Still on the the Anti-Gay Marriage Bill (2): THOSE WHO NEED TO SPEAK UP!

Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, Founder, HURILAWS
Does HURILAWS support Senate Bill 05?

"Also prominent among the NGOs, with influential connections, listed as signatories to the AI statement are: HURILAWS; Socio-Economic Rights & Accountability Project SERAP; The International Centre for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights (INCRESE);  Centre for Law Enforcement Education (CLEEN Foundation); and Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO)."

As I said here last time, there are some influential Nigerians who can be seen, rightly or wrongly, as supporting the position, canvassed by Amnesty International (AI) that homosexuality is a human right that should be protected, not criminalised. These are men and women of impeccable public record, but who serve on the boards of or are otherwise associated, with NGOs listed as signatories to the AI petition against House Bill 150 otherwise known as “A Bill for an Act to Prohibit Marriage between Persons of Same Gender, Solemnization of Same and for other Matters related therewith” in 2009.

The bill, which never went beyond the public hearing stage, was sponsored by 49 members of the House including the current Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha. There is no knowing what led to its quiet death, but as I have pointed out here before, its fate was similar to that of Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill, 2006, presented by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.   

Now here’s “An Act to Prohibit Same Sex Marriages” (Senate Bill 05), which just went through a public hearing. It must not be allowed to go the way of its predecessors. That means all hands must be on deck. We must utilise the patriotic and nationalistic instinct aroused in many members of AI’s traditional constituency by David Cameron’s gay-for-aid bully tactic to push through this new initiative. We must enlist every possible person; including the influential Nigerians whose silence may be wrongly seen as acquiesce.

Among these influential people are members of the Nigeria Bar Association, listed through its Human Rights Institute. As I said in closing last time, the institute was established “to promote and protect the rule of law, independence of the legal profession effectively and efficiently, and to advance human rights enforcement in Nigeria,” and its membership is “open to all legal practitioners and law firms in Nigeria interested in pursuing the objects of the institute…”

Although this membership clause suggests that a legal practitioner can belong to the NBA without being a member of the institute, the question that arises is does the institute speak for the NBA on human right matters? If it does, would it be right then to conclude that Nigerian lawyers, a preponderance of whom would claim to be Christians or Moslems, support the Al statement in support of gay marriage? Any which way, the NBA needs to speak up.

The last time I checked, Rev Father Matthew Hassan Kukah and Dr Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili were on the board of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD). The centre was "established in October 1997 in response to the need for an independent space for critical reflection and development of universally relevant and culturally sensitive responses to the challenges posed by the democracy and development agenda in the West African sub-region, CDD has become a major reference point for informed analysis and practical strategies on West African socio-political dynamics.”

Apart from the fact that support for same-sex marriage, even indirectly, would seem to run counter to the goal of seeking universally relevant and culturally sensitive responses to the democratic and development challenges (emphasise added), it would be interesting to hear the position of the highly respected Kukah now Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto and Ezekwesili, a World Bank vice-president, and a committed Christian married to a Pentecostal pastor.

Also prominent among the NGOs, with influential connections, listed as signatories to the AI statement are: HURILAWS; Socio-Economic Rights & Accountability Project SERAP; The International Centre for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights (INCRESE);  Centre for Law Enforcement Education (CLEEN Foundation); and Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO).

HURILAWS was founded by none other than Olisa Agbakoba, a human rights activist, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)  and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association. It started in 1997 as, “an independent, non-profit service, dedicated to providing public interest and human rights law services to advance the legal protection of human rights and has “working relations with the Episcopal Commission for Justice, Development & Peace Commission of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria…”.

Now, Agbakoba’s catholic credentials are incontrovertible and that might explain HURILAW’s working relationship with a commission of the Church. The position of the Catholic Church of Nigeria on homosexuality is too well-known to require a rehash here. So, how does he explain HURILAW’s place on AI’s list of signatories?

SERAP was established in 2004 to promote transparency and accountability in the public and private sectors through human rights. It’s National Advisory Board members are: Mr. Femi Falana, President West African Bar Association, Mr Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), Professor Oluwole Smith, Dean Faculty of Law, Lagos State University, and Mrs.Ayo Atsenuwa, Professor of Law at the University of Lagos. How opposition to HB 150 promotes “transparency and accountability in the public and private sectors through human rights” is beyond me. Makes you, wonder, doesn’t it, whether these influential Nigerians are privy to their NGO’s signature on Amnesty’s statement.

INCRESE touts itself as “the leading Nigerian NGO working for a favourable environment and expanding access to sexual health and rights information and services and has as its vision, “to be the preferred leading sexual health and right NGO.” With its so-called values as “Autonomy, Diversity, Integrity and Choice,” it is not inconceivable that “choice” might include abortion rights and perhaps a choice to marry within your gender. But does Dr Kayode Fayemi, Governor of Ekiti State, endorse this – being one of the Nigerians on INCRESE’s Board of Trustees?

Where do the following respected Nigerians stand of this issue: Mrs. Ayo Obe, human rights lawyer and former president of the Civil Liberties Organization; Josephine Effah Chukwuma, who pioneered the establishment of shelter for female victims of violence in Nigeria, and is currently the executive director of Project Alert on Violence Against Women and; retired Police Commissioner Frank Odita, former public relations chief of the Nigeria Police Force, and currently producer of Security Watch on television (all members of the Board of Trustees of CLEEN Foundation, also a signatory); Innocent Chukwuma, secretary of the foundation; and Festus Okoye, another icon of human rights struggles, whose NGO, Human Rights Monitor, was also on the list. 

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, over to you. 

STILL ON THE ANTI-GAY MARRIAGES BILL (1)

Joseph Daodu, President, NBA
Is the NBA against Senate Bill 05?

“One is therefore fully persuaded that this is an issue about which everyone who has any kind of claim to leadership in Nigeria should take a stand, clearly and unambiguously. This is because certain individuals and institutions have powerful opinion moulding capabilities, and are therefore able to influence society for good or for ill."

In How Cameron Can Help Nigeria’s Anti-Gay Marriage Bill (November 3, 2011), I made the point that Senate Bill 05 otherwise known as “An Act to Prohibit Same Sex Marriages”, has a very good chance of pulling through, thanks to the bully tactics of David Cameron’s government.

My argument was that in its brazenness and its timing, the threat by Cameron to withhold budget support aid from African nations who do not legalise homosexuality, and the backlash can only help the bill. At this point, I wrote “not even the motley crowd of ‘politically correct’ foreign grant dependent Nigerian human rights and civil liberties activists, usually mobilised by Amnesty International”, can afford to be seen as anything but nationalists.

Since that piece some readers have wondered about my characterisation of some NGOs as “the motley crowd of ‘politically correct’ foreign grant dependent Nigerian human rights and civil liberties activists, usually mobilised by Amnesty International.” It is in direct response to this class of readers that I return to this subject today.

In returning to the subject, I shall be quoting from an earlier article on the subject, “Who’s who Against HB150” (April 12, 2009). It was written in the heat of the debate on “A Bill for an Act to Prohibit Marriage between Persons of Same Gender, Solemnization of Same and for other Matters related therewith” in 2009, sponsored by 49 members of the House including the current Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha. That bill, as I pointed out two weeks ago, simply fizzled out right after the public hearing; a same fate suffered by an earlier executive bill, Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill, 2006, presented by the then Obasanjo administration.  This was why I warned that “proponents of the bill, particularly the church should go to sleep. We need to step hard on the throttle and get the bill fast-tracked before momentum is lost.”

A brief backgrounder is in order here. When House Bill 150 went for public hearing, Amnesty International wrote a memorandum, dated January 26, 2009, strongly opposing it, arguing that same-sex attraction was a human right that must be protected, not criminalised. That of course did not surprise any close watcher of that international body’s position on the subject globally. What surprised, even shocked many, including yours sincerely, was the long list of Nigeria-based and Nigerian-run NGOs listed as co-signatories to the pro gay-marriage memorandum. 

On that list were such NGOs as: Centre for Democracy & Development, (CDD); Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD); Centre for Law Enforcement Education (CLEEN Foundation); Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Nigeria; Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Nigeria; and Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS). Human Rights Monitor (HRM); International Centre for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights (INCRESE); Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) and Legal Resources Consortium (LRC).

Others are: Nigerian Humanist Movement; Partnership for Justice (PJ); Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA); Socio-Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP); The Independent Project for Equal Rights; Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC); Girls' Power Initiative (GPI); House of Rainbow Metropolitan (HRMCC) and Youths 2gether Network.

The shock became even deeper when, a little online check revealed those connected with these NGOs, and who are at least vicariously, linked to the gay marriage support campaign.

I made the point then and I wish to reiterate that “…in a free country like ours, the right to support or refuse to support any bill before the National Assembly is inalienable. So also is the right to be indifferent. But it would be unfortunate, wouldn’t it, if one were to be associated with a position on any issue merely by default…”

And as I stated then, the gay issue wasn’t just any issue. It was and remains one “that’s capable of defining the very future of mankind! No matter how exaggerated it may seem to the liberal sensibilities of many of us, the truth is, as marriage goes, so goes the culture, and the future of the human race. At its most basic is the rhetorical question the Guardian newspaper raised in its editorial on the subject: ‘Homosexuals are claiming that men can marry themselves. If everyone followed their example, would they have even been born?’” 

Continuing, I wrote: “One is therefore fully persuaded that this is an issue about which everyone who has any kind of claim to leadership in Nigeria should take a stand, clearly and unambiguously. This is because certain individuals and institutions have powerful opinion moulding capabilities, and are therefore able to influence society for good or for ill.

"Interestingly, some of these role models who, in my opinion, have discharged themselves creditably for the public good, are being linked to pro-same-sex marriage approval, through some organisations they are connected with. A check on the antecedents of the NGOs said to be standing with Amnesty against HB 150 would probably lead you to join me in wondering if there hasn’t been a mistake somewhere.

Space will permit me to close-up on only one of them today, The Nigerian Bar Association, listed through its Human Rights Institute. Established “to promote and protect the rule of law, independence of the legal profession effectively and efficiently, and to advance human rights enforcement in Nigeria,” NBA–HRI’s membership is “open to all legal practitioners and law firms in Nigeria interested in pursuing the objects of the institute…”

Although this membership clause suggests that a legal practitioner can belong to the NBA without being a member of the institute, the question that arises is does the institute speak for the NBA? I would be surprised if there are many right-thinking members of the public who would hold otherwise.  Would it therefore not be right to conclude that Nigerian lawyers, a preponderance of whom would claim to subscribe to Christianity or Islam, support the Amnesty International statement that is clearly saying that homosexuality is a human right? I think not. Yet if the NBA or, at least, Association of Christian Lawyers has dissociated itself from this position, I am unaware of it! (CONTINUES).

THE CHURCH AS LION AND PUSSYCAT

These, in his opinion, include: Pride, Insecurity, Suspicion, Ambition, Competition, Immaturity, Independence and Fear. He defined independence as that state of mind where a church leader feels so complete in himself that he requires help from nobody. Fear on the other hand feeds on what a leader thinks he might lose in the place of unity, such as, position, fame, pre-eminence

From Left: Pastor Wale Adefarasin, Archbishop Magnus Atilade
and Monsignor Gabriel Osu at the IFCU Symposium 

Rev Dr Moses Iloh was at the International Foundation for Christian Unity annual symposium the other day. He wasn’t the keynote speaker. Nor was he one of the discussants. In fact, he came late, pleading traffic and the pressure from other duties. But the octogenarian founder and senior pastor of Soul Winners Chapel was his usual self. In his very brief contribution, he illustrated one of the most debilitating effects of disunity in the church – weakness.

He reminded everyone about how a young brilliant man has taken on the whole church of 80million people. That “young brilliant man” is Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and of course you know the subject, Islamic Banking! Describing the Nigerian church as 80 million impotent people, he said “we are lions in church on Sunday; but outside the church, we are pussy-cats.”

You could have heard a pin drop momentarily, but then a thunderous applause soon followed. People like to applaud those who speak truth to power, even if they wouldn’t dare attempt it from a distance.

This year’s edition of the symposium with the theme, “That They May Be One”, like the three before it, never lacked moments of such home truths. Indeed, if we were to match action with only a small percentage of what was said at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs venue of the event, we would be well on our way to achieving the much needed unity.

The Guest of Honour who doubled as Keynote Speaker, President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor was no less forthright in his presentation on the topic, “Exploring A New Way To Christian Unity.”

Represented Pastor Wale Adefarasin, National Secretary, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) of which Oritsejafor is also still President, he said “God expects us to surmount the challenges posed by our difference - the differences of gifts, the differences of denominations; the differences of doctrinal positions and all other differences and recognise that despite our differences, we are one body.”

He argued that individual results could only increase when the exponential power of agreement is allowed to free rein, and went on to itemise a number of obstacles to unity in the body of Christ.

These, in his opinion, include: Pride, Insecurity, Suspicion, Ambition, Competition, Immaturity, Independence and Fear. He defined independence as that state of mind where a church leader feels so complete in himself that he requires help from nobody. Fear on the other hand feeds on what a leader thinks he might lose in the place of unity, such as, position, fame, pre-eminence etc.

He identified immaturity as the major culprit because virtually all else result from spiritual immaturity, pointing out that it was the same immaturity that led Apostle Paul to write in his epistle to the Corinthians thus: “Let me put it this way: each one of you says something different. One says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’, another, ‘I follow Peter’; and another, ‘I follow Christ’, Christ has been divided into groups! Was it Paul who died on the cross for you? Were you baptized as Paul's disciples?” (1Corinthians 1:12-13, GNB).

He went on to counsel that the true Christian attitude must line up with these words: 

“I don’t care what church you belong                                                                                             

If in Christ by faith you are saved                                                                                                

Then you are my brother; you are my sister                                                                                       

So give me your hand…”

Leading the discussion segment of the event, Rev Felix Meduoye, General Overseer, Foursquare Gospel Church Nigeria warned that disunity has no basis in Christianity. Quoting from the Bible, he said Christian unity was a necessity because the Lord Jesus, founder and head of the church says it will help the world know that the Father sent him. Unity, he pointed out, conforms to the pattern in heaven, where the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit are so united that they are one. Add to that the truth that we have so much in common united as we are by one Lord, one faith, and one hope of salvation.

He, however, cautioned against mistaking unity for uniformity, stating that denominations are not necessarily evil. Church splits, he said have historically even been known to help expand the church. He also posited that unity is at two levels, the spiritual and the practical, submitting in the words of St Augustine that our attitude ought to be, “In the essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all else charity.”

Another discussant, Monsignor Gabriel Osu, Director of Social Communications Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos said disunity in the church has become the scandal of Christianity. He noted that it was commonplace for churches to be located on the same street and have no contact whatsoever, just because they do not belong to the same denomination. This is scandalous, he said.  No amount of talk will help if we do not begin at such practical levels, he suggested.

Archbishop Magnus Atilade, Chairman, South West Zone of Organisation African Instituted Churches (OAIC), one of the five constituent organisations within CAN, was also his usual candid self. He pointed out that disunity in the church was a direct disobedience to the will of the Lord Jesus who repeated prayed that we may be one, in John 17. He warned that church leaders must avoid using “our minds to interprete the Scriptures. Jesus did ask for one church. Our attempt to convert the world to Christianity has been futile because of utter disunity.”

He then identified some practical areas of action from which efforts in unity can begin: “We must agree to undertake rescue effort to save the perishing and the dying souls. Let the church in spite of denominations be united in mission efforts of evangelism.”

Apostle Alex Bamgbola, Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Lagos State, which co-sponsored this year’s event, was moderator at the symposium, presided over by Mr Chidi IIogu, chairman of the Foundation. Surveyor Cyprian Agbazue, President and founder of the group received series of visions which led him to write two books upon which the Foundation’s activities are based.

HOW CAMERON CAN HELP NIGERIA’S ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE BILL

"Undeterred, Mr Cameron told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that 'British aid should have more strings attached…Britain is one of the premier aid givers in the world. We want to see countries that receive our aid adhering to proper human rights…' In other words, 'Go gay or go broke'".

“You plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good, in order to preserve the lives of many people who are alive today because of what happened” (Gen 50:20, GNB).

Senate Bill 05, more fully known as “An Act to Prohibit Same Sex Marriages”, has a good chance of becoming law in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, thanks to British Prime Minister, David Cameron.

No, he has not changed camp. Far from it! It’s his relentless pursuit of the goal of expanding gay marriages, known in the UK as civil partnership, beyond his territorial control, that’s helping the cause, inadvertently. In the youthful premier’s desperation to please gay voters at home, he has resorted to bullying aids-receiving countries in Africa: behave or be starved of funds.

Early in October, it was widely reported that Britain, through its International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell cut aid to Malawi by £19million after two gay men were sentenced to 14 years hard labour and was threatening to impose similar aid ‘fines’ against Uganda and Ghana for hard-line anti-gay and lesbian measures. The policy announcement came on the heels of Cameron’s well controversial decision to legalise gay weddings in places of worship.

Cameron also took his campaign to the recently concluded Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting in Perth, Australia. In his address he had described the Commonwealth as “a great organisation, a third of the world's population, 54 countries across six continents, a really great network” but one “that must have strong values.” He recommended that the body put in place “a charter setting out the rights, the freedoms, the democracy that we all believe in, and I think that is important."

An Eminent Persons Group, which included a former UK foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, had seemingly tried to oblige Mr Cameron, by including among its over 100 recommendations, “the appointment of an independent commissioner for the rule of law and human rights and a call for all member states to repeal laws banning homosexuality”. Both were among those overwhelmingly rejected. These proposals were said to have been designed to ensure that the organisation remains relevant in 21st Century global affairs.

Undeterred, Mr Cameron told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that "British aid should have more strings attached…Britain is one of the premier aid givers in the world. We want to see countries that receive our aid adhering to proper human rights…” In other words, “Go gay or go broke”.

Now, this bullying has increased patriotic fervour in the leadership of many of these countries and seems guaranteed to alienate his traditional allies, the so-called human rights community here in Nigeria.

Ghanaian President John Atta Mills did not mince words in his reaction:  “No one can deny Prime Minister Cameron his right to make policies, take initiatives and make statements that reflects his societal norms and ideals. But he does not have the right to direct other sovereign nations as to what they should do especially where their societal norms and ideals are different from those which exists in Prime Minister Cameron’s society…I, as President of this nation will never initiate or support any attempt to legalise homosexuality in Ghana. As a government, we will abide by the principles enshrined in our constitution. Let me also say that while we acknowledge all the financial assistance and all the aid that’s given us by our development partners, we will not accept any aid with strings attach if that aid will not inure to our interest”. The President’s position has since been backed by Parliament.

Ugandan presidential adviser John Nagenda, in reacting to the aid cut threat, accused Mr Cameron of treating Ugandans "like children". His words: “Uganda is, if you remember, a sovereign state and we are tired of being given these lectures by people…If they must take their money, so be it…'You do this or I withdraw my aid' will definitely make people extremely uncomfortable with being treated like children."

Malawi government spokesperson Patricia Kaliati, on her part, said it was “unfortunate” for Britain to have “pro-gay strings” attached to aid, pointing out that homosexual acts are illegal in Malawi and that” these laws are a legacy of British rule”.

Nigerian Senate President, David Mark, who spoke at the opening of a public hearing on SB 05 was very direct: “Nothing on earth justifies same sex marriage. My faith as Christian abhors it. It is incomprehensible to contemplate on same sex marriage. I cannot understand it. I cannot be a party to it. There are enough men and women to marry each other. The whole idea is the importation of foreign culture but this one would be freedom too much…It is offensive, it is repugnant. I will preach against it and we must stand up to reject same sex marriage in Nigeria."

Although David Mark made no reference to the British gay-for-aid threat, it is clear that Nigeria will not stand for it. And it is my firm belief that both in its brazenness and its timing, the threat and the backlash can only help the bill. At this point, not even the motley crowd of “politically correct” foreign grant dependent Nigerian human rights and civil liberties activists, usually mobilised by Amnesty International can resist the urge to be seen as “nationalists”.

It doesn’t mean, however that proponents of the bill, particularly the church should go to sleep. We need to step hard on the throttle and get the bill fast-tracked before momentum is lost. It must be remembered that President Obasanjo’s executive bill, Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill, 2006 died at the public hearing stage. So did House Bill 150, otherwise known as, “A Bill for an Act to Prohibit Marriage between Persons of Same Gender, Solemnization of Same and for other Matters related therewith” in 2009. It was sponsored by 49 members of the House including the current Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha.

David Cameron meant his bullying tactic for evil; we must, through “faith and works” turn it to good, in order to preserve the moral fibre of our society and the future of our youth.