The furore arising from President Goodluck Jonathan’s assent
to the bill prohibiting homosexual marriage reverberated on the diplomatic
circles, yesterday, as it emerged that Canada has cancelled a scheduled state
visit to that country by President Jonathan.
The cancellation was described as a reaction to President
Jonathan’s decision to give assent to the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill
2013 which penalizes homosexual partnerships in the country.
The cancellation nonetheless, Special Adviser to the
President on Political Affairs, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak upheld the president’s
action, saying that there was no way homosexual marriages will accelerate the
nation’s socio-economic progress.
Despite the challenge from the diplomatic arena, further
commendations came the way of the President for assenting to the bill. The
latest commendation came from the Prelate and Moderator of the General Assembly
of The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Most Rev. Emele Uka who described it as
a bold step aimed at reforming the society along godly ethics.
The president’s visit to Canada which is at the instance of
the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper was scheduled for February.
The cancellation follows the harassment of Nigeria’s
diplomatic staff in the Nigerian High Commission in Canada by the homosexual
lobby in that country.
The decision to cancel President Jonathan’s state visit to
Canada was communicated through the Nigeria High Commissioner to the Supervising
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Viola Onwuliri who in turn passed on the
message to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator
Anyim Pius Anyim.
Special Adviser to the President on Media, Dr. Reuben Abati
in his reaction, yesterday, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would respond
to the development.
Gulak slams US, Canada, others
Calling on the international community to respect the
cultural sensibility of Nigerians and other African countries on the issue of
same sex marital relations, Gulak in an interview, yesterday, said that “the
hostile reaction of Europeans and the United States to the recent signing into
law of the bill that outlaws marriages and sexual relations between people of
the same sex has not taken into consideration the socio-cultural differences
between people of different racial backgrounds, and more importantly the religious
beliefs of our people.
“What the anti-gay law has tried to achieve is to protect
and promote family values as we know it from the start; we accept that the
Europeans have reached the height of their civilization, we are yet to see how
marriages between persons of the same sex will accelerate our own
socio-economic and technological advancement of our people.
“We value the bilateral and multilateral relationships
between Nigeria and its international partners and we believe that no
unnecessary pressure will be brought to bear on us to accept what our people
consider to be abhorrent.”
“We are yet to see how this same sex practice will reduce
inequality, reduce the grinding poverty facing our people. Same sex rights and
privileges will not generate employment, enhance health care, improve education
and technological growth which is what we need now. We know that those who are
into this practice are in the minority, the US and EU should respect the
sensibilities of those in the majority who abhor the practice of same sex
relations.
“The law makers deliberated carefully on the bill before
passing it and sending it to the president for his assent. We cannot dictate to
Europeans on what bills they choose to make; they have been passing legislation
to regulate migration of Africans into their countries without any complaints
from any other country, some states in America have legalised the use of
marijuana for medical purposes, ordinarily we should see that as a welcome
development since we have people who grow the weed here, but for the sake of
the health of our people, we cannot say what is good for America or Europeans
must be good for us.
“I think it is a big distraction for these countries to
assume that same sex marriage is our utmost priority at this stage of our
development.
“Nigeria will continue to respect the rights of its citizens
but those who want to engage in mercantile promotion of human relations that
the society does not accept may be incurring the wrath of the law”.
The European Union and the US had threatened to review their
economic assistance to Nigeria for signing the bill which they had lobbied hard
to stop.
The Presbyterian Prelate, Most Rev. Uka in a statement in
Calabar, Cross River State, described as unacceptable, the increasing global
incidence of ungodly homosexual relations and the legal adoption of same-sex
marriages.
“There are over 600, 000 same sex families in the US with
about 115, 000 of them raising children who shall eventually become
homosexuals,” he said.
“Homosexuality as one of the greatest human deviant
behaviours has been with man from earliest times. Man has fought it for a long
time but it refuses to die. For instance, about 40 years ago, homosexuality was
listed as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association. Today, it
is considered a normal sexual behaviour and a human rights issue.
The Prelate charged President Jonathan to remain focused and
not to be intimidated by the opposition of the western world to his assent to
the bill.
On steps to address the issue of homosexuality, Most Rev.
Uka said that the way forward is to follow the biblical panacea of seeking the
Lord while He may be found, fleeing from sin and confessing to attract God’s
forgiveness.
“Thank God there is hope, a cure for the sins of
homosexuality, lesbianism, incest, rape and adultery. We should note that these
mentioned perverse sexual lifestyles attract God’s punishment. For such, God
warns that hell, not heaven is the final destination. And how is God’s cure
received? In exactly the same way as other types of sinners receive forgiveness
through confession and repentance.”
The Prelate admonished that, “as modern man wallows in his
rottenness and extreme carnality, as they become far removed from the divine
and the glorious, as they begin to ravage the world and seek to exterminate it,
let us do our best to resist the devil and he will flee from us.”
Economic and diplomatic ties
Canada’s grouse is that more than 30 people have been
arrested, since the law was signed on January 7, 2014 and there are worries that more arrests will
follow.
Until Jonathan signed the law, prosecution of gay people had
largely been centered on the predominantly Muslim north, where gays have long
been punished under Sharia law. Canada does not have substantial economic
interest in Nigeria but the country has
been wooing Canada to invest in the mining, rail transportation, sea ports
reform, education, and infrastructure. Both countries expect trade volume from
these sectors to generate over 16 billion dollars in 2015. The relationship between both countries has
been buoyant as they have maintained high level diplomatic contacts.
It will be recalled that in April 2012, Nigeria’s
former Foreign Affairs Minister
Olugbenga Ashiru visited Ottawa, where he signed the Memorandum of
Understanding to establish a Bi-National
Commission, which covers four major themes: political relations, commercial
relations, security cooperation and development cooperation.
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