Following President Goodluck Jonathan’s signing of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act which provides penalties of up to 14 years in jail for a gay marriage and up to 10 years’ imprisonment for membership or encouragement of gay clubs, societies and organisations, there have been a number of seemingly moral characters giving credit to the new law. Not that people don’t have to air their personal opinion on matter of public interest such has this, but speaking up as custodian of the people’s moral and cultural value is a laughable, and one can only see through them, a holier-than- thou attitude, arising from characters who might just want to score some political points.
One of the actors of this attitude of moral superiority is the president’s spokesman, Reuben Abati, who said: “This is a law that is in line with the people’s cultural and religious inclination. So it is a law that is a reflection of the beliefs and orientation of Nigerian people … Nigerians are pleased with it.”
One can only wonder what culture and religious inclinations Abati was reffering to, knowing how so diverse, not only in the numbers of religious beliefs and ethnic nationalities, but in the disproportion of our people across these divides.
Like the proverbial day of the elephant’s funeral, others who have joined in brandishing knives to take advantage of the free animal by scooping their portion of the meat, is the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), who is dishing out a warning to the U.S., E.U. and others to let Nigeria be on this issue.
The Islamic group, for a moment, is suspending its fanatical mien and supporting a Christian president’s move by calling on President Goodluck Jonathan to call the bluff of the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other Western countries that have condemned Nigeria’s new anti-gay law.
They said the president has “transmitted on the same wavelength with the rest of Nigerians by signing the anti-gay bill into law.”
According to the organisation’s director, Ishaq Akintola, “We commend the Nigerian president for resisting pressure from Western powers and for boldly identifying with the cultural and religious yearning and aspiration of Nigerians,” adding that, “In the same vein, we condemn this meddling in the affairs of other nations… We also denounce attempts by Western powers to impose their Bohemian practices on poor countries. Most reprehensible is the attempt by foreign powers to intimidate and coerce Nigeria into absorbing their despicable culture by threatening to withhold foreign aids if the anti-gay bill was signed into law.”
Continuing, it says; “MURIC warns Western countries to respect the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to desist from interfering in its internal affairs. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senate Committee on Foreign Matters are advised to activate the checks and balances mechanisms on the activities and pronouncements of the leaders of Western countries. Nigeria should not be turned into a mere satellite of neo-imperialists.
In the same vein, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has expressed gratitude to the president on the matter, describing the move has stopping “the immoral culture of same-sex marriage in Nigeria”.
In a press statement issued by Special Assistant, Media and Public Affair to the President of CAN, Kenny Ashaka, the group called on all those talking about human rights and international conventions to remember that there is always a limit to certain rights and that those who go out of their ways to overstep the limits now know the consequences of their actions. Human rights without limit are recipes for the destruction of any society. By the beliefs of Nigerians, same sex marriage is offensive to us as a people.
My position is that these are mere gang up of strange bed fellows against what they perceive as a common enemy.
One of the problems hindering Nigeria’s growth and development is the conflicts of religion. If these organisations are godly as they claim, they should first put their house in order; preach love and tolerance among members of the different religious organisations. As far as I am concerned, gays and lesbians are the least of the problems we have in Nigeria, and these people should be left alone. Government and religious organisations should face issues that are pressing to the society and their religion folks.
LGBT & Gang Up of Ungodly Moralists
