Youths in Nigeria are faced with the twin dilemma of surmounting many hurdles of growing up to be responsible citizens, and leaving up to the billing of being ‘leaders of tomorrow’ as constantly mouthed by successive governments. The former may be termed natural, while the latter can easily be classified as man made.
On a daily basis, Nigerian youths are reminded of how they should prepare to assume the mantle of leadership in the not-too-distant future. This, no doubt, is suggestive of the abundant opportunities that abound in the land for those who are well groomed to take up leadership positions in future. Such pep talks are encouraging words capable of spurring the young minds to greater heights, but words alone, without well thought out action may not deliver the desired results.
Without mincing words, the federal government, over the years, has enunciated many programmes targeted at youth empowerment, and a number of young Nigerians have been availing themselves of these numerous opportunities being opened up for them. Even though some of such agenda have long gestation period for their full impact to manifest, the presumed beneficiaries are not letting go the golden chance being offered to them.
However, this seems to wither away with recent happenings in the polity. Otherwise, how would one rationalise recent pronouncement by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? In what appears to be calculated efforts at constant assault on the sensibilities of the Nigerian youths, the Senate last week Tuesday passed a resolution to amend the provision of Section 29 (4b) of the 1999 Constitution, claiming that a woman is deemed to be “full of age” once she is married irrespective of the age she got hooked up. As expected, this proposal has been greeted by outrage as activists across the land have faulted the Senate’s resolution to alter Section 29 (a) of the proposed constitutional amendment stipulating that a woman shall qualify for marriage only when she attains 18 years.
Up and until now, I still do not have a clear understanding of the Senate’s thought process; the mangled phrase of deeming a girl to become of “full of age”, sandwiched between many unresolved issues, which in some cases depart from the reality on ground. The Senate’s deleting of age specification for women who were once married, claiming that a woman is deemed to be “full of age” once she is married without taking into cognisance the age she did so, is ridiculous, and at best laughable. That resolution came after a vote on recommendations of the Senate Committee on the Review of the Nigerian Constitution.
I take the view that no serious country, anxious to develop would allow this piece of legislation to go unchallenged. If the lawmakers cannot bequeath to Nigerians a legislation with potentials to improve our lot, they should not transmit to the people a legal document that would spell more doom than that currently being experienced.
Just recently, during the 2013 World Population Day, the National Population commission, NPC, raised an alarm over increasing incidence of teenage pregnancy in the country, describing the development as worrisome. It laid the blame on the door steps of parents for failure to inculcate moral discipline in their female children. But today, rather than identifying poverty, sexual abuse, ignorance and cultural beliefs as major reasons responsible for the increasing incidence of teenage pregnancy in the country, Nigerians know who to apportion the blame.
Indeed, as explained by the NPC, teenage pregnancy, which is also closely linked to early marriage, as our distinguished Senators want to foist on the people, has health, social and economic implications. It does not only impose severe health and psychological strains on the baby and the teen mothers, but also has long term negative impacts on sustainable development efforts. The phenomenon is getting to an alarming proportion despite government’s campaign against it, and at the moment, teenage maternal mortality rate is put at 0.822 per 1,000 women in Nigeria. The National Demographic Health Survey says at least 12,000 women are known to develop Vesico Vaginal Fistula, VVF, every year in Nigeria, a good number of who are said to be young, teenage girls of poor social economic background.
Except the Senators would equally legislate against child bearing for the would-be kindergarten mothers or place a moratorium of about five years before the couple can give birth, otherwise it should be discerning to these distinguished Nigerians that teen pregnancy worsens the population and reproductive health situation. It is also capable of compromising genuine efforts at promoting gender equity, educational attainment, family values and economic development. Some who may be cajoled into early marriage may be coaxed to contemplate unsafe abortion, with its attendant complications. Experts have equally traced poor ante-natal care, weal pelvic bones, high fertility rate and unstable marital life to teenage pregnancy.
It is on this score that well meaning Nigerians should rise in stout defense of the teenagers, and condemn in strong terms the Senate’s resolution which smacks of brazen selfishness. One commentator puts it succinctly: “That is very reckless of them and insensitive of them to the plight of young girls, especially in this time and era of child sexual abuse; the implications and complications that come up from early marriage which we all know, VVF, RVF and all that. So, if they go to the constitution to remove the age restriction that says one cannot marry a teen, then, they might as well throw the Childs Rights Acts out of the window.”
If the Senators fail to retract their footsteps, it would be extremely difficult to convince any right-thinking member of the society that the resolution is not a ploy to encourage people to get away with molesting children. Arguably, it is a subtle way of giving confidence to those who take liberty in having canal knowledge of children or force them into marriage at a tender age to continue with their ignoble act.