our distinguished Senator is simply in compliance with the law. The 13 year old girl has not compalined of any human right abuse by the distinguished senator, else how can anyone or group accuse him of human right or child abuse. Globally, marriage is by the consent of either the girl/ woman or by parents. Reports disclosed that the parents graced the marriage and that both the girl and parents consented to the marriage. Can any of the protesting groups site any relevant Nigerian or International law that Senator Yerima has offended by marrying a 13 year old girl? The law as cited by the groups relate to child abuse, but has the girl in question been abused by that marriage? The protesting groups should have waited for the girl to publicily or privately seek intervention for being abused by the Senator, afterall the girl and parents are confortable with the marriage. In manny parts of Nigeria, such marriages are contracted daily by Chiefs, Obas, Igwes, drivers, chief executives, mallams, Alhajis, beggars, motor park touts and pensioneers without rancour. Why should senator Yerima be called names for courting relationship with Egypt to which Nigerians should be proud to visit Egypt as our inlaws?
Those calling for his removal from the Senate are ignorant of the constitution which guarantees freedom of speech, association, movement and the right to choose or not choose.
Prince Fidelis Nnadi
08037051384
First of all protesting about one human rights abuse does not mean people are avoiding other human rights abuse. We cannot do everything. If you feel so strongly about traffic accidents why are you yourself not organising around that issue? Secondly you seem to miss the point - this is by no way a "trivial issue" .
Under Nigerian law the age of consent for marriage is 18 therefore it is unlawful to marry a 13year old child - therefore Senator Yerima has broken the law. - there is nothing ignorant about the actions of human rights advoicates here. Senator Yerima siad he married under Islamic law which he cliams permits marriage to 13 year olds. There are two issues. As a Senator he is bound by oath to uphold the law of the land - he has not. Secondly marriage or otherwise to a child is sexual abuse - and from your comment it is clear that you either dont understand that point or dont agree with it so you believe having sexual intercourse with 13yr olds whether married or not (noting the age of consent is 18 so she cannot have consented herself) is a trival matter?
I suggest that it is yourself who is ignorant both of the law and in conding this marriage - fortunately from the comments left on Nigeria online news site your point of view is very much in the minority.
Yes, l may have missed the point from your side of petition, but have you done so to many of such marriages that is common on the soild of Africa? I am not in any way advocaating for Senator Yerima neither have l ever met with him.
l want your petition to be general and not to single one man out for cricifixtion. l know many of such maarriages and l am sure if you are an African, you will agree with me that it is no news that a man married a 13 year old girl. This is not to say that l am in agreement with such practice, but because those who made the laws are the real law breakers and we all end up applauding them. Please let your pettiton spread accross Senator Yerima.
As for my role in Road Traffic Accident Prevention, l guess you search my name and the organization l represeent to know more.
Prince Fidelis Nnadi
After reading this article: I am extremely upset that aso-called Senator/Law maker should engage in such a despicable act which should be condemed by all deceant and sane people all over the world. It is a disgrace to Nigeria, Black people and the entire African Continent.
There are more than enough problems with slavery in Africa still today. This action is harmful to other children and can only encourage other garbage-minded men to continue this deplorable act. Perhaps, this senator is feels that God has not endowed him with a large enough private part that he is only adequate enough to force himself on children.
He deserves to be comdemed by every justice loving person and should not be allowed to travel to any other country in the world. Please do not come to Canada. The world needs to place sanctions on him forever.
Even with the difficulty between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, he should be punished and isolated in the interest of protecting innocent children. I will never be able to respect a Parliament that allows this to happen. This so-called law maker should be thrown out of the Nigerian Senate.
The parents or guardians of this young girl should also be punished and educated to the harm this type of situation can do to other children.
As an African Canadian, I am sickened by this man's action knowing the harm that this action will cause other children. There must be some way that Sharia laws can be changed in order to protect children.
If the Nigerain Parliament is afraid to throw him out of the senate, which I do understand to preserve peace between muslims and Christians then this case should be brought to the attention of the United Nations in order to comence concerted sanctions against this so-called senator.
You are not a senator but a man who takes advantage of children and women. Paying a dowry for a child is tantamount to slavery. You paid for this child and that is SLAVERY which your brain does not seem to allow you to understand. Slavery was wrong for Europeans and Arabs to engage in and it is just as wrong for Africans to engage in. One can only wonder about your mental capacity.
So-called senator, You are a disgrace to your race and the civilized world. If you wish to live an ancient form of life, you do not need to disgrace the Nigerian parliament. You should resign immediately.
A concerned Canadian
Hello everyone - a note from the "moderator" here in the Kabissa Connect community blog. While I am glad to see the comments to this post about Senator Yerima's marriage to a thirteen year old, I would like to request that everyone please calm down and engage in a respectful, substantive discussion. There is a great deal we can learn from each other, but not if we engage in ad hominem attacks.
Djackal: if you read on in the comments you will see that Prince and Sokari have continued the conversation and he has backtracked a bit from his original position.
Sokari: in a new post, can you please update us on the latest status of the petition and how people have been reacting in Nigeria? Are there some particularly good blog posts you can direct us to?
Prince: in a separate, new blog post, can you please tell the Kabissa community more about the organization you represent, Accident Prevention and Rescue Initiative, and activities you are engaged in to invest in and improve Nigeria's roads? Your website at http://www.apri-drts.org provides some information but the links appear to be broken. You can also add a profile on Kabissa for APRI to help showcase your initiatives.
Thanks everyone!
Warm regards,
Tobias
For those interested in reading more about how this controversy is unfolding, check out the Global Voices post by Eremipagamo Amabebe at http://bit.ly/99LjIN ... she provides an excellent roundup of the story so far including quotes from a range of bloggers. It's a "tabloid-esque" case, but has deeper implications about politics and society in Nigeria.
Amabebe writes:
This topic has generated much comments, both positive and negative. The Nigeria society has condemned this act in its totallity. This issue has equally exposed the insatiable quest for underaged children either in the name of marriage or whatever . It is happening in many parts of Nigeria and Africa but thank God that Senator Yerima's, albeit unintentional act or religious belief has awaken the conscience and condemnation of both local and international community on the issue of child abuse. It will be interesting if the issue of child abuse now in the front burner be directed to parents who subject their children, some within the age of eight years and below to hawk on the streets of Nigeria. This children are being exposed to the dangers of wreckless drivers. They are killed by hit and run drivers with no one raising a voice. Many of these children are exposed to sexual abuse by motor park touts whose homes are in the motor parks. Many of these children are prey to ritualists. Their parents engage them in undeserved services for monentary gains due to poverty. What about the almajiris in the North, the house helps in the south, the farm attendants in the west and the pure water hawkers in every part of the city? These children are denied education caused by poverty and bad governance in Nigeria. They are dying in dozens in hospitals for lack of drugs and money to pay hospital bills. They are used as pickpockets by syndicates who find them useful for personal interests. They are assembled as beggers on streets with no one to fend for them, many are orphans whose parents were victims of road traffic accident, HIV/AIDS and other human induced causes.
Can we therefore look beyound Yerima's case and expand the campaign to all types of child abuse in all parts of Nigeria and Africa not minding whether it is sexual abuse or not; CHILD ABUSE IS CHILD ABUSE no matter the type of abuse
Prince Fidelis Nnadi
APRI
The Senator has been questioned by the police and has been released until a further hearing in June. Presently separate investigations are taking place in Egypt and Nigeria to ascertain the facts of the case and also a campaign is to be launched to prevent child marriages on the continent once and for all.
I find it absolutely shocking and painful to think some people view this as a non-issue, or someone would rather want to create some 'constructive' discussion to wade off attention on the subject matter in a bid to being diplomatic.
A 13 year old?! A 13 year old girl, for crying out loud! Please each and every one of you, should put yourselves in that little girl's shoes, whether you are male or female. For a minute, just picture as this little girl!
What is this thing about some accident initiative Prince? Going through your comments, I would never support your cause unless it is coming from more empathetic individual(s) for you can only give what you have. You kept calling the senator 'distinguished'. ....what's distinguished about bedding a 13 year old? Whatever initiative, it is you have, it must be for political gain!
Importantly we must all empathize with people and help out as much as we can and not try to demean the impact or reality of situations such as this. We must not stop being humane! Sad story
I have been discussing this issue with some friends offline, and thought I might mention some interesting points they made, in case others want to comment:
A doctor friend said that there is no medical justification for an arbitrary age of consent (be it 13, 16, or 18). According to him, a girl is physically "ready" for sexual activity as soon as she reaches puberty, which of course varies from person to person and so cannot be connected to any legal age. Vaginal fistualas can occur in women of all ages and are caused by a number of things, rape and childbirth most often, and so are not a good argument on which to base the age of consent.
According to him, the age of consent has a legal rather than medical basis. He says that it is the age at which a society deigns that one is capable of making an independent decision on whether or not to engage in intercourse. It's the age at which a society confers the responsibility for an action on an individual, similar to the age at which one can vote, drive, have a credit card, or buy a house. As such, the age of consent is a legal expression tied to cultural norms, and like most laws, is likely to vary greatly from one country to the next and even within federations.
This may not be news to some of you, but it did influence the way I see the issue. The voting age varies from country to country and no one cares. Americans have almost full driving privileges from the age of 16, while much of the rest of the world has to wait two years. Europeans may laugh at Americans for making their youth wait until the age of twenty-one before they can legally consume alcohol, but no one protests or drafts international treaties on the subject.
Further, Nigeria is not the only country with an age of consent some consider scandalous. According to this wiki map, the age of consent in Spain is 13, as it is in Japan -- though both these countries have ratified the Child Rights Act.
Nigeria is also not the only country with a "federal" problem. The US, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and I'm sure lots of other countries, also have varying ages of consent from state to state (though I'm not sure if, as in the case of Nigeria (?), the states are in conflict with Federal law). I wonder how these other countries (Spain, Japan etc) are dealing with this issue?
Of course the age of consent is a more complex issue than the voting or driving age, since it is tied to issues of exploitation -- child prostitution, sex tourism, child pornography, human trafficking. I suspect these are the things most of us are more worried about. And perhaps this is why, as you mentioned in your post, Sokari, Yermia was initially gone after for child trafficking. Would it bother us to hear of two 13-year-olds having sex? Maybe, but certainly much less than the Yerima affair. Which is why I think this issue perhaps has a lot to do with the other forms of exploitation mentioned above.
I don't know where this leaves the issue, except maybe that the age of consent would perhaps be better argued over in terms of its use in preventing of other forms of exploitation -- rather than as an end in itself. It's definitely a complicated topic, and seems to get more tangled the more I read on it.
I have been following up comments and discussions on the marriage of a 13year old Egyptian girl by Senator Yerima.
I have equally made contributions to express my views. However, it has become obvious from phone calls received that my views on the issue were either not clearly understood or are being misconstrued. For the purpose of records, let me be clearly understood this time around that l have never supported the marriage of this young girl by Senator Yerima. l stand out to say categorically clear that l am not in support of Senator Yerima's marriage to this young (13 year old) girl even if there were no laws prohibiting it.
Senator Yerima should be brought to book and l fully support the campaigners for his trial, at least to act as a deterrent to others whose quest for underaged grils for marriage can be halted. However, l will be grateful to be part of this campaign on child abuse in addition to my role in road safety advocacy.
While l abhor indecency and child abuse, l congratulate those who has made it possible for Senator Yerima to be told that he has no right to engage in child abuse, religion or not, the law of the land must be observed, primarily by those who are parties in making the law..
Prince Fidelis Nnadi
APRI - Abuja
It is sad to read those different answers here. If a girl is 13 years old, she is not old enough to get married. You can´t just look at her body and say that she is old enough for that. In the child mind, she hasn't grown up enough yet. A child is a child and should be treated as a child. It is very sad with all these problems including traffic problems; it is also sad to hear that there are so many people that are dying from those accidents; but there is no reason to say that a child abuse is preferable than a child dying in a traffic accident. I would rather die in that than to be married to an old man and that is for sure. 18 years old, is better and then your mind is still not ready but it is better than 13. A child at 12 years old was bleeding to death when her husband had sex with her. It is wrong to do things with children when they are not old enough to handle things like marriage and sex. As I think, from my point of view in Sweden, I would rather die than be used as a child wife. We have 18 years old here too and sometimes girls are not ready then to be married; so it is real bad to be married at 13 years old, whatever you say and whatever the Nigerian laws say too.
It's quite intresting to know that well-meaning Nigerians like you all are promoters of child safety policies.
Be it the safety of the Nigerian child against sexual abuse or against preventable road traffic accidents.We are all saying enough is enough, the Nigerian child and the children of the world deserve and should be given the right to protection and survival.
There isn't any comparison between the unsafe transportation of the Nigerian child , the vulnerability of the Nigerian child as a road user, the unsafe marriage of any girl child and the sexual abuse that goes with it.They are all strong issues that need equal attention.
Let's come together maybe on different platforms but one voice against unsafe practices against children, the Nigerian child in particular, they are our emerging leaders.
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