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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu (29169 Views)
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Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by ricsman(m): 9:24am On Jun 15, 2015 |
I have read your open letter published on PM News and re-published on Bella Naija, premiumtimesng.com and a number of online papers. No one who read that letter could miss the fury embedded in your words. I know where that fury comes from: moral fiber, good conscience, and love of people. I want to assure you that it was the very same sentiments that drove me to come up with that bill and the same sentiments that led Senators and members to pass it. As always, your aim was to speak as the voice of reason in our increasingly confused society. I know you meant well. I know you acted out of your deep compassion for Nigerians and fatherly love for the children. But as I read your open letter, my heart sank because this time, my dear Baba, my dear icon, you are wrong; very wrong. You have been misled by the misinformation circulated by someone who could not read or comprehend a legal draft; someone who did not have the patience to read through a proposal, see what was recommended and what was finally accepted. You were misled by someone who deliberately distorted the content of one of the most profound bills ever passed by the Nigerian legislature, scandalised the proponent and the institution for reasons that you and I may not know. No where in the SEXUAL OFFENCES BILL That I proposed; no where in the bill passed by Senate was it stated that you can defile an 11 years old. No where in the bill passed by the Senate was the age “11 years” mentioned. Here is what was passed in relation to your area of pre-occupation which is defilement clause 6 (2): “A person who commits an offence of defilement shall upon conviction be sentenced to imprisonment for life”. You claimed that the bill re-defined “female adulthood as marital status”. Where in the bill proposed by me and where in the bill passed by Senate did you see adulthood linked to marital status? The extreme distortion of the spirit, intent and even content of this bill leads me to think that you may be talking about an all- together different piece of legislation. For emphasis, let me state that the bill makes no such linkages as you erroneously stated. I think it may be fear of Senator Yerima that is at play here. For your information, Senator Yerima and all other Senators who participated in the debate, the two times the bill came up on the floor, supported it as a vehicle for instituting a stringent law barring all ranges of sexual offences in Nigeria. They did this because they also have children, wives, daughters, even mothers and cannot afford to leave them in the current state where abuses are rewarded with a slap on the wrist of the perpetrators because our laws are outdated, without strong in-built deterrence and mechanisms for monitoring and control. This is just another case of people demonising what is clearly in the public good because of deeply-set negative predispositions towards individuals in an institution. By your strong advocacy against the bill, you have unwittingly stamped your feet in favour of maintaining the status quo. Where we are now..the statusquo.. is a world in which a six year old child is raped to death and then set ablaze. Where we are now is a place where a father rapes his three year old boys repeatedly and the mother weeps at night and cannot speak out, out of shame and fear of her life. Where we are now is a place where young Cynthia in her struggles for self-employment ran into a gang who drugged her, raped and murdered her. Where we are now is a place where foreigners come for tourism and turn children into their objects of tourism. With all due respect Sir, I want to express my deep disappointment with your hastiness in flowing with the mob on this matter. I blame your press officers. I think they should have advised caution. You have known me since the 1990s. There is no way you could have sent fellers and I would not jump onto the next flight to answer you. Infact, a mere telephone call could have dispensed with the matter. If you had even asked someone to get you a copy of the Votes and Proceedings of Senate for that day which published the exact words in the legislation passed, you would have spared yourself the time and emotions spent over what is clear mischief circulated through the web. The people who started it all are hate-mongers. The merely took advantage of the negative public feelings they have built up against the legislature. You have no business with such people Sir. I am sure in the most inner recesses of your mind you know I cannot in anyway be associated with any anti-people law. Nothing in my personal history, professional antecedents or even the hard work I did to push through pro-people legislations in Senate, could lead anyone to think of me as capable of working against children, the very people I fought for over the course of my eight years in the Senate. The Sexual Offences bill is only one of many I did. I also proposed the Occupational Safety and Health bill protecting workers in virtually all sectors of the economy from hazards at work. The only group excluded are those in the oil and gas sectors who have been extensively provided for in the PIB. There was no “accident” as you call it involved in this legislation. Neither was there an error in judgement. The bill has been fabricated to provide a strong deterrence against abuses. When implemented, it will mitigate the private sufferings of parents; reduce their fear of what happens in their absence to their children at school, in the play grounds, in the neighborhoods, even in religious spaces. Nigeria today is not a safe place for children; not a safe place for girls; not a safe place for small boys; and it is not a safe place either for old women. This legislation it proposes consigns punishments for abhorrent crimes such as we are seeing in our country today. It even covers crimes yet to arrive our shores. Under this bill, pedophiles will be put away for life not made rock stars as we do today. This bill will bring sanity to our society. It will make Nigeria a better place for all. I suspect that some of those fighting against the bill are fixating on the short title. Its long title shows what it is: a sexual offences prevention bill; a tough deterrence to crime. I want you to take time and read the final copy of the bill. You will be proud. You will realise that good things can come from Nigeria and Nigerians. It is not only legislations initiated by outsiders and handed to us locals to push for their passage that should be deemed as good for us. By passing that bill, National Assembly has kept faith with the people of Nigeria. It has provided the cover of protection under which Nigerian children can live normal lives of fulfillment without fear. By your robust advocacy against the bill preventing sexual abuses of children, you foreclose the future of children in this society. But if I read you correctly, I have no doubt that you will reverse yourself on this once you have the correct information. This is why I have written you this letter. You have made your first “imposition” on Mr. President based on your understanding of the false information circulated by the very offenders you despise. I plead with you as a man who has been found to be a great man of honour and bestowed with the highest literary honour in the world to reconsider. Let me on behalf of the innumerable victims of abuse in Nigeria; let me invoke the spirit of Cynthia who fell victim in Lagos; and let me plead on behalf of the many wives and husbands deliberately infected with HIV by their partners whose suffering impelled this bill, that you reverse your instruction to Mr. President. The President of the Federal Republic looks to old sages like you for positive direction. That was what you intended to give him. But now that you know the truth, for the sake of your long established reputation and known love for Nigeria, turn it around and urge Mr. President to sign this bill that will protect our people, restore sanity to society and make Nigeria a better place for all. I remain your loyal admirer and sister. Chris Anyanwu was a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 2007 and 2015. 22 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by Mogidi: 9:32am On Jun 15, 2015 |
No where in the SEXUAL OFFENCES BILL That I Soyinka should have read the bill before commenting, at 80yrs plus, I hope the great playwright is not waning. 26 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by Niwdog(m): 9:45am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Where is my uduak ibom? Ooo my uduak! Ajibijibijibi. Uduak ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Ajibijibi 1 Like |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by TheOtherview: 9:49am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Mogidi: How do you know he did not read the bill, Mr Attention Seeker? Have you taken the time to review it yourself? But Falana said the illegal removal of 18 years from the original bill and its replacement with 11 years was inconsistent with the provisions of section 29(4)(a) of the Nigerian Constitution. Source 45 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by Mogidi: 10:01am On Jun 15, 2015 |
TheOtherview: Why should I believe an article in Punch newspaper made up of rhetoric rather than the woman who sponsored the bill? Here is what she said:
24 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by TheOtherview: 10:07am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Mogidi: The statement given by a SAN is quoted verbatim, so you can stick your thinly disguised persecution complex - the one induced by an amorphous "Lagos-Ibadan Media Axis" - where the sun don't shine. 37 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by Mekus68: 10:21am On Jun 15, 2015 |
That's my senator. I love this Bill. Haters of this Bill have bad intentions against little kids and young girls. They want to be abusing our future wives wih impunity, leaving chaff for us for marriage. E no go work for them. 5 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by TheOtherview: 10:32am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Mekus68: Like the haters described below? Tyranny of the tribe has a way of negating reason. 10 Likes 1 Share
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Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by Nobody: 10:36am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Wole Soyinka should crawl into a hole and just die. This silly mad man has caused enough confusion already. 9 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by TheOtherview: 10:38am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Nigeria’s proposed sexual offences law obnoxious – Falana Source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/185030-nigerias-proposed-sexual-offences-law-obnoxious-falana.html 6 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by After1one: 10:38am On Jun 15, 2015 |
BackDatAssUp: Awwwwww. Spits 16 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by TheOtherview: 10:39am On Jun 15, 2015 |
BackDatAssUp: Dimwit-in-chief finally makes an appearance. What's new? After all, this is what now passes for political commentary on Seun's NL. One of Jonathan's lasting legacies... 15 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by Nobody: 10:42am On Jun 15, 2015 |
TheOtherview: Wole Soyinka is an old fool who sees nothing good in others and has too much of a high opinion of himself. Chris tactfully put the old fool in his place 15 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by TheOtherview: 10:50am On Jun 15, 2015 |
BackDatAssUp: I am afraid that even with my limited understanding (I am more a numbers person), it is clear that Senator Anyanwu's mastery of the English language is highly suspect. This was a point I tried to impart on a different thread... ============================================================ Naptu Sir, you know that I have never found any of your posts disagreeable up till this point. But I beg to disagree on this one. Let me explain why... 6.-(1) A person Who commits an act which causes penetration with a child aged Sexual activity with a child eleven years or less shall upon conviction be sentenced to imprisonment for life. ^^^No wiggle room - the language is clear and unambiguous (2) A person who engages in sexual activity with a child between the age of twelve and fifteen years is liable upon conviction be sentenced to imprisonment for life. ^^^ By inserting the word "liable", wiggle room was provided here Now I am no legal bird but I think changing shall to liable leaves clause 2 open to interpretation "Liable to" is less definitive than "Shall" - that's my point. What stopped the Senate from putting a clear and unambiguous stake in the ground eh? Furthermore, why was threshold even lowered in a graduated form? 28 Likes
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Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by TheOtherview: 10:52am On Jun 15, 2015 |
We've all seen our senators indulge in the same type of chicanery in the past. The rest of the sane world certainly has... Thanks to a legal loophole, the average age of marriage for girls in Kebbi State, northern Nigeria, is 11 years old. The law is often manipulated and exploited for perverse ends, but it's rare that one forgotten detail in legislation can affect an entire mass of people quite so profoundly. 7 Likes
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Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by Nobody: 10:56am On Jun 15, 2015 |
TheOtherview: In legal parlance, especially when dealing with criminal or penal legislation, the term "liable" is used because the final interpretation, judgement and conviction rests on proving beyond reasonable doubt that a crime was committed and that the accused was found guilty. "Liable" in this instance is thus the recommended sentence or punishment. Remember all accused remain innocent until proven guilty. The term "shall" usually precedes that of "liable". For example, any body convicted of first degree murder shall be liable to a minimum sentence of life imprisonment to a maximum of death. The Appellant and/or Supreme court may set aside a sentence but still uphold a conviction. This is why the penal code is open ended in every piece of criminal legislation since a sentence may be reduced by a higher court unless where a minimum sentence is prescribed in the statute book. Also a pardon may be granted setting aside both a conviction and sentence 32 Likes 3 Shares |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by TheOtherview: 11:00am On Jun 15, 2015 |
BackDatAssUp: But that's the point - In legal parlance, especially when dealing with criminal or penal legislation, the term "liable" is used because the final interpretation, judgement and conviction... Why make the law absolutely water-tight for children up to the age of 11 but then open the same law to the caprices of moneybags for those who are older? Now tell what other interpretation can be ascribed to the defilement of teenagers? Isn't this precisely the kind of latitude the Yerimas of the world seek? 16 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by Maxymilliano(m): 11:04am On Jun 15, 2015 |
A brilliant and straight forward piece by the Senator. The bitter truth here is that one need to have all facts before taking position on issues, and not the usual 'herdsman mentality' of following the crowd, particularly the crowd on social media ... 7 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by TheOtherview: 11:05am On Jun 15, 2015 |
BackDatAssUp, go back and read what Falana actually said. 3 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by TheOtherview: 11:07am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Maxymilliano: Why not rebut Falana's argument with your own elevated thoughts - assuming you have any? 10 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by Maxymilliano(m): 11:14am On Jun 15, 2015 |
TheOtherview: I'm not under any obligation to rebut any arguements or whatsoever from Falana, the post is a rejoinder by Senator Chris Anyawu to Wole Soyinka's article. 13 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by omazus: 11:20am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Mr. Man, must you defend everything. In one swoop you suspect Senator Anyanwu's mastery of English but in another you profess your ignorance of legal language. What if Anyanwu's language equates to the legal language/meaning you do not understand. Please Soyinka goofed. He is a highly respected scholar, but we cannot doubt that old age is dealing him some blows. Instead f Soyinka now being the conscience of the nation, he abdicates that role to the mob. Anyanwu is right that Soyinka should have gone through the bill and not rely on third person's view. Please and please, Soyinka is one Nigerian HERO I do not want to encounter the legendary fall of all heroes of the western world as shown in their literature. May Soyinks remain great. And may he not be so much in a haste to join the bandwagon. I beg of you my model. TheOtherview: 12 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by TheOtherview: 11:22am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Maxymilliano: Of course you are under no obligation to do anything. It is enough to glibly assert that Soyinka was simply following hordes of social media commentators? I mean, why would Soyinka not put his reputation on line, by refusing to consult legal birds, before voicing his concerns openly. After all, according to the Maxymillianos of this world, Soyinka is easily given to making ill-informed remarks? At least so the retaarded logic goes? Maxymilliano and others of his ilk would of course meander around Falana's take, while giving pride of place to Anyanwu's Op-ED? That the former provides a clearer timeline of events is of absolutely no material consequence - Tyranny of the tribe! 9 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by DjHypno(m): 11:26am On Jun 15, 2015 |
H |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by TheOtherview: 11:26am On Jun 15, 2015 |
omazus: Again I ask; how do you know Soyinka did not go through the bill? But wait, even if we assume he did not, does the same apply to Barr.Falana (SAN)? 14 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by After1one: 11:27am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Mogidi: Ogidi must die. |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by neweraomo: 11:28am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Done at last |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by Pangea: 11:29am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Who are we to believe? Where is the damn bill sef? 2 Likes |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by After1one: 11:29am On Jun 15, 2015 |
BackDatAssUp: 1 Like |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by Nobody: 11:29am On Jun 15, 2015 |
TheOtherview: Nigeria is the only Nation on earth that has two Legal codes. Challenge the enactment of Sharia law in our constitution which does not only promote pedophilia but goes on to legalize sleeping with young girls. As long as our constituion recognizes Sharia law then there is nothing we can do to prevent the likes of Yerima taking underage girls as their wives. 23 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by REMMEI(m): 11:31am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Has the president gone through these said bills?.. |
Re: Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka On Sexual Bill. By Chris Anyanwu by kwaraguy(m): 11:31am On Jun 15, 2015 |
Lemme read 1st |
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