Hajiya Zainab Maina, Minister of Women Affairs, has called on the
Senate to revisit the controversial Section 29 (4)(b) of the 1999
Constitution and delete it in its entirety due to its discriminatory
nature.
The clause, which states “Any woman who is married shall be deemed to
be of full age,” promotes gender inequality and can make an underage
married girl to be charged under criminal law, she said. Briefing journalists on constitution review matters in Abuja
yesterday, Maina emphasised that it was necessary to clear the air on
what the issues really were. “The section up for amendment has to do with persons qualified to
renounce Nigerian citizenship, and not the issue of underage marriage,”
she elaborated. Flanked by representatives of women groups, the minister noted that
citizenship was and should remain gender neutral and be safeguarded from
cultural, religious and social interpretations or connotations. “Every well meaning Nigerian citizen should openly support and ensure
the removal of this provision that provides that young Nigerian girls
who are not old enough to vote or to obtain a driver’s licence are
somehow old enough to renounce their citizenship,” Maina said. This, she said, was at variance with all international protocols on
the rights of the child which define “a child as anyone who is below the
age of 18. “The controversy was caused by some people who wanted to be
mischievous to satisfy their personal interests. Nigeria is bigger than
any individual,” she added.
Also speaking at the briefing, former Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs
Josephine Anenih, lamented that Senator Ahmed Yerima, chose to introduce
religious sentiments into an issue that had nothing to do with religion
Los Angeles - A petition asking for the royal baby to be given a Lion King welcome was reportedly turned down.
The bizarre request came from petition creator Tommy Peto, who wanted the Archbishop of Canterbury to hold Prince William and Duchess Catherine's newborn in the air on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in a similar way to a scene involving baby lion Simba being lifted aloft in the 1994 Disney movie. But the UK government rejected the appeal after deeming it an issue "outside the responsibility of the government".
Tommy said: "The Archbishop of Canterbury should hold the royal baby aloft on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, much like a young Simba was to the animals of the Serengeti."
Baby, who will be known as Prince George of Cambridge, is named one day after mother left hospital.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have announced their newborn son is
to be called George Alexander Louis. He will be known as His Royal
Highness Prince George of Cambridge.
The
announcement at 6.20pm showed the couple have chosen to stick with very
traditional royal names. There have already been six British monarchs
called George – the last being the Queen's father, George VI. Louis is
also a favorite and was the name of Lord Mountbatten, the uncle of the
Duke of Edinburgh.
The announcement comes a day after the duchess
left hospital and two days after she gave birth, and hours after the
Queen met her great-grandson for the first time.
George was the
most popular name with betting firms William Hill, Coral and Paddy
Power. James was also a favourite with punters, with Alexander, Henry,
Louis, Richard and Arthur the next most popular choices.
It was
widely expected that William and Kate would not wander far from
convention and select anything too outlandish for a prince who is likely
to reign one day and whose name could symbolise an era.
The
naming has happened quickly by historical royal standards. Prince
George's father was not named for a week, and it took a month for the
name of the baby's paternal grandfather, Prince Charles, to be
announced.
Earlier, for the first time in more than a century, a
reigning monarch met a great-grandchild born in direct succession to the
crown when the Queen was introduced to Prince George.
She made
the short journey from Buckingham Palace to Kensington Palace, where the
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their son had spent their first night
at home as a new family.
Not since the birth in 1894 of the
eldest son of the future George V and Queen Mary – the future Edward
VIII, who later abdicated – in the twilight of Queen Victoria's reign
has such an encounter occurred. Though Wednesday's meeting lasted just
30 minutes – before the start of the Queen's traditional summer break at
Balmoral on Friday – it adds another footnote to royal history.
Arriving
in a dark green Bentley, the 87-year-old monarch was alone: the Duke of
Edinburgh was at Windsor, where he is still convalescing following
exploratory abdominal surgery last month. She had previously said she
was thrilled with the safe delivery of her first great-grandson, who was
born at 4.24pm on Monday weighing 8lb 6oz in the private Lindo wing at
St Mary's hospital at Paddington in west London.
Among other
visitors received by the Cambridges was Prince Harry, the baby's uncle,
who is now bumped down to fourth in the line of succession. He has
previously said: "I can't wait to be an uncle."
The duchess's sister, Pippa Middleton, visited on Tuesday night shortly after mother and baby were discharged from hospital.
After
presenting their newborn to the world in a photocall on the hospital
steps on Tuesday, William and Kate will now seek some privacy. After the
Queen's visit, the duke, duchess and infant prince left Kensington
Palace for Bucklebury, Berkshire, where the Middletons have a manor
house.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: "This is now a private
and quiet time for them to get to know their son." Details of the
meeting with the Queen, therefore, are unlikely to be made public.
One of the warring factions in the
Mushin crisis turned on its own recently, shooting an ex-convict, Kunle
Ojoye, barely a week after his return from prison. Ojoye was allegedly shot at Akobi Crescent, Surulere, by his old friends. Ojoye, also known as Obama, was said to
be an active member of the Akala boys’ faction at Mushin before his
arrest. Since the incident on July 16, 2013, Ojoye’s whereabouts had
remained unknown as he was said to be critically injured.
A source at Fadeyi community where Ojoye lives, told PUNCH Metro,
on the condition of anonymity, said ‘Obama’ was arrested in Feburary
2013 by the Special Anti Robbery Squad for his alleged role in the
Mushin crisis and the supremacy battle in the National Union of Road
Transport Workers. A friend to Ojoye, who also requested
anonymity, said, “When Ojoye was convicted and sent to Kirikiri Minimum
Prison, he sent messages to his friends in the groups, urging them to
take care of his pregnant wife.
“The boys did nothing; so when he returned from prison, Ojoye kept his distance and ended all relationships with Akala boys.” This decision was said not to have gone
down well with the group, which felt that Ojoye had switched allegiance
to the other faction in Mushin. While taking his wife to the hospital,
Ojoye was said to have been sighted at Fadeyi by a friend in the Akala
faction, known as Akeem, aka No Case.
Akeem invited him to Akala Street on the
pretext of having something important to discuss. Ojoye took his wife
to the hospital and later went to see Akeem. The source said, “Immediately he got
there, he was ambushed by some Akala boys. They reportedly blindfolded
him and took him to Akobi Crescent behind Birch Freeman School.
He was shot and left for dead, but it
was said that he managed to drag himself from the scene until he was
rescued by some residents. No report was said to have been made to the
police.
In the last few months, The PUNCH has reported a series of deaths due to the supremacy battle among warring groups in Mushin and its environs. Deputy spokesman for the command, Mr. Damasus Ozoani, said the incident was not reported to the police.
Grammy
winner and "unbreak my heart" crooner, Toni Braxton, has finalized her
divorce from husband Keri Lewis. The 42-year-old singer has officially
ended her 12-years union with the father of her two sons. 'The couple
has had an amicable split and will still both be actively
involved in raising their two sons, 11-year-old Denim and 10-year-old
Diezel,' her spokesperson said in a statement. What a shame.! TSB wishes you all the best. Hope she keeps the ballads coming in.
President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo
Oritsejafor, on Tuesday said he would lead Nigerians to protest against
the Senate resolution to amend Section 29 (4) (b) of the 1999
Constitution under which married underage girls are deemed to be adults. The association also frowned on the comment credited to former
Governor of Zamfara State Ahmed Yerima that the proposal for the
deletion of the section contravened Islamic LOritsejafor, in a statement, described Yerima’s argument as
offensive, saying, “It presupposes that Nigeria, a secular state, is
populated only by Muslims.” The CAN President, who urged the Senate to revisit the child
marriage issue, also called on Nigerians to reject the resolution which
he described as provocative and dehumanising. He said, “By the grace of God, I will, personally mobilise
Nigerians and lead the street protest against this oppressive and
dehumanising resolution. Why would the Senate, after voting recoil,
simply because of a point of order premised on religious basis? “We, Christians, also have Canon Law, which frowns on
marriage of girls who are not of age. Christianity abhors such
marriages. The protest will be soon. “Finally, I urge the Yerimas in the Senate to toe the path of
the Holy Qur’an, which states that one who kills a person unjustly in
effect has killed everyone and one who saves another has saved everyone.
They should save these girls and Nigerians the agony of having their
children married off at ages below 18 by unfavourable legislations.” Oritsejafor noted that Yerima’s latest comment would stir up another controversy in the country. Yerima as a governor introduced the controversial Sharia, the Islamic Legal code, in Zamfara State. According to Oritsejafor, people like Yerima are approaching Qur’anic teachings from extremes and disturbing the balance. “It makes me wonder the source of the emotions and thoughts that nurture them,” he said. The CAN President said as a Senator, whose case of marrying a
13-year-old Egyptian girl was still fresh in the memory of Nigerians,
Yerima should “only be seen and not heard in matters of this nature”. He added, “If now Yerima is commenting on a case in which he
has interest, it can only mean the action of a man frenziedly trying to
get himself out of the hook through some undeserved legislations. I
appeal to those individuals who have been educated along this line in
the Senate not to use their rights as lawmakers to harm children below
the age of 18, but to choose the interest of these children above their
own. “These girls should be allowed to develop, individually
because this resolution, if implemented, would hound girls below 18
years into marriages they know nothing about. This is only one dimension
of this tragic resolution. “I feel that when individuals attain a certain way of
thinking and understanding and reach certain status in life, they should
be able to comprehend that it is necessary to adhere to conventions in
line with best practices the world over and not harm other members of
society, no matter their ages within the same society.
