Call Yerima to order, monarch urges Sultan. SULTAN of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has been urged to prevail on Senator Sani Yerima to reduce his campaigns on issues that may be detrimental to the social lives of Nigerians, especially the girl-child. Her Royal Majesty, Queen Akasoba Duke-Abiola, the Akasoba of Kalabari, who made the call in a statement, said it had become necessary to curb the excesses of the former governor of Zamfara State. According to her, the Sultan who is the President, Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), should rein in on his subjects, especially Senator Yerima, to desist from antics, which she said, were fast threatening the corporate existence of the country, as well as exposing the Nigerian girl-child to immoral ways of life. Duke-Abiola, who was particular about the recent posture of Senator Yerima on the floor of the Senate on the issue relating to Section 29 (4b) of the 1999 Constitution, wondered why a seven- year-old girl would be considered old enough to be a wife and mother. Speaking as a special guest at the Global Women Arise forum held recently in Melbourne, Australia, she said; “There exists in the Nigerian Constitution an irrefutable presumption that a 10- year-old boy is biologically unfit to be a father. Why then must a seven-year- old girl be considered old enough to be a wife and mother?” The chairperson of Akasoba Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ACPCR) said Yerima’s submission was an endorsement of statutory rape, adding that it would be ridiculous to parade a seven-year-old girl as the First Lady of a country because she was married to a president. “We note that Sani Yerima is neither a Muslim scholar nor an Imam. Yerima has deliberately breached the constitutional protocol and acted ultra vires for his own selfish reasons and personal political aggrandizement. “To all intents and purposes, Sani Yerima’s call for the unilateral statutory rape of underage children should not only evoke universal condemnation but we should take further steps to ensure that these misguided utterances anywhere, especially in the hallowed chambers of the Senate, is not allowed to reoccur,” she said. The ACPCR chairperson, therefore, called on the Sultan of Sokoto, as the custodian of Islamic religion in the country, to curb Yerima’s excesses and also make him to apologise to the Nigerian children whom she said he had directly offended, the Sultan and the Senate for his despicable behaviour. “There is the Customary Law in Nigeria which is equitable and constitutional; as I am sure you have your aboriginal laws in Australia. “The resultant effect of this is that it will create more legislative vigilance, as legislators will now carefully weigh their actions before throwing the nation into unnecessary consternation. “More importantly, the oppressed and long suffering citizens would realise that Yerima is not above the law and neither is his touted religious utterances sacrosanct. “Legislative immunity cannot be equate to legislative impunity. We must save the suffering children and we must continue to fight for social justice”, she said. -THE NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 21:39:47 +0000
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