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I just stumbled upon this enlightening article on same-sex marriage. Just thought I should share it! It's rather long but worth reading. What are your candid views on this burning issue? Should Nigeria join the race for same-sex legislation in the name of modernization, progress and universal relevance or should we preserve our traditional values and possibly start the third missionary journey to redeem the White man? The floor is open. Follow link or read below.

http://dailyindependentnig.com/2013/01/in-support-of-david-mark-on-same-sex-marriage/

Chukka Agbu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in this piece supported the call by David Mark, President of the Senate that the issue of same-sex marriage has no ground in Nigeria’s moral and religious firmament

Senate President David Mark is reported to have come under pressure; from some of the international community and rights activists for his unyielding stance on the issue of same-sex marriage. According to The Guardian newspaper of Tuesday January 8, 2013 at page 1, the Senate President in mentioning that the bill prohibiting same- sex marriage wouldn’t be passed was reported to have said that “we swill not compromise on this. 1 wants to invite you all to join the crusade of decency in our society. There are many good values we can copy to join from other society but certainly not this one (same- sex marriage). We have to prove to the rest of the world, who are advocates of this unnatural way that we Nigerians promote and respect sanity, morality and humanity. Every Individual is a product of the union of a man and woman”.

Before delving into the corpus of our laws to bear out the Senator Mark’s profound assertions, let us consider graphically a scene that could if the argument swings one way only, be played out in real life and not in Nollywood -a bedecked Emeka or Kunle or Yakubu wiggling out as a bride-to-be to accept a symbolic cup of wine from a suitor, in a traditional wedding ceremony. How bizarre and what an abomination that will be in most Nigerians customary settings!

The Supreme law in Nigeria, the I999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) guarantees the rights of Citizens. S .37 of the afore-mentioned constitution provides as follows “The privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telegraphic communications is hereby guaranteed and protected.”

Predictably, this provision is the battle cry of the proponents of same-sex marriage as the postulation is that the privacy referred to include the marital (marriage) life of the citizens which must suffer no interference, whether it be between a man and a woman or a woman and a woman.
The Distinguished Senator’s position however is solidly grounded in S.45 (1) (a) of the same Constitution which provides that “nothing in Sections 37, 38, 39 and 41 of this Constitution shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society (a) in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health.”

There is no controverting the fact that the right to privacy as set down above (which it is conceded includes marriage life) in section 37 of the 1999 constitution is unarguably subject to section 45 (1) (a) of the 1999 Constitution as such a right must be subject to the test of public order and public morality.

And is there any guide as to what constitutes public order and public morality under Nigerian laws in this context? Our “recourse shall be to S.2.7 of the Criminal Code Act which states inter alia: “Any male person who, whether in public or private, commits any act of gross indecency with another male person, or procures another male person to commit any act or gross indecency with him or attempts to procure the commission of any such act by any male person with himself or with another male person, whether in public or private is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years.”

And if the proponent of lesbianism think that the above provision has missed something out, we should take a look at S.214 (1) of the criminal code which says that: “Any person who has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for “FOURTEEN YEARS” (emphasis mine).

Thus, whereas a man to man offender may be convicted for a three year sentence under S.27, a woman to woman offender will bag fourteen years without an option of a fine.

Taking the argument further, if one of the deciding factors in a marriage as spelt out in S.5 (1) (a) of the Matrimonial Causes Act dealing with voidable marriages is the incapability to consummate, is it conceivable that our laws would permit the very act of consummation of marriage to be a grave offence purnishable with a fourteen years prison sentence, such as the unnatural offence spelt out in S. 24 and that of indecent practices between males spelt out in S. 27 of the Criminal Code Act respectively?

There is therefore, no legal basis for the institution of same sex marriage in Nigeria as the consummation of such an unnatural and immoral union in itself in Nigeria will constitute a criminal offence under our Criminal Code Act.

In this vein, S. 4 (1) of the proposed Act to prohibit Marriage between persons of same gender, solemnization of same and for other matters related therewith, which states that “persons that entered into a same gender marriage contract commit an offence and are jointly liable on conviction to a term of three years imprisonment each” should before enactment be amended to provide for stricter prison term of 14 years in alignment with S. 214 of the Criminal Code Act dealing with unnatural offences (offenses against morality) which as a felony caries a 14 years jail sentence as aforestated.

This intervention will not be complete without a consideration of the intent of the legislators in S. 2 (1) of the proposed Act which provides that “marriage entered between persons of same gender shall be solemnized in any place of worship either church or mosque in Nigeria.”

Nigeria’s population of about 140, 020, 950 million people is predominantly Christian or Muslim. The proponents of same-sex marriage despite the weighty support of highly placed individuals in the United States of America and the arm-twisting threat of withholding foreign Aid to a defiant Nigeria have found the garnering of support from religious leaders in particular a mission impossible. This is not without reason.

Should the distinguished legislators require scriptural validation for the provision of the aforementioned S. 2 (1), these passages will suffice and they need not look further.

The notion that same sex marriage can come to be, is equally abhorred in the Qur’an (7: 80-81). “Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation ever committed before you? For ye practice your lusts on men in preverent to women; you are indeed a people transgressing beyond bonds.” Qur’an 26: 165 puts the issue beyond cavil, “What! Of all creatures do ye come unto the males, and leave the wives your lord created for you? Nay!, but ye are forward folk”

It is submitted that the Bible and the Qur’an both prohibit same-sex union and marriage as sufficiently demonstrated by the forgoing passages, just as the Bible and the Qur’an from the beginning of time both prohibited stealing and killings as sins, which were then codified as offences. The logical sequence for the easily discernable divine law that, “thou shall not commit acts of homosexuality and lesbianism” should therefore be the urgent enactment of an Act strictly prohibiting same-sex marriage. Senator David Mark is on terra firma in declaring at the top of his voice that the ban on same-sex marriage is irrevocable.

In summation, the apostles of same-sex marriage must situate their agitations in the Court of morality and public order. Jurisprudential Scholars like Dias (4th Edition) and C.K Allen (2nd Edition) insist that law and morality always converge. Dias stated that moral considerations no doubt, influence rules of law while Allen holds firmly to the view that “Our Judges have always kept their fingers delicately but firmly upon the pulse of accepted morality of the day”. English common law under which these Scholars wrote form a source of Nigerian laws. The Upper legislative chamber is invited to be properly guided in resolutely closing the door against same-see marriage as the pulse of accepted morality and family values informed by legal, Christian: Muslim, traditional religion and all relevant considerations is vehemently opposed to such an unnatural proposition.

y are they botherin us ooo....we are nt gay minded na by force to bleep other boys ..?..,...hmm abt dat..i heard pipo are afraid 2 pick thier soap dat sliped of thier hands, even in 9ja prisons..na true ?

I wish Nigeria will devote more time to 'ra-pists' than same-se-x marriage!
Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh!!!

I guess that the prohibition of this same-sex law will go a long way in deterring rapist.

90% of serial molesters are HETEROSEXUAL MALES with wives and children!

Some education please!

http://www.babyfreefaq.com/parenting/18514.html

[size=20pt]"In 82% of cases, the alleged offender was a heterosexual partner of a close relative of the child."
"...A child's risk of being molested by his or her relative's heterosexual partner is 100 times greater than by someone who might be identified as a homosexual."
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