₦airaland Forum

Either of MBBS or Agriculture is not a guarantee for success. We have many poor doctors and very suCcessful farmers. If eventually u got to study medicine and graduated and u are still not successful(God forbid,but it happens) u will never forgive ur self. We ALL claim medicine,law,engineering are our passion,but I think we've been coerced and doctrined to make it our passion by virtue of societal backup and marketing muscle of those courses. So beyond external effect and societal peristalsis,you need to re appraise yourself once more to get a cobweb free answer. A lot could be achieved in a year and a year could also not be too much to sacrifice. A lot of my doctors friends has ended up on IT while me of my colleagues(I'm in the pharmaceutical sector) are not particularly fulfilled that they're pharmacists. So Dear, passion is what could affect positively the populace. It never nslates as monetary benefit.

I don't agree wt this. Using the obvious parameters, lionel Messi did not deserve all the Ballon d' or he's won. So some silent parameters come into play in awarding AFOY. Cos for me, if it's about club and country participation then JJ Okocha should still be in court with CAF. Once u are nominated as best three, u are good enough to win the accolade. Mikel Obi, if eventually given is worth beign the AFOY. Sentiments apart,it's when the going gets tough that coaches instantly pk the option of a Mikel as a sub and that is to depict how startegically important he is for chelsea f.c. He is indeed a special player. He's part of the very few that Abrahamovich gave an applaud for scoring a goal. He contributes better to his club than the present Drogba and he won more trophies than Yaya last season. I think in all, I suspect OP as an arsenal or Man U fan!
#teammikelobi#

You forgot to mention "most corrupt leader".
How much were u paid?

Hope of final resolution of the ongoing strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was dashed on Saturday,  as the union has vowed to continue with the industrial action.
This was the outcome of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting secretly held in Kano, where it was agreed that the strike would continue until it got concrete assurance of implementation of all agreements from the Federal Government.

In a release the union sent to its members and obtained by Sunday Tribune, it said: “…based on feedback from branches, the union resolved to clear some grey areas before any further action. If we must remove strikes as a regular feature in our University system, then we must get things sorted out permanently. Be steadfast as we await  next congress meeting.”

Attempts by pressmen, who had positioned themselves at the Bayero University Kano as early as 7 a.m. yesterday, to get the outcome of the meeting were unsuccessful, as it was learnt that the branch chairmen of the union across the country, which converged on Kano on Friday, had decided not to talk to the media.

Sunday Tribune reliably gathered that the ASUU NEC was still meeting as of 7 p.m. yesterday, hoping to reach a concrete decision which it would transmit to other members at the next congress meeting.

According to a source, who spoke to Sunday Tribune on  condition of anonymity, though the union agreed that the offer by Federal Government to inject N200 billion into universities annually, beginning from 2014 and for the next four years was sensible, members were skeptical about the implementation of all the agreements reached.

“We agreed that the Federal Government’s offer is sensible but we are not convinced about its implementation and so we have to continue the strike so as to fully sort things out to avoid future strikes,” the source stated.

ASUU had embarked on the strike in July, following the failure of the Federal Government to implement a 2009 agreement it entered into with the union, citing the needs to upgrade the universities to world standards and improve the condition of service of the lecturers, among others, with the Federal Government releasing N100billion for the improvement of universities and N40 billion to be shared as earned allowance, while promising to make more funds available.

Sunday Tribune, however, gathered that a fresh crisis might have been set off in the union over the issue of earned allowance.

According to the source, the manner university management shared the earned allowance among varsity workers was already causing  disaffection among ASUU members.  The lecturers, it was learnt, felt bitter that their struggle had only benefited SSANU and NASU which did not participate in the strike but got hefty returns, “because the managements have shared the allowance wrongly.

“ASUU members got less than they deserved from the allowance while other unions fed fat from it; it looks as if we only fought for other unions. Members are really angry about this,” he said, noting that these were some of the issues that would be tabled at the congress of the union later in the week.

Other contentious issues, stated the source, “are the 2009 agreement which is due for re-negotioation and our salary. We felt that until these are resolved, it will be futile to call off the strike. So the strike continues.”

Source: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Diseases, such as cancer, kidney failure, and diabetes, do not start in a day. The symptoms must have been manifesting one way or the other, but many that have been afflicted by these conditions ignored or dismissed them for various reasons – usually negligence.

In some cases, especially for the religious, life-threatening diseases only strike the unfaithful or those who have allowed the devil to interfere. Even when the signs have generated to symptoms, they would rather choose to live in denial or simply continue to ‘reject’ the issues.

Doctors state that 95 per cent of diseases claiming people’s lives daily in thousands could be prevented if people took their health and some signs they give seriously by going to a physician.

They  stress that not every sickness can be ‘rejected’ and hypertension, stroke and heart attack are not a reward for drinking too much, smoking or other vices that many are quick to blame for serious life-threatening diseases.

The Chief Medical Director, Active Hospitals, Lekki, Lagos State , Dr. Odun Johnson,  says the joy of any doctor is a patient that comes on time, adding that by doing so, the life of that individual who would have died of kidney failure if he ignored the blood in his urine is saved.

Johnson says, “I see patients suffer diseases that could have been effectively treated if detected early and no one is more pained than the doctor whose efforts  at saving lives is wasted.

 “No death is sudden if not an accident. The body must have been giving red-light signals like the warnings you see on your dash board. You have been seeing blood in your urine, is it wise to dismiss it? You should know that blood is not meant to show up in that channel, you should complain to a doctor and not pray that it will stop showing.”

 A professor of internal medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, United States of America, Neil Shulman, states that medical symptoms are there to prevent deaths from occurring.

He says, “It happens all the time, a symptom is missed – and it leads to a tragic ending. Or it’s caught just in time, and a life is saved. People feel aches, pains, lumps and bumps. But they must know when it is important or not for them to take a step or dismiss it.”

You need not fear when next you feel that pang of headache, not all medical symptoms will become serious but Shulman, in his book, ‘Your Body’s Red Light Warning Signals,’ gives some medical symptoms that mean that you need urgent medical attention.

• If you have unexplained weight loss and/or loss of appetite, you may have a serious underlying medical illness.

“If you’re on a diet, you’re expecting this to happen. But if you’re eating the same way – and now have to adjust your belt a few notches tighter – you could have a serious problem,” Shulman says.

“With ovarian cancer, the opposite is true,” he says. “Fluid builds in the abdomen, and women think they are gaining weight. But if you have been at the same weight range for years, and doing nothing different, see a doctor.”

• Slurred speech, paralysis, weakness, tingling, burning pains, numbness, and confusion are signs of a stroke, and you should get to an appropriate emergency centre immediately. Early treatment may prevent permanent damage to the brain or even save your life.

Slurred speech can often go unnoticed, says Shulman. However, you might have a blood clot in a blood vessel going to the brain or bleeding in a blood vessel.

• Black, tarry stools may indicate a hemorrhage from an ulcer of the stomach or the intestine. It is important to stop the bleeding and to rule out cancer as a cause.

What you eat changes the colour of stools. But black, tarry stools mean there may be bleeding higher in the intestine, says Shulman. It could be a sign of a bleeding ulcer or cancer in the intestine.

• A headache accompanied by a stiff neck and fever is an indicator of a serious infection called meningitis.

In fact, if you can’t put your chin on your chest, that’s a sign you may have bacterial meningitis, says Shulman. You need antibiotics immediately to kill the bacteria before it infects and scars the brain.

• A sudden, agonising headache, more severe than any you have felt before, could mean you are bleeding in the brain. Go to an emergency room immediately.

A brain aneurysm is rare, but it can happen – even in people under 40. “It can be very disastrous if it’s not treated,” says Shulman. If you have a severe, crushing headache, you may have an aneurysm, which is a blood-filled pouch bulging out from a weak spot in the wall of a brain artery. If treated before it bursts, it could save your life.

• For women, vaginal bleeding after menopause is a warning sign of possible cancer.

Some women are in denial when they discover postmenopausal bleeding. “Others think it’s a little cut, or something in their urine,” says Shulman. But bleeding after menopause is a sign of uterine cancer, which is treatable if caught early.

• For men, a lump in your testicle with or without a small lump in the groin could be serious. Testicular cancer is more commonly found in testicles that did not naturally descend from the abdomen to the scrotum.

Guys, when you take a shower, check yourself, says Shulman. “That doesn’t mean you have to do it every day, but once in a while. It’s so simple, simpler than washing your hair. It becomes an automatic thing, then it’s easier to remember. If you know what ‘normal’ feels like, then you’ll know when it feels abnormal.”

Nlanders....wu got it wrong?

Its all about U!!!

How will you rate this drunkard? A good guy, or a bad guy?

How do you enjoy drinking "pure water"? Do u SQUEEZE d satchet or tilt ur head backwards. Which is a better drinking habit?

Some will say shortcake as popularly called while i preferred the round one cos it sometimes comes in 5s. which was yours and why[img][/img]

WOSILAT!(Ibadan version of Moxilla)

[color=#990000][/color]LUKAFOOL!!!!!!!

Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima has come under attack from a cross-section of Nigerians over a debate on “full age” of female Nigerians. In this interview, he insists that he didn’t regret his actions.

You have been the butt of criticisms for the past one week over what is now widely tagged ‘girl-child marriage.’ What actually happened at the Senate and what exactly was your role?
In the first place, a lot of Nigerians are not conversant with the Nigerian Constitution. The Constitution recognises three systems of justice – the Shari’a Law, the Common Law and the Customary Law – and makes ample provisions to protect adherents of all religions - Islam, Christianity and traditional religions. Most of these provisions have been there since the 1979 Constitution. This particularly contentious section was there in the 1979 Constitution and is also in the 1999 Constitution.
Section 29 of the 1999 Constitution talks of the rights of a citizen of full age to renounce his citizenship. The core issue is not the renunciation, but the definition of full age. What defines full age? Section 29 (4) (a) of the Constitution says full age means any person who is 18 years old and above. And there is the (b) part which says any married woman is considered to be of full age. Why does it say this? It is because the Second Schedule Part 1, Item 61 of the Constitution clearly ousted powers of the National Assembly to make any law regarding marriages under Islamic Law and Customary Law. The Schedule says the National Assembly can make laws on the formation and annulment of marriages, excluding marriages under Islamic Law and Customary Law.
So the issue is the definition of what full age is. Everybody, including Christians, knows there are sources of Islamic Law, largely the Quran and teachings and practice of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBH). Section 29 (4) b conforms with Islamic Law. Under Islamic Law, any girl that has reached the age of puberty is a full-age woman. What is puberty in Islam? Puberty is when a girl starts menstruating or she has extended breasts; she is of full age. Any girl that has started menstruation can be married out. This is a sign of maturity. Therefore, if your daughter starts her menstruation at the age of nine, 13, 14, at whatever age, she is of full age and she can marry at that age, once she is mature as far as Islamic Law is concerned
The Child Rights Act today, as it is, has nothing to do with Islamic Law. It only affects those who conduct their marriages under the Common Law. Even if you conduct your marriage under Customary Law, as the Igbos do, and you don’t go for Christian wedding, and you marry a girl of 14 years, nobody cares, because the Constitution says the National Assembly cannot make laws that affect formation and annulment of marriages.
We should realise that in this country, the only thing that can guarantee peace is adhering to Section 38 of the Constitution which guarantees freedom of religion. That provision makes me, as a Muslim, to respect the opinions, religious beliefs and aspirations of the Christian, while the Christian should also respect my own religious beliefs.
People are just trying to overheat the system. But really, there is nothing there to overheat because this provision is in the Constitution. We didn’t make this Constitution but are only trying to amend it. Those who put it in the Constitution were trying to protect the interest of the Muslims who believe in Islamic Law. Anybody who doesn’t believe in Islamic Law will have nothing to do with it.

But how did your particular remarks spark off a whole lot of controversy?
What really happened was that when the voting was going on, I didn’t notice it. Even when the debate was going on at the committee level, I wasn’t there. I had gone to Lagos and when I arrived there, they had passed that section. It wasn’t discussed in my presence, otherwise I would have raised an observation. But when I saw it in the constitutional amendment, that they wanted to remove it, I raised an observation.
By the time I saw it, the election had been conducted and the Senate had agreed to remove the section. Then I got up and said that, “Mr. President, this section was put in there to protect Muslims who believe in Islamic Law, and removing it would be affecting the right of Muslims. Moreover, I pointed out, removing it would not be in conformity with the relevant part of the Second Schedule which restricts the National Assembly from making laws on the formation and annulment of marriages. But he said, “unfortunately, Senator Yerima, we have voted and you should have raised this issue before voting. Now that we have voted, we cannot do otherwise.”
So I sat down. It was time for prayers and I went to pray. When I came back from prayers, I met the Deputy Senate president raising a point after voting, trying to explain something in order to reverse voting that had been cast on an issue. It was then the Senate Leader also raised another observation on the next issue. Then, I raised an observation that, ‘Mr. President, you said the observation I raised on my issue cannot be revisited because it has been voted upon, but now that there is revisiting of voting on other issues, I demand that my issue be voted upon again.’ Then Danjuma Goje raised his hand and supported me. Of course, he made some remarks to the effect of double-standard, which the Senate president was not happy about. Maybe he (Goje) should have put it that if he (the Senate president) could allow the other two people to revisit their observations, then he should have allowed Yerima’s observation.
Anyway, Mr. President in his wisdom, accepted. David Mark has been a wonderful Senate president since I knew him in his first term as president of the Senate. He is a good listener and tries to ensure he carries everybody along. He is also very sensitive about matters affecting not only religion but every individual. He wants fairness. And so he said, “for that reason, we will vote again.” And when we voted, we won. This is the issue.
Before the voting, the Deputy Senate president raised an observation that this issue is not a matter of marriage but on the renunciation of citizenship. But I said that, well, my concern is on the definition of full age. I just wanted the vote because in my religion, under Islamic Law, full age is not defined by age. Once a girl reaches puberty, she is of full age.

You just spoke highly of the Senate president. But he was reported by the newspapers to have said senators voted to support your observation under blackmail. Were senators truly blackmailed, and how?
I don’t see the word “blackmail” as used by Senate president David Mark as negatively used. It’s semantic. I didn’t see it as a negative statement. Whenever I am criticised for my actions by the media or the public, what I try to get from that criticism is where I have gone wrong and I try to correct it. But when I am sure I am doing the right thing, it doesn’t bother me. Praise-singing doesn’t flatter me. I don’t believe in praise-singers who will always tell me I am a champion. The most important thing is that I believe in my faith and I know I would be accountable for my actions when I die.
I know I will face criticisms, I will continue to have this problem because I am a Muslim and I cannot change my faith. A committed Christian will face the same problem I am going through. Today, the Western world is losing their values. Churches are being sold because few people go to churches. They are trying to change the world into a free world to give the impression that nothing like God exists. They first started to separate State from religion. In Nigeria, that is difficult because if the Constitution itself recognises religion, then it is part of our political system.
When the gay marriage bill came to the National Assembly and the West said if we don’t pass it we would not receive aid and grants, the Senate president said “to hell with aid and grants” if only we have to pass the bill.

The Senate president also hinted the early marriage issue will be revisited? With the barrage of criticisms that attended this voting, do you see a change in the voting process?
That is when there will be another constitutional amendment, not now. But I am telling you, if we revisit this issue one million times, we will not have two-thirds of the votes to pass it. Any constitutional amendment requires two-thirds of the Senate and two-thirds of the House of Representatives. Every Muslim who understands what Islam is will not vote to remove that section of the Constitution. If it is voting to put the clause there, that is a different thing entirely; then I should be accused of bringing something sensitive into the Constitution. But it is already there and I only said, “don’t remove it”, in keeping to my faith. What is wrong with that? The framers of the Constitution knew what they were doing by putting it there.

Are you sure we will not have more of your colleagues who would say they voted in error and ignorance the first time, like Senator Ayo Akinyelure from Ondo State claimed he did, and would vote in the other direction the next time?
He didn’t even know how he voted. That is the power of God and you can’t challenge that power. There were Muslims who wanted to vote in favour of retaining the section, but they voted yes, which meant “remove it”. Maybe that man wanted to vote no against Yerima, but his “no” to the committee meant “leave it”. So he had to face his people back home to cry he voted in error.

Were you expecting the strong backlash that has attended your observation, re-voting and the result?
I have become used to it. As I said, Nigerians are lazy or carelessly unaware of our laws. When I introduced the issue of Shari’a, for example, I was expecting it to be a local affair and my only area of concern was how to address the fears of Christians in my state. So I called for a meeting of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) leaders and explained the issue to them. They have always supported me, especially the Lady of Fatima. They have been strong supporters of my campaign and, till today, they still support me. I explained to them I would be implementing the Shari’a law in Zamfara State. Then, anybody who heard anything about Shari’a was thinking somebody would be killed. But I explained to them that Shari’a is only about the principle and practice of Islam and does not affect anybody who is not a Muslim.
I made it clear there was no compulsion about religion. If there is a case between a Muslim and a Muslim, it goes to the Shari’a court. If there is a case between a Muslim and government, it goes to the Shari’a court. I told them if there is a case involving Christians, it goes to a magistrate court. Someone raised an observation that what would happen if it is a case between a Muslim and a Christian and I said in that case, it is the right of the Christian to choose which court to go. To be cautious, we said if a Christian decides to go to a Shari’a court in a case involving him and a Muslim, the Christian should put his application in writing and the CAN signature must be appended on it, so that tomorrow, he would not say he was forced to appear before a Shari’a court.
When I came up with that Shari’a law, many people began shouting. I received more than 5,000 letters from Amnesty International from all over the world. It was when I announced I would be implementing the Shari’a law that I knew the enormity of protest that would confront me. Initially, I thought it was a just a local affair. Christian leaders have endorsed, after discussion, the implementation. They said, “go ahead.” They even asked at the meeting what and what I was going to ban. I told them I wasn’t banning anything new. The Northern Nigeria Penal Code, which has been operating since the British colonial era, has banned alcoholism, has banned prostitution and has banned gambling, so these are not new issues. The only issue is that I am bringing in the Shari’a court to provide full jurisdiction cover for the Shari’a law, both criminal and civil. So the Christians leaders said, “no problem then, once it doesn’t affect us.”
When the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo called us to a National Security Council meeting, he was shouting, “Yerima o, Yerima o, you want to cause problem for us, you are introducing an unconstitutional matter.” I told him, “No, no, sir, it’s not unconstitutional.” Even late Bola Ige, who was Minister of Justice said, “this is unconstitutional.” And I said no, “your Honourable Minister, you are not the one to interpret the Constitution. I am relying on Section 6, sub-sections 4 and 5 which state specifically that only the Supreme Court can provide jurisdiction. I am also relying on Section 36 sub-section 12 which states that if you are creating any law, it has to be qualified. So I complied with that sub-section by qualifying my law. I am also complying with all the other sections of the Constitution, a fact I mentioned to the Justice Minister.
I told him it was not for him to interpret. The same Constitution provides that it is only the Supreme Court that can interpret the Constitution’s provisions. So if he wants, he could take me to court. The federal government could take me to the Supreme Court and if the Supreme Court says I am not doing the right thing, then I would stop it. In fact, I would resign.
One of the laws was put to test. I signed a law establishing what I called the Hizbah, which they called the state police. It wasn’t a state police; it was just to support the Shari’a project. The Kano State government then adopted the initiative and the federal government took the Kano State government to court. The Supreme Court interpreted it that it was a right constitutional provision. Till today, Kano State has the Hizbah because the Supreme Court has approved it, correctly interpreting the section of the Constitution that we relied on to enact the law.
It is the same thing with this issue; people don’t know the Constitution. In fact, many Nigerians don’t even know there is a provision for the Shari’a in the Constitution. Somebody was telling me the Nigerian Constitution is a secular one. I told him no, the Nigerian Constitution defines Nigeria as a multi-religion society because it recognises Christianity, Islam and traditional religions.

Were you ever embarrassed by scathing articles and cartoons attacking your name on this marriage age controversy?
No. If you are doing the right thing and your conscience is very clear, you won’t be embarrassed by people abusing you. Most of these abuses arise either out of ignorance or out of sheer deliberate mischief to cause embarrassment. Some Muslims who abuse me are either being hired or sponsored by non-governmental organisations. I have been taught to be patient. This is a matter of belief and faith.

The argument by civil society groups is that there is no way the educational progress, health and true love feelings and emotions of a girl will not be affected if she is given out in marriage at 13 years. How wrong are they?
Civil society groups just say what they are not informed about because their projects are being funded. And they keep silent when it suits their interests. Look at the issue of gay marriage. Religious organisations in Nigeria have been condemning gay marriage, but civil society groups here are either silent on it or even saying it should be approved. In the United Kingdom, they say the marriageable age for a girl is 18 years. It was 16 then they changed it to 18. But a girl, in current UK laws, is of full age when she is 14 years. At 14, she can buy contraceptives, she can have sex, but she cannot marry. I saw a bill by one of their parliamentarians saying because of the growing number of their girls getting pregnant and delivering at 10, 12, 14 years, they should reduce their marriageable age to 12 years.
They are Christians but they accept that a lady can buy contraceptives at the age of 14 because that is their own definition of full age. In the United States of America, their problem now is teenage pregnancy and birth. Why? Because they allow girls to have sex at 12, 13 years but they don’t want early girl marriage, they don’t want a family arrangement My religion, Islam, and even Christianity, does not accept sex out of marriage.
Those who are marrying at 12 years, are they not going to school? My wife has just completed her Master’s degree at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. She is a medical doctor. The Egyptian I married recently is in school. Yes, she has a child, she is 17 years, but she is in school. They said I married her when she was 13 years but actually she was 14. Her family status does not affect her education. It depends on the particular family values. I believe in education. All my children are educated. I have three daughters who have graduated from the university. One is an accountant, one a pharmacist and one is on her own. I have a 16-year-old daughter who will be marrying in September and she is in 200 Level in the university.
Somebody was asking me: Can you give your 13-year-old daughter out in marriage? If she has a husband at 10 years old, I will give her out in marriage if she is mature enough. I will highly celebrate the marriage of my 16-year-old daughter in September and let me see who will tell me I am doing something unlawful or wrong in any way. It is nobody’s business. The husband is also doing his Master’s and they will continue their lives from there. I also married my first wife when she was 16 to 17 years.
It is a shame in my family to see a girl having sex without being married. But some families don’t care. Beyond Islam, there are some strict Christian families who will not allow men to come near their daughters unless those two children are married. But some families don’t care. Some parents, both in Islam and Christianity, will even go in and call their unmarried daughters for boyfriends because they want to claim they are westernised. That is their life. But I value my religion.
But then, that is my religion. I won’t foreclose the fact that Christians can equally do it their own way. In my youth service days, there were NYSC ladies who were Scripture Union members living in the same compound with me. My room adjoined theirs. Many days and nights, they would be conducting their programmes, praying, shouting “Alleluyah” and other Christian songs, but that didn’t bother me. Sometimes, I would sleep off. They preached to me and I preached to them. They would cook food, invite me to eat; I would also cook food and invite them to eat. We spent about six months together before I left the house. So, this religion thing should not divide us in Nigeria. But some people are using it as a weapon to divide us

Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima has come under attack from a cross-section of Nigerians over a debate on “full age” of female Nigerians. In this interview, he insists that he didn’t regret his actions.

You have been the butt of criticisms for the past one week over what is now widely tagged ‘girl-child marriage.’ What actually happened at the Senate and what exactly was your role?
In the first place, a lot of Nigerians are not conversant with the Nigerian Constitution. The Constitution recognises three systems of justice – the Shari’a Law, the Common Law and the Customary Law – and makes ample provisions to protect adherents of all religions - Islam, Christianity and traditional religions. Most of these provisions have been there since the 1979 Constitution. This particularly contentious section was there in the 1979 Constitution and is also in the 1999 Constitution.
Section 29 of the 1999 Constitution talks of the rights of a citizen of full age to renounce his citizenship. The core issue is not the renunciation, but the definition of full age. What defines full age? Section 29 (4) (a) of the Constitution says full age means any person who is 18 years old and above. And there is the (b) part which says any married woman is considered to be of full age. Why does it say this? It is because the Second Schedule Part 1, Item 61 of the Constitution clearly ousted powers of the National Assembly to make any law regarding marriages under Islamic Law and Customary Law. The Schedule says the National Assembly can make laws on the formation and annulment of marriages, excluding marriages under Islamic Law and Customary Law.
So the issue is the definition of what full age is. Everybody, including Christians, knows there are sources of Islamic Law, largely the Quran and teachings and practice of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBH). Section 29 (4) b conforms with Islamic Law. Under Islamic Law, any girl that has reached the age of puberty is a full-age woman. What is puberty in Islam? Puberty is when a girl starts menstruating or she has extended breasts; she is of full age. Any girl that has started menstruation can be married out. This is a sign of maturity. Therefore, if your daughter starts her menstruation at the age of nine, 13, 14, at whatever age, she is of full age and she can marry at that age, once she is mature as far as Islamic Law is concerned
The Child Rights Act today, as it is, has nothing to do with Islamic Law. It only affects those who conduct their marriages under the Common Law. Even if you conduct your marriage under Customary Law, as the Igbos do, and you don’t go for Christian wedding, and you marry a girl of 14 years, nobody cares, because the Constitution says the National Assembly cannot make laws that affect formation and annulment of marriages.
We should realise that in this country, the only thing that can guarantee peace is adhering to Section 38 of the Constitution which guarantees freedom of religion. That provision makes me, as a Muslim, to respect the opinions, religious beliefs and aspirations of the Christian, while the Christian should also respect my own religious beliefs.
People are just trying to overheat the system. But really, there is nothing there to overheat because this provision is in the Constitution. We didn’t make this Constitution but are only trying to amend it. Those who put it in the Constitution were trying to protect the interest of the Muslims who believe in Islamic Law. Anybody who doesn’t believe in Islamic Law will have nothing to do with it.

But how did your particular remarks spark off a whole lot of controversy?
What really happened was that when the voting was going on, I didn’t notice it. Even when the debate was going on at the committee level, I wasn’t there. I had gone to Lagos and when I arrived there, they had passed that section. It wasn’t discussed in my presence, otherwise I would have raised an observation. But when I saw it in the constitutional amendment, that they wanted to remove it, I raised an observation.
By the time I saw it, the election had been conducted and the Senate had agreed to remove the section. Then I got up and said that, “Mr. President, this section was put in there to protect Muslims who believe in Islamic Law, and removing it would be affecting the right of Muslims. Moreover, I pointed out, removing it would not be in conformity with the relevant part of the Second Schedule which restricts the National Assembly from making laws on the formation and annulment of marriages. But he said, “unfortunately, Senator Yerima, we have voted and you should have raised this issue before voting. Now that we have voted, we cannot do otherwise.”
So I sat down. It was time for prayers and I went to pray. When I came back from prayers, I met the Deputy Senate president raising a point after voting, trying to explain something in order to reverse voting that had been cast on an issue. It was then the Senate Leader also raised another observation on the next issue. Then, I raised an observation that, ‘Mr. President, you said the observation I raised on my issue cannot be revisited because it has been voted upon, but now that there is revisiting of voting on other issues, I demand that my issue be voted upon again.’ Then Danjuma Goje raised his hand and supported me. Of course, he made some remarks to the effect of double-standard, which the Senate president was not happy about. Maybe he (Goje) should have put it that if he (the Senate president) could allow the other two people to revisit their observations, then he should have allowed Yerima’s observation.
Anyway, Mr. President in his wisdom, accepted. David Mark has been a wonderful Senate president since I knew him in his first term as president of the Senate. He is a good listener and tries to ensure he carries everybody along. He is also very sensitive about matters affecting not only religion but every individual. He wants fairness. And so he said, “for that reason, we will vote again.” And when we voted, we won. This is the issue.
Before the voting, the Deputy Senate president raised an observation that this issue is not a matter of marriage but on the renunciation of citizenship. But I said that, well, my concern is on the definition of full age. I just wanted the vote because in my religion, under Islamic Law, full age is not defined by age. Once a girl reaches puberty, she is of full age.

You just spoke highly of the Senate president. But he was reported by the newspapers to have said senators voted to support your observation under blackmail. Were senators truly blackmailed, and how?
I don’t see the word “blackmail” as used by Senate president David Mark as negatively used. It’s semantic. I didn’t see it as a negative statement. Whenever I am criticised for my actions by the media or the public, what I try to get from that criticism is where I have gone wrong and I try to correct it. But when I am sure I am doing the right thing, it doesn’t bother me. Praise-singing doesn’t flatter me. I don’t believe in praise-singers who will always tell me I am a champion. The most important thing is that I believe in my faith and I know I would be accountable for my actions when I die.
I know I will face criticisms, I will continue to have this problem because I am a Muslim and I cannot change my faith. A committed Christian will face the same problem I am going through. Today, the Western world is losing their values. Churches are being sold because few people go to churches. They are trying to change the world into a free world to give the impression that nothing like God exists. They first started to separate State from religion. In Nigeria, that is difficult because if the Constitution itself recognises religion, then it is part of our political system.
When the gay marriage bill came to the National Assembly and the West said if we don’t pass it we would not receive aid and grants, the Senate president said “to hell with aid and grants” if only we have to pass the bill.

The Senate president also hinted the early marriage issue will be revisited? With the barrage of criticisms that attended this voting, do you see a change in the voting process?
That is when there will be another constitutional amendment, not now. But I am telling you, if we revisit this issue one million times, we will not have two-thirds of the votes to pass it. Any constitutional amendment requires two-thirds of the Senate and two-thirds of the House of Representatives. Every Muslim who understands what Islam is will not vote to remove that section of the Constitution. If it is voting to put the clause there, that is a different thing entirely; then I should be accused of bringing something sensitive into the Constitution. But it is already there and I only said, “don’t remove it”, in keeping to my faith. What is wrong with that? The framers of the Constitution knew what they were doing by putting it there.

Are you sure we will not have more of your colleagues who would say they voted in error and ignorance the first time, like Senator Ayo Akinyelure from Ondo State claimed he did, and would vote in the other direction the next time?
He didn’t even know how he voted. That is the power of God and you can’t challenge that power. There were Muslims who wanted to vote in favour of retaining the section, but they voted yes, which meant “remove it”. Maybe that man wanted to vote no against Yerima, but his “no” to the committee meant “leave it”. So he had to face his people back home to cry he voted in error.

Were you expecting the strong backlash that has attended your observation, re-voting and the result?
I have become used to it. As I said, Nigerians are lazy or carelessly unaware of our laws. When I introduced the issue of Shari’a, for example, I was expecting it to be a local affair and my only area of concern was how to address the fears of Christians in my state. So I called for a meeting of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) leaders and explained the issue to them. They have always supported me, especially the Lady of Fatima. They have been strong supporters of my campaign and, till today, they still support me. I explained to them I would be implementing the Shari’a law in Zamfara State. Then, anybody who heard anything about Shari’a was thinking somebody would be killed. But I explained to them that Shari’a is only about the principle and practice of Islam and does not affect anybody who is not a Muslim.
I made it clear there was no compulsion about religion. If there is a case between a Muslim and a Muslim, it goes to the Shari’a court. If there is a case between a Muslim and government, it goes to the Shari’a court. I told them if there is a case involving Christians, it goes to a magistrate court. Someone raised an observation that what would happen if it is a case between a Muslim and a Christian and I said in that case, it is the right of the Christian to choose which court to go. To be cautious, we said if a Christian decides to go to a Shari’a court in a case involving him and a Muslim, the Christian should put his application in writing and the CAN signature must be appended on it, so that tomorrow, he would not say he was forced to appear before a Shari’a court.
When I came up with that Shari’a law, many people began shouting. I received more than 5,000 letters from Amnesty International from all over the world. It was when I announced I would be implementing the Shari’a law that I knew the enormity of protest that would confront me. Initially, I thought it was a just a local affair. Christian leaders have endorsed, after discussion, the implementation. They said, “go ahead.” They even asked at the meeting what and what I was going to ban. I told them I wasn’t banning anything new. The Northern Nigeria Penal Code, which has been operating since the British colonial era, has banned alcoholism, has banned prostitution and has banned gambling, so these are not new issues. The only issue is that I am bringing in the Shari’a court to provide full jurisdiction cover for the Shari’a law, both criminal and civil. So the Christians leaders said, “no problem then, once it doesn’t affect us.”
When the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo called us to a National Security Council meeting, he was shouting, “Yerima o, Yerima o, you want to cause problem for us, you are introducing an unconstitutional matter.” I told him, “No, no, sir, it’s not unconstitutional.” Even late Bola Ige, who was Minister of Justice said, “this is unconstitutional.” And I said no, “your Honourable Minister, you are not the one to interpret the Constitution. I am relying on Section 6, sub-sections 4 and 5 which state specifically that only the Supreme Court can provide jurisdiction. I am also relying on Section 36 sub-section 12 which states that if you are creating any law, it has to be qualified. So I complied with that sub-section by qualifying my law. I am also complying with all the other sections of the Constitution, a fact I mentioned to the Justice Minister.
I told him it was not for him to interpret. The same Constitution provides that it is only the Supreme Court that can interpret the Constitution’s provisions. So if he wants, he could take me to court. The federal government could take me to the Supreme Court and if the Supreme Court says I am not doing the right thing, then I would stop it. In fact, I would resign.
One of the laws was put to test. I signed a law establishing what I called the Hizbah, which they called the state police. It wasn’t a state police; it was just to support the Shari’a project. The Kano State government then adopted the initiative and the federal government took the Kano State government to court. The Supreme Court interpreted it that it was a right constitutional provision. Till today, Kano State has the Hizbah because the Supreme Court has approved it, correctly interpreting the section of the Constitution that we relied on to enact the law.
It is the same thing with this issue; people don’t know the Constitution. In fact, many Nigerians don’t even know there is a provision for the Shari’a in the Constitution. Somebody was telling me the Nigerian Constitution is a secular one. I told him no, the Nigerian Constitution defines Nigeria as a multi-religion society because it recognises Christianity, Islam and traditional religions.

Were you ever embarrassed by scathing articles and cartoons attacking your name on this marriage age controversy?
No. If you are doing the right thing and your conscience is very clear, you won’t be embarrassed by people abusing you. Most of these abuses arise either out of ignorance or out of sheer deliberate mischief to cause embarrassment. Some Muslims who abuse me are either being hired or sponsored by non-governmental organisations. I have been taught to be patient. This is a matter of belief and faith.

The argument by civil society groups is that there is no way the educational progress, health and true love feelings and emotions of a girl will not be affected if she is given out in marriage at 13 years. How wrong are they?
Civil society groups just say what they are not informed about because their projects are being funded. And they keep silent when it suits their interests. Look at the issue of gay marriage. Religious organisations in Nigeria have been condemning gay marriage, but civil society groups here are either silent on it or even saying it should be approved. In the United Kingdom, they say the marriageable age for a girl is 18 years. It was 16 then they changed it to 18. But a girl, in current UK laws, is of full age when she is 14 years. At 14, she can buy contraceptives, she can have sex, but she cannot marry. I saw a bill by one of their parliamentarians saying because of the growing number of their girls getting pregnant and delivering at 10, 12, 14 years, they should reduce their marriageable age to 12 years.
They are Christians but they accept that a lady can buy contraceptives at the age of 14 because that is their own definition of full age. In the United States of America, their problem now is teenage pregnancy and birth. Why? Because they allow girls to have sex at 12, 13 years but they don’t want early girl marriage, they don’t want a family arrangement My religion, Islam, and even Christianity, does not accept sex out of marriage.
Those who are marrying at 12 years, are they not going to school? My wife has just completed her Master’s degree at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. She is a medical doctor. The Egyptian I married recently is in school. Yes, she has a child, she is 17 years, but she is in school. They said I married her when she was 13 years but actually she was 14. Her family status does not affect her education. It depends on the particular family values. I believe in education. All my children are educated. I have three daughters who have graduated from the university. One is an accountant, one a pharmacist and one is on her own. I have a 16-year-old daughter who will be marrying in September and she is in 200 Level in the university.
Somebody was asking me: Can you give your 13-year-old daughter out in marriage? If she has a husband at 10 years old, I will give her out in marriage if she is mature enough. I will highly celebrate the marriage of my 16-year-old daughter in September and let me see who will tell me I am doing something unlawful or wrong in any way. It is nobody’s business. The husband is also doing his Master’s and they will continue their lives from there. I also married my first wife when she was 16 to 17 years.
It is a shame in my family to see a girl having sex without being married. But some families don’t care. Beyond Islam, there are some strict Christian families who will not allow men to come near their daughters unless those two children are married. But some families don’t care. Some parents, both in Islam and Christianity, will even go in and call their unmarried daughters for boyfriends because they want to claim they are westernised. That is their life. But I value my religion.
But then, that is my religion. I won’t foreclose the fact that Christians can equally do it their own way. In my youth service days, there were NYSC ladies who were Scripture Union members living in the same compound with me. My room adjoined theirs. Many days and nights, they would be conducting their programmes, praying, shouting “Alleluyah” and other Christian songs, but that didn’t bother me. Sometimes, I would sleep off. They preached to me and I preached to them. They would cook food, invite me to eat; I would also cook food and invite them to eat. We spent about six months together before I left the house. So, this religion thing should not divide us in Nigeria. But some people are using it as a weapon to divide us

Out of 33M! This guy is damn stingy....Habamana!

Many people have been speaking their mind with regards to the connection of First Lady Patience Jonathan to some of the principal actors in the crisis threatening to bring Rivers State to its kneels. But one man has been watching with keen interest as the drama unfolds until now. 

See his message to our dear Patience Jonathan below:
"Is the malodorous excrescence in Rivers State, cascadingly oozing out from erebus Dame, all about the satiation of a megalomaniacal presidential termagant? 
"Let someone assist me in whispering to the Dame that 'Alagamus Paret Ai Ai Num, Ai Ai Num Cest Daret, Opotere Alagamus'."

i`m i first to comment......#dancing she ko wale, odurosoke# RIP TO THE DEAD. RUBISH NEPA

It`s` simply a case of effects of poverty ridden brains. provocations without information. I`d eventually lost hope in this thing called Naija. Imagine assumed celebrities(not mine), suffering from verbal diarrhea and judgemental malabsorbtion. What was discussed was dennounciation of Nationalism and not underchild marriage.. For Our media, its a pity proffessionalism has no inheritance in your practice...they broadcast fallacy to heat up the polity and gain cheap popularity. For those of you sharing pictures and judging fellow humans based on assumptions, MAY GOD FORGIVE YOU.
if Nigeria must GROW , INDIVIDUALS ALSO NEED TO GROW! Shun tribal, religious or sectorial allergy and reason objectively. Enough of this misconstrued situation.

tpia@:
i was referring to the new nigerian law.

What the constitution says,which yerima also quoted was subsectn 29(1) which WAS strictly reffering to right to denounce Nationality I.e beign a Nigerian. So reality is,the #childnotbride# rally has no basis. It was something made from nothing cos it was raised by YERIMA. Let's refer to the constitution to be informed.

I want to be available, but I stay at okota...axis favourable to me are sweet sensation surulere. Mama cass oke afa isolo and MR Biggs iyana ejigbo. In Sha Allah with those places,I'm game. I'm mobile based in lagos but too skeptical of traffic. Ma Sha Allah any date could suit my schedule.

The mama don treat the baby Bleep UP

The DIFFERENCE is the SAME!

It's one year since Alhaji Aremu Gawat was declared missing(normal procedure of Nigerian Police). How do we classify this? If a whole GAWAT( a public figure of "e dide, e ji saari" can still be missing, one year and still counting;how about you and I that are just unknown citizen of this "failed" nation?
A lot of citizen have been declared missing without been seen dead or alive, are there cannibals in Nigeria? Are people eating them? So many unanswered questions....while we still pray for his anniversary and also for those undated, we can only pray that Allah guide and guard you and I to witness many many Ramadan on the earth surface as it proffers us more opportunities to worship Allah on this planet.
Ramadan Kareem to us all.

It's one year since Alhaji Aremu Gawat was declared missing(normal procedure of Nigerian Police). How do we classify this? If a whole GAWAT( a public figure of "e dide, e ji saari" can still be missing, one year and still counting;how about you and I that are just unknown citizen of this "failed" nation?
A lot of citizen have been declared missing without been seen dead or alive, are there cannibals in Nigeria? Are people eating them? So many unanswered questions....while we still pray for his anniversary and also for those undated, we can only pray that Allah guide and guard you and I to witness many many Ramadan on the earth surface as it proffers us more opportunities to worship Allah on this planet.
Ramadan Kareem to us all.

Is someone contemplating having a kidney failure? Sure money and way to hammer!

Annoyingly,fencing doesn't guarantee security. Inshort it could fence ur household against help when under attack as robbers will take their time to rob knowing they are covered by fence. Moreso when they arrive,na u go open gate of fence urself. Only that it defines well an intruder cos if not fence a thieve will claim to be a passerby.

oluemmakay: who do u tink is capable of replacing him from the bunch of idiots on that bench?

Spain had madrid,barcelona and chelsea playaz. Nigeria has 1 chelsea player,enyeama and 9 moving objects!