‘Last weekend, a Youth Corper, Grace Ushang was raped to death in Maiduguri by men who reportedly took offence because she was wearing her khaki trousers ... the official uniform of the Corps .... In Sudan a few weeks ago, a female journalist, Lubnah Hussain was jailed for wearing trousers. The Indecent Dressing Bill before our National Assembly mirrors that Article of Sudan’s penal code under which she was jailed. Let us say NO to the Indecent Dressing Bill before it is too late. Pass this on to as many people as you can; to your State and National Assembly reps and to all those in Government. Let us say NO to legitimising the brutalisation of the Nigerian woman.”
Hmmmmn!!!
I received the text message above on the morning of October 1st, Nigeria’s 49th year of independence and went on to receive the same text message four more times the same day - obviously re-circulating among concerned individuals.
While it asked me to pass it on I wondered if that was really all that needed to be done. Pass it on? That didn’t seem to be enough. Not only am I a woman, I am born of a woman I greatly admired and also have a girl child who will most likely live in this country in her lifetime.
Hmmmm...
After forwarding the text message to several people I sent a text to my friend the Legislator of the National Assembly (House of Representatives) asking:
1) When the bill was due for discussion / debate.
2) How ordinary citizens could get information on this Bill, BEFORE it was passed.
3) How ordinary citizens could comment or have changes (if possible) made to this Bill BEFORE it was debated.
4) If the actions of ordinary citizens could influence the legislative deliberations of our elected representatives.
My friend the Legislator promised to look into this and revert Monday when the House was back in session. He had also received the same text from someone else. To anyone who knows me somewhat well, it should be clear what direction I was headed for.
Thereafter I sent a text message to the legislator of my ward, Eti-Osa Local Government area, identifying myself & asking how one could get information on the indecent Dressing Bill purportedly in the process of being reviewed for passage by the national Assembly.
I intend to call him on a working day as a first port of call, before utilising various means of communication in the hope of eliciting a response. This may be a useful test-bed to find out if the desires & wishes of the citizenry are considered by our lawmakers when taking decisions (often far-reaching) on OUR behalf; and even that of our children and generations unborn. But I won’t yet jump to any assumptions and will go through the motions, documenting as I go along.
Disclosure is a useful tool which is not practiced enough in the ‘new’ 49 year old Nigeria which is nothing like the country I grew up in. The same country where I also wore these same pair of trousers 25 years ago without it ever crossing my mind it could lead to a death sentence. I communicated with several people in the course of the day for support on this matter. HMMMM!!!
Girlfriends, women, mothers, sistas, sisters, do you know what it means to be raped to death? Think about it? It takes some raping to actually kill an adult woman. Let’s talk about war-time - most adult women actually survive war time gang rape. Please spend a moment thinking what kind of raping went on IN PEACE-TIME NIGERIA to result in death? HMMMMNNN!!!!!!
Women, spare a thought for the young girl alone in a taxi, late at night being hauled out of it for a subjective opinion on ‘indecent dressing’, with no one in authority she can call upon for help, etc... I know enough women have witnessed the plight of young women being practically assaulted at checkpoints, WITHOUT AN ENABLING LAW GIVING POWERS TO THE LAW ENFORCER. HMMMM ....
Let’s talk about this.
The National Youth Service Corps scheme is a MANDATORY call to duty, a national service NOT a call to rape the Treasury and should certainly not inadvertently or otherwise be a death sentence.
My first reaction was outrage. For me it wasn’t just about the fact that a young woman (which I once was) had been gang-raped TO DEATH by a group of men – for wearing a mandatory uniform – LONG, loose khaki trousers. But also a little bit about the fact that there really would be no real justice on this matter. And also a little bit about the fact that this was avoidable. And then for the possibility that this type of brutality against women could be legalised! Good grief!!!
I really think we need to be asking ourselves some questions and then getting our elected Representatives to take our needs into consideration before passing laws affecting us, particularly as most of these decision-makers happen to be men and really CAN ONLY IMAGINE, AT BEST what female brutalisation is about – if they give it any thought between juggling allowances, expectations and whatever else they do.
Perhaps all concerned parties and stakeholders on this matter, most especially women should consider some of the following:
1) The National Youth Service Corps Directorate owes a duty of care, protection & professionalism to the young men and women assigned under its wings. If this meant having special uniforms issued for the Northern or sharia-compliant states then this should have been done. One death is a death too many. They should have noted sensitivities existent in various parts of the country and managed it proactively, not reactively. This is why we need to be proactive about this Indecent Dressing Bill NOW, rather than be reactive after the fact.
2) Would there be an age band to indecent dressing? From what age would it start? What would an ‘indecently dressed’ 6 year old, 8 year old, 10 year old, 12 year old girl child be subjected to? By a decision-making law enforcement officer or otherwise abrogated powers by some (I don’t have a word for such) LAW. We have no idea under what authority the 8 men who RAPED TO DEATH acted upon. (update - it is now gathered that the applicable age for this Bill is from 14 years).
3) There are some women in the National Assembly and even though we acknowledge their numbers are too few, what are they doing about this? (update - it is also staggering to now find that this Bill was sponsored by a woman)
4) Is it really only trousers the Bill seeks to ban? If so, please let’s call it the Trouser Bill, not Indecent Dressing Bill. Indecent dressing is too subjective and offers too broad a range of interpretation for comfort. Particularly with such powers of interpretation being given to law enforcement agents & officers. In any case, full disclosure of this Bill into the public domain BEFORE it is passed into law will better inform us.
5) Let’s move to what could perhaps be the lighter side (or ortherwise) depending on what side of the fence you are on. It has been suggested (correctly or otherwise) that some parties with an interest in curtailing the effects of indecent dressing (by women) on men have contributed to a part of this Bill. Hmmmmnn ...
Does this mean the woman is the only guilty party here? Never the man who has allowed himself to be enticed by the indecent dressing? This would certainly solve the problems indecent dressing seems to raise (pun intended here as indecent dressing would elicit no reaction). If this is what it seeks to correct can we think about passing a Bill castrating all men? If the need is felt to get into the realm of the absurd, how absurd can we get?? Are the men startled yet? Hmmmm, castration to me seems a lighter option than being gang raped to death. And it can even be done painlessly, as planned surgery under anaesthetic and managed by medication.
But I guess it’s about what side of the fence you are on – remember I said earlier men can only imagine what female brutalisation is about. I would like our elected officers to think through the range of possibilities when proposing ‘Bills’ or Bills. They could also consider throwing open the forum to the citizenry they serve should they be short of the entire spectrum of considerations.
6) On another note, for those who think passing an Indecent Dressing Bill will help to reduce improper enticement of men, I’d like to suggest a few options. Loving the man you’ve got, loving yourself, sharing his dreams and ambitions, looking good as a woman, respecting him, being faithful to him, really thinking he’s the best thing since sliced bread and letting him know it, having something to offer that keeps him wanting you; - all help to keep the not-easily-monogamous-male less improperly enticed. But if it’s about Sharia Law I can understand the premise for such a Bill. But this isn’t about Sharia law? Or is it?
7) Do northern Nigerian women wear the mandatory khaki trousers on their National Youth Service Corps Scheme? I am sure they do and have complied with it in the national interest.
8) Since they do, how have they avoided being gang raped to death? And how on earth did this incident happen?
Silly me, I forgot!! the National Youth Service Scheme posts the serving female graduate outside her state. This means most Nigerian females of Northern origin are likely to be posted to the southern states where for now, pre the Indecent Dressing Bill, the mandatory uniform trousers cannot equate to a death sentence by gang rape. But having said that, there should be some Northern female graduates posted to serve in northern states other than their state of origin? What do they wear? It’s just food for thought, not a North – South issue).
We are talking about a death by gang rape by a group that considered this acceptable. We should be asking hard hitting questions. Nigeria is not yet a Sharia nation and even if it were, would slaughter & barbarism be acceptable; IF THE ‘OFFENCE’ WAS MANDATED BY LAW AS A PRE-REQUISITE FOR A NATIONAL SERVICE??
9) Miu-Miu, Prada, Gucci ... wear it if you like it. You can have a social conscience and still wish for good things. But girls, even if you think such an Indecent Dressing Bill is not worth wasting time over, think of all the jeans and trousers you’ll never be able to wear again in public. The risk of rape or jail surely isn’t worth it EVERY time you wear it – we have no idea if ‘indecent dressing’ would perhaps be limited only to public offices or every facet of our lives.
10) If there was an enabling Indecent Dressing Bill, what would such men have done if the woman was a scantily dressed prostitute?
I hear you say this was in the North ... But with an enabling law, imagine a scenario where in the North the woman was not indecently dressed but was perhaps thrown out scantily clothed in the middle of the night after a quarrel with her husband and was alone in a taxi for instance trying to get back to her family home?
I hear you say that such an Indecent Dressing Bill would ensure there are no such indecently dressed women in the North. But the same Bill would be the same law for the southern part of Nigeria where long, loose fitting trousers are certainly not considered indecent. You think it can’t happen in for instance Lagos? Hmmmm ...
I’m sure most people would recollect some time ago when some Indecent Dressing Act of some form WAS BEING CONSIDERED and women were already beginning to report brutalisation at the hands of law enforcement officers.
We live in a country with no effective statistics and may not be able to measure the numbers of women who would be affected by such abrogation of powers over them - even to the point of their death.
A friend of mine today told me she had been heckled by a mob including children & women to a point of fear 25 years ago while doing useful community service in Jos – because she was wearing these same standard-issue trousers.
But this is not America I guess where the NYSC Directorate would have been slapped with a law suit more than their entire budget for a year and had to pay.
And the new, truly special, 21st century, 49 year old almost-unrecognisable-from-my-youth Nigeria where the value placed on human life (we’re not talking quality of life here) is a guess as good as mine but in some cases less than that of a dog in another country....
I don’t have a problem with Sharia Law, Religion, the North, South, Women, Men ... What I am hoping to provoke is thought and proactive action. Or that all issues be considered thoroughly.
I am only reacting because this Indecent Dressing Bill could be countrywide not restricted to the regions where this is relevant. I am wise enough to know how to dress appropriately but this is about protecting the rights of others including my girl child and the next generation who could be subjected to abuse.
HMMMMNN!!!!!
I hope you can now see how those seemingly innocuous trousers could get you killed...
.... if you happen to be serving on the mandatory graduate National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Scheme AND happen to be a woman.
All you need to do is to be posted to serve in a part of the country that thinks long, loose-fitting, unappealing, full length khaki trousers tucked into boots (while doing community service no less!!) are offensive. It's worth mentioning that the men’s standard issue NYSC trousers are the same for the woman.
But if the Indecent Bill becomes deliberated upon and possibly passed into law, these trousers and LESS, FAR LESS could possibly get you killed, perhaps jailed or exposed to brutalisation, IN ANY PART OF THE COUNTRY ...
Do note though – you’ve got to be a woman to suffer from the Indecent Bill (pun intended),
but... hey, it’s a man’s world.
Yetunde Allen is an SME Development Expert and Managing Partner, Lateral-Links Ltd.
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|Registered |2009-10-02 01:09:21 Christopher Osime
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|Author |2009-10-02 11:20:12 Yetunde AllenHi Christopher,
I dont think the Indecent Dressing Bill is really an attempt to push through tenets of Shaira . There just happen to be similarities. However we should keep both in focus.
I wrote the article to raise awareness of a law that could be passed which may impact us horribly negatively; and to see if people could be inspired to proactive action . The text I received on Grace Ushang's death brought home to me the potential scope of damage that could be possible.
I have a northern moslem woman who has lived with me in my home for the past 12 years. She does not and will not wear trousers and I respect her need to keep herself covered up at all times - her hair is never exposed for instance. I have no problem with Sharia Law and can elect to stay away from a Sharia state or presence. However I can only do so if I know what the rules are and I am not compelled to interface such as the national call to duty the NYSC Programme would do.
I have just returned from Dubai and in every country you respect its rules. I dressed appropriately and even more so during Ramaddan even though I am not a moslem. The very wording of An Indecent Dressing Bill raises concerns for me as to its subjectivity - especially considering that this is pretty much a gender based issue. Think about it. Women are MUCH more likely to stand accused and judged of indecent dressing rather than men. Men are also more likely to be the accusers, sentencers & punishers. Then what would the rules be? And would I really wish such power to be vested in the law enforcers we have in the country? Perhaps even moral groups who may not even be law enforcers as we dont know what group the men who killed Grace Ushang belonged to. I think not. It would be particularly unsafe for ALL women, including the younger ones who may be less wise in the years it takes them to acquire wisdom and possibly decency.
The Grace Ushang situation just struck me as alarming as to the potential fallout of such a Bill. If for wearing a mandatory uniform of loose, khaki trousers, FOR a mandatory national service a woman's punishment is to be gang-raped to death IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY ENABLING LAW, what is the potential if there is an enabling law?
The details of this Bill urgently need to be made public for deliberation by the citizenzy whom it would claim to serve or protect. And perhaps someone should consider renaming it the Indecent Bill rather than the Indecent dressing Bill.
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Sharia law is a legitimate right and aspiration for those wishing to be so governed and where applicable should be subject to National laws. Anybody going to live in the "country" governed by sharia law should be so informed and be ready to comply with local laws - as you would if you were going to Iran, Indonesia or Ireland.
Sharia law is based on Islamic religious tenets which like Christian religious tenets also calls for decency and self control. Punishment for breaching these tenets may appear harsh and draconian but that is another issue. Let us be mindful that the way we see sharia law as harsh is the way some see christian law as liberal and ineffective.
What we have here is an extreme misunderstanding by urchins, fueled by ignorant, self serving, religious and community leaders to terrorise the masses into submission by false teachings, actions and inactions.
This is no different from Christian fundamentalism that justified the horrible slave trade and ruled during the dark ages in British history.
Churches, mosques and synagogues are a sanctity violated during times of uncontrolled riots and mob action and most often, directed and influenced by those shadowy figures who should know better.
The same way that these places of worship are ransacked and violated is the same way that sadly, Ms Ushang has been violated and killed - and this is simply, indefensible!.
What makes this case most alarming is that Ms Ushang was on a National Call to duty and was dressed in standard Federal Government issue. She was not, therefore, violating any local or National laws.
It is reasonable to assume that Ms Ushang asked to have her Maiduguri posting changed. This would have negated the spirit of the National Call but is no reason for her unlawful killing.
There is no place in a modern day secular country, like Nigeria, for any type of fundamentalism, religious intolerance and extremism. Our ethnicity, religions and beliefs MUST co-exist within bounds of mutual respect and an over-arching National or Federal law.
Not being safe within a country is sad but not confined to Nigeria, Certain areas of New York, Lagos and Manchester are "no-go" and all for stupid, ignorant reasons but because of turf control.
We at D&R agree that Ms Ushang's death should not be in vain!
We are supporting this cause with a modest N100,000 pledge to her immediate family and may her young and gentle soul rest in perfect PEACE!
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|Author |2009-10-02 10:34:38 Yetunde AllenHmmmm .. I am glad people are at least commenting on this. That's what I was hoping the time put into writing the article would encourage. We need to take our future and even our present in our hands.
It would be nice if people could vote in the Polls on this Indecent Dressing Bill - I just noticed it now on the bottom left corner of this website. The results of the Polls could serve as a useful barometer to gauge and assess people's reactions and feelings.
It would help if we had enough details of this Bill, but anyway, we can still vote on the concept of it as currently understood, then leave it to our lawmakers to convince us thereafter of its merits/demerits and persuade us to buy-in. I would have thought the concept of democracy implies a buy-in from the populace or why is President Obama trying hard to carry people along and convince them of the merits of his propositions?
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|Author |2009-10-02 10:43:36 Yetunde AllenTony,
great comment.
excellent initiative. i'd like to donate a token too. here's pledging 10,000 Naira to Grace Ushang's family. where do i send it to? can we think about a Grace Ushang Fund? Will probably provide more succour than the justice she's ever likely to get ...
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|Registered |2009-10-02 14:00:55 Christopher OsimeTony,
I understand the stupidity of fighting over "colours" and "turf", and the trepidation of venturing into certain neigbourhoods, because of the crime rate, however, that is a very far cry ,from being raped to death, because you wore trousers, which, incidentally, is part of your official uniform, while serving the same community, that murdered you.
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|Author |2009-10-02 15:37:45 Yetunde AllenHmmmm ....!!!
Interesting reactions all day in the past 24 hours since the text message started circulation. The next week should be interesting and I wonder if the lawmakers have their fingers on the pulse on this one? From where I perch, I wonder how on earth anyone sponsors an Indecent Dressing Bill. Good grief ...!!!
But I guess the contents of this proposed Bill will shed further light?
While my reaction started from the contents of THAT text message, the issue of the very idea of an Indecent Dressing Bill is what I have reacted to. I have not yet reacted much to the act of rape-to-death. For me, as a woman, this is different to rape. It actually reduces rape which is brutal enough to mere rape when you benchmark rape against rape TO DEATH.
Now when you take that thought in the context of service to the nation & under prescribed / manadatory rules (dress code, community service, geographical dispersion) which have been in existence for more than 25 years, it poses some really worrying concerns.
One concern which is in itself a major issue is the constitutional right of every citizen to life. Our legislators and every Nigerian must understand and believe in the right of every citizen to life. And should not consider it acceptable to trample on it - inadvertently or otherwise, through well-meaning or ill-informed decisions, through good, poor or substandard education, whether by blind interest / self interest or otherwise.
And legislators should not accidentally or otherwise sponsor, support or pass a Bill which can actually violate such a fundamental right. It's not rocket science what type of abuse such an Indecent (Dressing) Bill can be subjected to. Or is it???
While Nigerians should ensure they protect their absolute & indisputably fundamental right to life. Especially now that Grace Ushang has thrown up for us what horrendous possibilities can exist. Not just because it is their right Constitutionally but because it is their right as human beings.
And since this really is about women, their rights as women (lets call a spade a spade) ... afterall no one's ever going to rape and kill a man for wearing trousers, under any heading .... or are they?? Hmmm ...
Please note wikipedia below:
'Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being. The concept of a right to life is central to debates on the issues of capital punishment, euthanasia, self defense, abortion and war'.
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Yetunde....The Indecent Dressing Bill is an assault on the intelligence and sensibilities of Nigerians.. particularly women! Ironically this "bill" is being championed by a woman!
Given the myriad of challenges facing Nigerians.. is dressing or the lack of it a priority? I think not.
This bill panders to the hypocrisy and double standards so evident in all tiers of governance in Nigeria...Rather than this bill.. I would rather see more emphasis on passing the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL to combat the rampant corruption plaguing our country.
The killing of the Youth Corper was not because she was indecently dressed, but due to the rise of ignorance, intolerance and hatred in today's Nigeria... It takes GOOD GOVERNANCE to effect moral change and decency in society...Any attempt to legislate morality will fail and examples abound.
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|Author |2009-10-02 20:18:40 Yetunde AllenHello Meekam,
perhaps the woman has her reasons and sees no better way to address such issues other than concern herself with clothing people (women) decently. This level of thought smacks of things I shouldn't write so i won't. But there are so many more effective & sensible ways to address this issue.
There's a great piece someone forwarded to me privately today after reading this article which led me to BAOBAB online - an NGO. Very good comments expressed online. Said female legislator and others of the same mindset would benefit from. Rather than assail us with a Bill effectively laying down dress 'rules' & I'm sure prescribing punishment to go with breaking the rules.
I'm still perplexed. It would be comical if sadly, it did not portend the possibility of grievous, dire consequences on the weaker gender.
Hmmmm..
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Just three days, then this... I shudder to think of what may occur within a week!!!!
What utter crap, of the worst kind!!!!! Stop our young people from going to serve in those far flung places straight out of the 4th Century B.C. Of what benefit is it to their socio-economic skills????! Every year, some poor parents are lamenting the loss of their young people whose lives are truncated because they went to serve the country!!!!! A country whose administrators have not shown due diligence in ANYTHING!!!!! We have a Culture ministry that is totally clueless about the cultures of different ethnic groups mashed together to create Nigeria. There is no clear demarcation between the state and whatever cockeyed 'religious' pronouncements some half baked clown probably under the influence of something cheap!!!!
I am soooo angry!!! I know I am not articulating properly, but I need to rant!!!
Yetunde, the fact that them dishonourables in Abuja, are actually busy thinking about what women are wearing is very telling. They have a lot of time on their hands, and the welfare of the country matters not one whit to them!!!
What rubbish!!!!!
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|Registered |2009-10-04 09:49:10 Chinwe Uwatse
She was not of woman born, has no female offspring, may not really be a woman or all of the above!!!!
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|Author |2009-10-04 11:27:37 Yetunde AllenHi Chinwe, big Sis,
yes, you've been 3 days back in the country!! don't think a week ahead. thats how it goes in our country.
I've contained my feelings on this matter and separated the issues. BUT that Indecent (Dressing) Bill should be reviewed & potentially dangerous clauses removed or the Bill should be scrapped. The world is now paying attention to this Bill which may have quietly snuck past us. I trust you'll sign up for a Petition against it.
it's about time we start to pay attention to what Bills are being passed and what legislators think is of interest to us as a nation. Hmmm.
there's a National Assembly website which lists pending Bills, with a LOT of them having no headings. There does not seem to be further information on the content of the Bills displayed. I emailed an enquiry about 2 days ago to their contact email provided, requesting information on the contents of the Indecent (Dressing) Bill. I'm awaiting a reply, breath not held.
It would be interesting to see if an ordinary citizen will get a reply, how long it will take, how much information I will receive, how transparent the process will be. I've been advised they are on a recess so I will patiently wait till they are back at work from tomorrow. By which time also, my legislator representing us here in Eti-Osa will be back at work and hopefully i can reach him - in the hope of discussing this.
Hmmmmn ....
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Hi Yetunde,
I think a copy of this Indecent Dressing Bill should be out in the public domain....the content may well reveal MORE than gives cause for concern!
D&R will glady host for all to peruse.
Kind regards
MkM
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|Author |2009-10-04 19:03:30 Yetunde AllenI'm trying to get a copy of the Bill. You know what's sad, we may be able to more easily get a copy of said Bill outside this country than within it. Horrendously this Indecent (Dressing) Bill was sponsored by a woman - Senator Eme Ufot-Ekaette. If anyone knows her perhaps they can ask how we can get a copy into the public domain.
And if anyone knows her really well, perhaps they can ask her what she was thinking about ... good grief!! looking on the bright side, maybe it's a blessing she named it something so vile as to alert the populace what its potential contents might be ...
wouldn't it have been lovely if we had a proper adult debate forum where she could have been asked to come forward to defend her Bill. I'd have loved to be on the other side debating & reviewing the other side of the equation - enlightening her about reason, tolerance & so many other ways to solve her problems of moral decadence. so as to increase the chances of women staying alive or not being brutalised till they acquired enough wisdom to dress decently.
did this woman have a youth? did she go to university? has she lived? Most female captains of industry who have lived a fufilling life, trust me, had at one time or the other, even if it was age 20, dressed somewhat 'indecently' as it would be called. but that is the silliness of youth. thank goodness there was no Law about that could have shortened female lives inadvertently, for as little a reason as choice of clothing. which is subjective to the eye o..!! one man's decent could be another man's indecent. long khaki trousers to me are decent. to someone else it was indecent enough to cause the wearer to get gang raped to death...
from where i perch, it would appear women have even less rights than homosexuals. i guess they're luckier, there's sometimes nothing brazenly announcing them as part of that group. but we've got breasts, at the very least ...
You know if we were abroad, I'm sure someone could have found a picture of this Bill-sponsoring woman dressed indecently. does anyone have one?
she should be embarassed with herself or publicly withdraw the Bill. or find better ways to figure out how to solve the problem she's trying to address by such a Bill.
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AS LADY ,WOMAN , MOTHER, AND MOST OF ALL HUMAN BEING MY MOST SINCERE CONDOLENCE GOES TO THE FAMILY OF LATE MISS GRACE USHANG .
BUT I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO HEAR WHAT UFOT EKAETE WILL TELL THE BEREAVED FAMILY. I GUESSS IT WILL BE THAT THEIR DAUGHTER DIED BECAUSE SHE WAS DRESSED INDECENTLY WHILE SERVING HER FATHER LAND. AS THAT IS THE BANE OF NIGERIAS ECONOMY AND POLITICS.
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT I THINK PRIORITY HAS BEEN BEEN LOST IN THE QUARTERS WHERE WE THINK WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES. ANYWAYS THAT CAN BE EXCUSED ASTHEY WERE SELECTED AND NOT ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES.
IT IS SAD IF WE ALL SIT BACK AND WATCH THIS ISSUE SWEPT UNDER THE JUDICIAL CARPET. I WILL NOT AS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN MY DAUGHTER, SISTER, COUSIN ,OR FRIEND.
WILL YOU?
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|Author |2009-10-07 21:10:38 Yetunde Allengreat comment Lucy, about not sitting back.
the Indecent (Dressing) Bill did not get her killed. But the reality is that she was killed without any enabling law. if any law that could enable in any way whatsoever exists, I shudder to think what could happen.
I will post you details on the campaign against this indecent Bill as it goes along.
regards
yetunde
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There are questions to consider re this Bill. Just how far will the scope of Indecency be?
Nudity on television, Beachwear, Shorts for women, Maybe Shorts for Men around women in Purdah? Just how far and restrictive if we have to consider the vast Religious, Traditional and Cultural beliefs across the country?
The debate is on and we await the outcome.
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With respects to NEXT.
Reps want posthumous national honour for slain youth corp member.
By Festus Owete
October 9, 2009 04:41PMT
Members of the House of Representatives on Thursday expressed anger over the rape and murder of a youth corps member, Grace Adie Ushang in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, last month.
They, however, summoned the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, Maharazu Tsiga, to the House to explain the incident. They also asked the Inspector General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo to identify and arrest the perpetrators of the act.
The lawmakers also agreed that Miss Ushang should be given a posthumous award because she died serving her nation.
Graduates of Nigeria's tertiary institutions are obliged to spend a year on national service.
Paul Adah (PDP, Cross River) had, in a motion, said Miss Ushang was serving with El-Kanemi College of Business Administration on September 27. He said the deceased left the Corpers' Lodge, around Customs area of the state capital, at about 6.30 pm on the day of her death in search of food within the neighbourhood - only for her corpse to be found beside a nearby river at about 8.00 pm.
Mr Adah said the windy weather in Maiduguri that day provided a cover for Miss Ushang's assailants to assault and murder her in cold blood.
The lawmaker added that he was worried that the assailants attacked her on ground that she was wearing a Khaki Trouser, the official uniform of youth corps members which they considered as indecent dressing.
He also said that the medical report confirmed that Miss Ushang was physically assaulted, thereby sustaining grievous injury which resulted in her death.
The lawmaker, who represents the dead youth corper's constituency in Cross Rivers State, said when the incident took place, her colleagues planned a reprisal attack but were prevailed upon not to do so to avoid chaos.
He said youth corps members should be given heroic treatment anywhere they serve, stressing that the people of Obudu where Miss Ushang hailed from do so always.
Mr Adah urged the House to condemn the act, saying it is a crime against humanity. He also called on the security agencies to "identify and arrest the perpetrators of this devilish act, by making them to face the wrath of the law with a view to serving as a deterrent to others; commiserate with the people of Cross River; and call on the NYSC to adequately compensate the family of the deceased as she died serving her nation."
Mohammed Ndume (ANPP, Borno) said he regretted the incident, but called for the deletion of the issue of weather from the motion since, according to him, it is not peculiar to Borno State. His request was overwhelmingly rejected.
Unanimous condemnation
Saadatu Sani (PDP, Kaduna) condemned the incident and asked that women be protected adequately. She also sought an amendment to the motion, asking that the NYSC director should appear before the joint committees of Women Affairs and Human Rights.
Patrick Obahiagbon (PDP, Edo) described the incident as unfortunate. He said it happened when there was a national debate over the continued desirability and viability of the youth scheme.
Mr Obahiagbon called for the amendment of the motion to read "we note with outrage the assault and murder of the youth corps member."
Chinyere Igwe (PDP, Rivers) insisted that the perpetrators of the act must be brought to book. The House rejected an amendment that youth corps uniform should be designed in such a way that its takes into consideration the interest of various groups like religion and culture.
The motion was unanimously adopted when the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole put it to vote.
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Culled from NEXT Newspapers
[By MODEY PETERS
October 13, 2009 11:44AMT
The family of the youth corps member, Grace Ushang Adie, who was raped to death two weeks ago, has rejected the N2 million compensation paid by the Borno State government.
The family also said they were not in a hurry to collect the National Youth Service Corps statutory death gratuity of N500,000. They said the important thing to them is not money, but justice for their dead daughter.
NEXT learnt that shortly after the state burial of Miss Adie on October 5, the Borno State government had offered the money as a compensation, but the family refused the sum.
The event also saw the entire Kakum Community, in Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State, where the deceased came from, demanding for justice.
Chairman of the council, Justine Ikor Ugbe, who was at the state burial, said as a result of the position taken by the family, the cheque has been deposited in a bank until justice is done.
"The family is insisting that no amount of money can compensate for human life, hence they have impressed it on the state government to fish out and bring to book all the hoodlums that participated in the beating, raping, and stabbing to death of their daughter, to serve as a deterrence to others," he said.
Miss Adie was abducted on September 26, 2009 in Maiduguri by a gang of men who raped and later killed her. She had reportedly left her residence to go and look for food when she ran into the gang.
Although the federal and state governments have promised to investigate the killing, there is yet no known leads about the killers.
Strange history
Miss Adie's death was particularly galling to the people of Obudu because this was the third time such a thing is happening to them.
Mr. Ugbe, the council chairman, said she was the third indigene of Obudu to have been killed during the National Youth Service. Bizarrely, all the deaths occurred in Maiduguri.
"In 1973, a youth corps member was mobbed in the town for knocking down a pedestrian while riding a bicycle," Mr. Ugbe said. "About 15 years ago, a daughter of the famous Iklaki family in Obudu was dragged out of her room in Maiduguri and killed during a religious uprising. The death of Ushang Adie was, therefore, one death too many."
There would have been a total break-down of law and order in the town following the news of this latest death, were it not for the quick intervention of government officials who drafted policemen from Calabar to the community. The combined security team helped to cordon-off the quarters inhabited by northerners in Obudu.
Amend NYSC law
Prominent Muslim figures in the local government have also been pleading with the youths not to take up arms and to wait for justice to be done.
Some indigenes of the area called for an amendment of the law establishing the NYSC scheme to enable youth corps members to serve in only their geopolitical zones.
"It has become necessary to amend the law because recurring incidents of murder of those on national assignment have defeated the noble objectives of the scheme, as the envisaged unity and cross-cultural pollination were no more there," a member of the Adie family who did not reveal his name, said.
Late Ushang Adie, the fifth child in her family, was born on October 27, 1984 in Obudu. She lost her father about 15 years ago, leaving her education and that of other siblings to her mother, a cleaner with the Federal College of Education, Obudu. She graduated from the Faculty of Education, University of Calabar, last year. In school, she was fondly called Ashanti by her friends and classmates.
Her burial early this month drew a large crowd of sympathisers to Kakum, including a large contingent of youth corps members serving in Obudu.]
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[5th October 2009
PRESS RELEASE
We Insist on Justice for Slain NYSC Member; NO to Indecent-Dressing Bill.
Afenifere wishes to condole with the family and colleagues of Miss
Grace Ushang, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) participant
raped to death in Maiduguri, Borno State, by suspected religious
fundamentalists who said they were incited by her wearing a pair of
regulation khaki trousers.
We urge The Presidency to investigate the incident and ensure the
speedy arrest and prosecution of these animals. The perpetrators of
this crime must not be treated with hid gloves. They must be made to
feel the full wrath of the law, together with their backers.
While the whole world awaits authority's reaction to this ugly
episode, Afenifere wishes to warn that the determination of this case
will dictate the South-West's subsequent directives to our sons and
daughters as per their participation in the NYSC programme and their
residence and work in certain parts of Nigeria.
We cannot continue to expose our kinsmen to the belligerence of hostile host communities.
It will be recalled that last year, the South-West lost some of its
youths, murdered in cold-blood by fundamentalists fighting in Jos,
Plateau State. Such incidents erode the very essence of the NYSC
programme and question its raison d'etre, which is to foster national
unity.
However, we shall not stand by and watch unchecked radicalism
spill the blood of Southern youths needlessly, especially where
beneficiaries show the utmost disdain for their presence and
sacrifice.
Meanwhile, Afenifere cannot but draw a parallel between the killing of
Miss Grace Ushang and recent happenings in fundamentalist Sudan, where a female journalist was jailed by a Sharia court for wearing trousers.
We feel uncomfortable that the Indecent Dressing Bill before the
National Assembly mirrors that article of the Sudanese penal code
under which the female journalist, Ms. Lubnah Hussain, was indicted
and punished.
We hereby reject that Bill with a loud NO. Henceforth,
we shall instruct our representatives in the Senate and the House of
Representatives to rally all well-meaning Nigerians from the
North-East, North-West, North-Central, South-South and South East, in order to actively work against the reading, debating and passage of
that Bill.
Such a draconian and religion-tainted law must not be stopped at all costs. It endangers the very essence of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It is one more attempt to slip religion into our statute books and it is not acceptable.
Afenifere throws its weight behind all moves to kill the Indecent Dressing Bill.
CHIEF REUBEN FASORANTI, OFR
Afenifere Leader.]
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Dear All,
I can categorically CONFIRM that the Indecent Dressing Bill sponsored by Senator Eme Ufot Ekaette (Akwa Ibom) has NOTHING to do with and is different from the SEXUAL OFFENCES BILL sponsored by Senator Chris Anyanwu (Imo).
Senator Chris Anyanwu stands high as a very well respected individual and professional and it would have been a surprise if she was associated with the Indecent Dressing Bill.
The Sexual Offences Bill also includes Public Nudity as an offence within it and should not be confused with Indecent Dressing.
Regards.
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GUARDIAN
[Monday, November 02, 2009
The murder of youth corps member, Grace Ushang
WEEKS after Miss Grace Ushang, a serving member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was raped and murdered in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, law enforcement agents are yet to fish out her killers, this regardless of an order to that effect by the House of Representatives. But this should not be surprising: evidence from the past indicate that the Nigeria Police are not known to solve homicide cases so soon, if ever, be it the murder of the nations' No. 1 law officer, or of Citizen Joe.
Be that as it may, for at least three reasons, those who willfully assault and kill a ward of the Federal Government of Nigeria - for that is what every serving corps member is - must be found and punished.
The police must find the killers firstly to deter future assailants and stop forthwith what appears to be a despicable trend across the country; secondly, to reassure our youths who must perform this statutory duty of service to the nation, and thirdly, to assure parents, guardians and all citizens that there is still an effective government in charge of law and order in their country.
It would be recalled that coming on the heels of the brutal murder of three youth corps members in Jos last November, President Umaru Yar'Adua said, appropriately, that "all NYSC members serving in the country are my personal guests and I therefore direct security agencies to take more than a casual interest in the security around them." This is, by the understanding of all reasonable men, a presidential directive that should earn top priority in application. Sadly, it does not seem to cut ice with our security agencies.
And so occurred the needless death of 25-year old Miss Ushang. In Ekiti State, Miss Antonia Okeke, another youth corps member, has been missing since mid-December 2008. In Benin City, University of Benin graduate Miss Osaze Omorodion was shot dead in her residence by persons suspected to be armed robbers.
In July this year, corps member Olamide Ogunyemi was beaten up by soldiers over some misunderstanding. They would not listen to his claim that he was a corps member. He sustained a broken wrist and a cracked skull.
Last week, it was reported that some youth corps members serving in Sunkai, a town in Taraba State, were beaten up by villagers. "We are glad none of us was injured, even though we were mercilessly beaten," one victim was quoted to say.
These incidents negate everything that the NYSC scheme was conceived to achieve and it diminishes us as a people. For we should value and encourage the role of our youths in community development.
One objective of the NYSC, among others, is "to develop common ties among our youths and promote national unity by ensuring that ... the youths are exposed to the modes of living of people of the people in different parts of the country..." But the increasing incidents of assault by host communities of persons who are supposed to be on national service undermine the letters and the spirit of an otherwise useful scheme. Not only prospective participants but parents and relations will seek to avoid serving in what they might consider 'hostile environments'.
The Inspector-General of Police and the Borno State Commissioner of Police have some explaining to do.
The Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff's reported statement that "corps members ought to know the kind of persons they associate or interact with ...to make sure you do not go where you are not supposed to go" is needless and besides the point. Lest he forgets, he swore to strive to preserve the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy which state, among other things that "the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government."
He has failed in this specific respect and the state should pay some damages to the family of the deceased. We could also say that, for their incapability to protect guest-workers sent and paid for by the Federal Government, to develop their areas of jurisdiction, the local government authorities, and traditional rulership bear some responsibility for this heinous crime.
There is no culture or religion that encourages hostility towards guests who have come on a well-meaning mission to contribute to the development of their host communities.
We therefore urge the traditional rulers and religious leaders to educate their communities and followers respectively that the world, being much larger, diverse, and complex than they do perceive, they must eschew intolerance towards persons from other cultures.
Besides, they must be told that it is impolite, even risky, to treat guests with hostility especially if they are on national assignment at the behest of the federal authority.
In July, President Umaru Yar'Adua told the Batch'B' corps members that the NYSC holds "a pivotal place" to achieve national integration and sustainable development and "we must steadfastly engender the requisite enabling environment for our youths to optimally realise their creative and productive capabilities." There is no disputing this. However, assaulting, maiming and killing these youths with impunity, north, south, east and west, will erode public faith in the efficacy of the NYSC scheme.]
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NEXT on SUNDAY
[HERE AND THERE: All breasts must be closed
Amma Ogan
November 14, 2009 10
2PMT
Does anyone remember that ‘only in Nigeria' injunction issued by a military administrator in the good old days of FESTAC to wit: "All breasts must be closed." The minister, navy man by the name of Admiral Fingesi, if I recall correctly, was calling attention to his desire to introduce some modification into the cultural fare our international visitors would be entertained with.
All dancing maidens were to cover their chests with suitable apparel hence the admonition to close breasts.
I suppose one interpretation of this could be you do not allow a first time visitor into your bedroom. To paraphrase John Donne in, ‘To Mistress on going to bed', it was an act to stop the eyes of busy fools, in this case ignorant strangers: busy because they lacked the knowledge or decorum to focus on anything else. The Second World African Festival of Arts and Culture held in July 1977 was literally going to turn the country into a very very big parlour indeed.
Southern Africans still adhere to this particular aspect of their culture. Bare breasted Zulu maidens wear their nudity naturally and proudly during their traditional rituals and there is nothing lewd about it.
But out of that circle of language and understanding, which we refer to as culture, those maidens are translated to something stripped of purity on the websites of prurient foreigners. The pictures of the Swazi Reed ceremony that fly across the internet attest in this particular instance to that famous quotation by Shakespeare's Hamlet: "there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so." How far we have come.
One hopes that Mrs. Ekaette Ufot's ill considered Anti nudity Bill will soon see be as closed as the Admiral's command, and for good at that.
But just how, one wonders, does the Senator envision such a law would be enforced, and by whom? That is the real question.
Policemen at checkpoints or belligerent area boys ordering, "comot dat your wrappa mek I show you how you suppose for tie am;" or," the registrar cannot sign your certificate if you wear that blouse."
My earliest recalled contact with rural life, were those annual Christmas expeditions from Lagos heading east, a four day journey that navigated the treacherous roads from Lagos to the hinterland breaking the journey from one catering guest house in Benin, to the other; camping out on the untarred jetty in Asaba in the long wait to make the ferry crossing to Onitsha, the Niger had not yet been bridged.
Then it was on to the warm embrace of long missed aunts and uncles in Enugu, Aba, Port Harcourt, venturing through, Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, Oron to Calabar, where pioneering maternal grandparents had made their abode. My father would be at the wheel, my mother at his side, and four of us as we numbered then, squeezed in the back, between bags and boxes of chin chin and Gem biscuits.
Sometimes we would have to disembark and wait for hours for the road to be repaired, the wooden bridge to be reinforced and the car eased along while we followed on foot.
Imagine making that journey today, dodging kidnappers all the way! I learnt instinctively from the behaviour of those around me that one did not see the breasts of elderly, bare-chested women, because you knew that it was simply disrespectful to do so. Our male ancestors did not run around like wild dogs in heat panting at the sight of young girls with their breasts uncovered.
There were no guards stationed around the tree-curtained stream where I, along with other women and young girls went to bathe. No one would dare crane a neck over the gully to sneak a peek at the section of the same river that ran through the nine clans, where the men took care of their ablutions. The rules were understood and respected. It had nothing to do with a romanticised picture of an idyllic past. It was simply the way people, our people, us, lived and ordered their lives. The dignity of one was the dignity of all.
How far we have come.
Youthcorper Grace Ushang is gang raped and murdered while on national duty in Borno State. Somali ‘hardliners' are whipping Somali women in the streets for wearing bras, making them jump up and down to see if their breasts jiggle. The brassiere today, it may be pants tomorrow, is now an enemy weapon of indoctrination and men can only be men if they are inflicting their mad will on a woman.
But our federal legislators who are contemplating the passage of the Mrs. Ufot's Indecency Bill survey the whole terrain of Nigerian dysfunction and are exercised by one thought, to disempower Nigerian women and degrade Nigerian men.]
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TUESDAY 24th November NEXT
[Government orders police protection for youth corps members’ residence
By Ruona Agbroko
November 24, 2009 01-38AMT
Nigerian president, Umar Musa Yar`Adua has instructed the Inspector General of Police, Ogbonnaya Onovo to provide “twenty-four hour police protection” for National Youth Corps Service (NYSC) members nationwide, the Minister of Youth Development, Akinlabi Olasunkanmi, said at the weekend.
This is in response to the recent attacks and killings of corps members in some states of the federation.
A statement signed at the weekend by Rasheed Olawale, an aide to Mr. Olasunkanmi said all commissioners of police in the 36 states and Abuja had been notified of the president’s directive.
Mr. Olasunkami announced the president’s decision, while presenting a paper titled: “Our Youth, Democracy and Nation building,” at a lecture organized by the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) in Osogbo.
“States governments must, however, make this feasible by building corps members’ lodges where these young Nigerians in service of the fatherland can be accommodated and secured throughout the duration of the service year,” he said.
The vulnerability of corps members became an issue of national concern, when Ibukun Akinjogbin, Leke Akande and Tola Odusola, were killed on November 28th, 2008 in their residences in Plateau State by a mob protesting the Jos council elections.
On September 26, 2009, Grace Uchang, a 25-year-old serving in Borno State, was raped and killed near her residence in the Customs area of Maiduguri.
Also, three weeks ago, on November 03, 2009, two females undertaking their national service in Kano State were raped at gunpoint by a gang of 14 young men at the official ‘Corpers lodge’ of Adamu Secondary School, in Fagge area of Kano. Authorities have not released the identity of the victims, disclosing only that one is a native of Lagos State while the other hails from Oyo State.
These, coupled with instances where corps members died of illnesses as well in road accidents whilst travelling to and from their places of assignments, have strengthened the position of Nigerians calling for the scrapping of the scheme. The calls have been very vocal in recent times.
Meeting critical needs
However, the spokesperson for the NYSC, Abdulwahab Obomeile, has blamed state governments for the lack of security for youth corps members. In an article sent to media houses at the weekend, Mr. Obomeile said the accusation that the NYSC was “camping people’s children in decrepit hostels and unsecure camps,” was an unfair one.
“The NYSC cannot force a state government to provide conducive camping environment,” he said. Admitting that corps members “have no input into their deployment and posting for national service in strange land, except cases involving married women and those with life-threatening illnesses,” Mr. Obomeile said the NYSC had been agitating for better living standards for youth corps members and that some state governments were responding.
The NYSC official said the nation would suffer if the scheme was cancelled as demanded by some people.
“A lot of schools, particularly in the rural areas would close without the regular supply of corps members,” he said. “In very extreme cases, corps members serve as principals, vice principals, games masters and tutors.”]
last week I sent Anthony, Ivor, and a host of my FB buddies, a number of videos, highligting examples, of the evil of , Sharia and Islamic fundamentalism, in Indonesia, Pakistan and even in the good old, USof A. Though, a few, of my FB buddies responded, I never heard back from either Anthony or Ivor. I warned that Nigeria is inching towards a Sharia state, as many Northern States have already adopted a Sharia stance. I warned that this sleepy evil ,is being ignored, at the peril of ,Southerners and Christians alike. I also mentioned, in one of my D&R comments, that I do not feel safe, when I venture up North, and do my best, not to go past Abuja. All this, seemed like the chatter, of one consumed by paranoia, and advocating, separatist ideologies. Anthony and Ivor, my dear brothers in the "struggle", I hate to say it, but......"I told you so"! Aluta Continua.