Child Marriage: We are not Overreacting.

"Also condemning any attempt to legalise child marriage, Tofa, in a statement yesterday from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, said it was wrong to marry off young girls.

He said: “Some ignorant people, or shall I say mischievous people, will always use religion for their personal and political ends. They hardly even care that they are dragging the image of ‘their’ religion into the mud. As long as they can satisfy their desires, for them any statement is justified. It is very sad when people of meagre knowledge about a matter do disseminate nonsense to an ignorant public, and most people who should know better keep mute about it.
 “What perplexes me even more is from which section of the Shari'ah they are quoting when they say a matter is Islamic? Marrying off innocent young girls has nothing to do with religion. It is a bad and cruel social and cultural practice that in these days and times must be rid of by whatever feasible means. It is a practice by people who are backward, and who do not care about the progress of their communities or the society at large.”
He urged the National Assembly to be brave enough to enact a law that would prohibit the marrying off of girls that are below the age of 18 just as he urged the federal and state governments to give free education to all indigent boys and girls to discourage child marriage".

Above statement was credited to Alahji Bashir Othman Tofa, a Muslim from Kano State, Nigeria. He called up enough courage to speak the truth and challenge men and women who hide under the cloak of religion to destroy the fabrics of humanity for reasons that defy commonsense; for purposes that are self serving; for living of unending hedonistic pursuit; and for extremism that starts and ends with  pursuit of control over the lives of others, especially the vulnerable. Religion is only a cowardly facade to hide mischief, oppression, sense of insecurity, complex and other vices not compatible with humanity.
Child marriage is despicable, an act of gross child abuse and the "ultimate" child rape.
We must rise up in one accord across the continent of Africa and condemn in the strongest terms available any practice that destroys the future of Africa at the very foundation. Children will never grow up if we do not allow them grow through their childhood, and such unfortunate situation will be the sad tale of a community that will never grow.
We must also press for the establishment of functional institutions that will properly manage victims of child abuse.
Appropriate paediatric forensic medical services should be in place with requisite expertise and infrastructure and must work closely with the police, justice system and child protection agencies in providing holistic care to victims of child abuse and prosecuting alleged offenders.

Meanwhile, many thanks to Tofa for siding with commonsense and for speaking up. We hope other people of our shared humanity will "unmute" and tell the Yerimas of this world that one word aptly defines their actions and inactions against humanity: Shame!

Constitutional Approval of Child Marriage in Nigeria: Rolling Back Common-sense

Just last month we celebrated the Day of the African Child, and it was with a heavy heart that I delivered a talk titled "Forensic Perspectives on Harmful Social & Cultural Practices affecting Children in Africa" in an event organized at the University College Hospital, Ibadan to mark the day. Why the heavy heart? I referenced the infamy of a serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who literally bought a child for a "wife" against an existing federal law, the Child Rights Act 2003. And to underscore the impunity, this "marriage' ceremony held at the Federal Capital territory, Abuja. Nothing happened to Mr Ahmed Yerima despite a great hue and cry raised by the civil society and human rights advocates. He was never arrested nor charged to court for contravening the law of the country which stipulated 18 years as age of marriage for a female. Yerima's travesty is just a tip of the iceberg. Many female children, in their early teens or once they start menstruating, especially in the Northern part of the country are usually given out in marriage to men old enough to be their grand fathers, all in the name of religion or culture. These girls are soon abandoned for another child "bride" when they develop complications of child birth especially vesico-vaginal fistuala (VVF) in a child giving birth to a child, and resultant mental health issues due to the loss of their childhood to the crave of primitive men who seek to "revitalize" themselves by violating "young virgins" under the cloak of "religion" and "culture" . Many local and international medical missions have been undertaken to give some life to these abandoned children who become destitutes as their perverted husbands have soon found them too "smelly" and an embarrassment to live with. They also face rejection from their families and are often ostracize by the community.
This same "Senator" Yerima has now become the arrowhead of  "Senators" in the National Assembly seeking to legalize marriage to girl child.
“The senator is in the habit of marrying minors and has gained notoriety in enticing girls to marry him, having contracted one in 2006 with a 15-year-old (Hauwa’u) whom Mr. Yerima allegedly caused to drop out of school at JSS 3, as his fourth wife,” the petition read.
Hauwa’u, who has one child with Mr. Yerima, will turn 17 today (from the date the news was first published). However, the senator recently severed the marriage to make room for the 13-year-old Egyptian girl.
According to the women groups, Mr. Yerima’s request to marry the minor was turned down in Egypt because marriage to children is prohibited there. They accused the senator of luring the girl’s family with money, paying them a bride price of N15 million and sponsoring about 30 members of the child-bride’s family to attend the wedding ceremony."

Nigeria is about to roll back every gain and impact made by the Child Rights Act and the conventions the country entered into on the rights of the child and other human rights issues. The "democracy" this country is practicing appears to be a reign of impunity by a minority of "elected" persons who subvert popular will of the people. The show of shame at the Nigerian senate is a clear signal that common sense is desperately needed at the legislative arm of government. This is the height of gender based violence perpetrated by a group of inordinate men who take females for objects of possession and sex toys. With their new found "status" and over-bloated sense of entitlement, and largely unaccountable access to the national treasury, these perverts can now take on many girls as "wives" and concubines without any restrictions whatsoever imposed by any law. This is the sorry state of "democracy" practiced in Nigeria and a good number of African countries which some hapless citizens have described as "government of the politicians, by the politicians for the politicians and their cronies".

On this particular ignoble role by these reckless "law makers", Nigerians will have to take their destiny into their own hands and protect our children, the future of the nation, by immediately mobilizing to occupy every city and pass a clear message to the law breakers that Child Marriage is the Rape of a Child! The action of a few men should not define the ethos of a nation like Nigeria. And check out these characters, none of them will ever give out their girl child in "marriage" as most of their children are schooling in the best private schools in Nigeria or in elite schools abroad. They quite well know the value of education, and the opportunity therein, when it concerns their own families. It is simply preying on the weak and an exercise of power and control over the vulnerable. Nigerians and the international community should come out strongly and condemn this perversion by the National Assembly. The right of the girl child, and women in general, to liberty, dignity and self actualization has been compromised in Nigeria, and in many African countries. We cannot allow this situation to subsist if there is ever any chance for a sustainable society on this continent.

ASUU Strike: an Endless War with no Exit Strategy

WHO defines Health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. (Emphasis mine)

Has anyone, therefore, bothered to find out the mental health challenges and social disruption that ASUU strikes impose on the youth of this nation? Do students have any rights to uninterrupted academic calendar?

We grew up with the name “ASUU” evoking imagery of militancy, disruption of academic calendar, forced holidays on students and parents, and general uncertainty on career and future of university students in Nigeria. That was decades ago. Unfortunately, nothing has changed about ASUU and their mode of engagement with government till date.

What do we usually get from ASUU strike? University lecturers rightfully lament about the poor state of our universities and the educational sector generally. And following one failed negotiation after another, with successive governments, strikes are called.

What is this strike? Services/teachings are withdrawn and our universities become a ghost town.

Parents and guardians toss from one side of the bed to another thinking how to manage the emergency of their "jobless" children.

The future of the students is put on hold indefinitely.

The government in place appears to move on to the next item on the menu as the effect is apparently not directly felt.

Their children are either in private universities or studying outside of the country.

ASUU members, hitherto moonlighting in private universities or in some other endeavours, could now devote the entire time for their private pursuit. After the strike or even within it, ASUU still expects all salaries be paid in full!

What is the morality in all this? How can we possibly run a nation in this way? The waste and missed opportunities that both government and labour unions appear to condone is alarming and unsustainable.

The future of the nation and a leadership generation is short-changed, and a dicey and uncertain future awaits the rest of us.

ASUU needs to rethink strategy. If strike becomes "inevitable", ASUU should well mobilize their members, civil society, ordinary citizens and even students to join in public protest, nationwide, to bring to the attention of the world the precarious state of our education, and the reasons they will not continue to “aid or abet” such dangerous decline by pretending all is well. But this is not what ASUU does. Indefinite strikes are declared and there is no obvious plan for public activities to continue mounting pressure and drawing local and international attention through public protests/demonstrations. How many ASUU members truly believe in these strikes enough to participate in public protests and risk their convenience or lives for the passion of sound education in this country? That's why ASUU's strike could last up to six months or more and the nation simply "moves on". The thriving private universities are a testament of some bypass mechanism.

The ultimate victim is the ordinary students and their parents, and a public university education on auto-pilot that may give way to some disastrous landing any time. The implication is far reaching with the turnout of poor quality graduates in medicine, engineering, law and other professions. The people and the nation as a whole suffer damages as a result of a decline in standard of care from the very foundation.

Meanwhile, with the decline in purchasing power of Europe due to economic crisis, the increase in oil production quota from the Middle East, the discovery of oil in other countries (especially in Africa), and the Americans weaning to some clean energy, oil money will soon dwindle down drastically and the states and federal government of Nigeria may soon be unable to maintain the present over-bloated recurrent expenditure which mostly goes into paying salaries (real and ghost) with little productivity to show for it.

It may not be too long before workers in the public sector will have to make a choice between a pay cut and downsizing. Already, some indirect pay cut has been introduced by some state governments in the name of higher taxes.

We should carefully consider that time has changed. Our population continues to grow and there is little and inadequate infrastructure to support such growth. Every sector of the nation, be it health, education etc, must take a holistic view of the situation to be able to know how best to engage in our collective struggle to achieve a nation state we can all be proud of.

Making demands for a desired state of affairs is not out of place. However, without due consideration of the inter-relatedness of the problems and needs in the larger society, it may amount to chasing shadows to insist on narrow demands. Yes, "agreements" may eventuality be reached and signed but we'll still get back to this vicious cycle again at the point of implementation which usually reveals the weakness of such agreements which might have been reached at the exigencies of the moment without some deeper thoughts and strategic planning taking into consideration national developments goals, in all honesty and selflessness, by all parties involved.

I wish ASUU good luck in this present venture but I sincerely believe that if anyone wants to know why this country, Nigeria, is such a sick giant, the answer will be found if as individuals we take the courage to look at a mirror.

We should strike against ourselves and honestly ask if we are truly working enough for the money we earn, and for the small privileges we enjoy (of course we still have so many complaints, no doubt). More importantly, we should ask ourselves how much we've utilized available facilities/resources in the best interest of common good. These posers are both for the labour unions and the government-both are driven by people; WE!

This is simply my opinion and this opinion does not in any way pretend to know all the ramifications or have all the answers. It is an opinion borne out of my personal conviction that we can do things differently, and that we can also modify our attitude towards one another and towards public cause. ASUU should urgently device an exit strategy from incessant strike actions. We must think out of the box, re-examine our tactics and rethink our strategy. Let’s give students and the public some respite!

ASUU is acronym for Academic Staff Union of Universities

 

Strikes in Healthsector: When Patient Care takes the Backseat

There is an alarming situation in our hospitals in Nigeria and some African countries. The ready use of strike actions by healthcare workers to settle industrial dispute has caused a big dent in public confidence. Strikes have become incessant these days; possibly reflecting a culture of militancy that has bedeviled our society. A closer look at the list of "demands" often reveals some self-centered pursuit. The big picture is often ignored and the patient, the very reason for our hospitals, is betrayed. Lives are lost. This is an ultimate failure by both the healthcare workers concerned and the hospital  management/government. The brazen manner patients are abandoned and the "contract of care" breached is unconscionable and shameful.  
I know a few things about dying and about the dead, and I know it is not simply a cessation of vital signs.

It is much more complex. It is an irreversible phenomenon that changes the lives of many people for ever.

It is a loss to an individual, a family, a community and the nation.It is not merely some statistics. The loss is not addressed by some "tests for statistical significance" because it is already 100% loss to all concerned. The loss of any patient's life is unacceptable and unjustifiable. Unfortunately, here no one is held to account.

It appears the public has been taken for granted and there is some misplaced sense of indispensability often exhibited by healthcare workers. I reckon this is our big loss.

And I think our loss is the gain of "alternative medicine".

Our loss is the gain of medical tourism.

Our loss is the growing loss of public confidence in healthcare workers and in our hospitals.

There is, therefore, urgent need to balance the right of a healthcare worker to agitate for some good working condition with the right of a patient for undeniable healthcare available.