Topping the agenda of the Presidential Advisory
Committee on National Conference in Bauchi, last Saturday, Tindeyatso Women Association, from Taraba State, wants the
proposed national dialogue to prohibit prostitution in any form and
allow every man in the country to marry four wives, irrespective of
religious affiliation
Nigeria Tribune reports that:-
Part of the proposal contained in the group’s memorandum
submitted to the Senator Femi Okunrounmu-led presidential advisory
committee in Bauchi, declaring that there was an urgent need for
prohibition of prostitution to be enshrined in the Nigerian
constitution.
The memorandum, presented by Ms Zenum Karima, co-ordinator of
Tindeyatso Women Association, averred that with the large population of
women in Nigeria, the constitution should empower men, the religion they
professed notwithstanding, to marry four wives in order to reduce
prostitution among young ladies.
According to the women group, the call for a ban on prostitution
became imperative in order to safeguard the future of young Nigerian
women.
Meanwhile, over 400 memoranda were received by the presidential
advisory committee on the national conference in Bauchi from state
governments, individual, groups, traditional councils, non governmental
organisations, women groups, youths and religious bodies.
Also, the Bauchi State governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, at the weekend
urged Nigerian leaders to de-emphasise religion, ethnicity and
regionalism in their actions, even as he advocated serious sanction,
including sack and prosecution, for any leader found flaming the ember
of disunity in the country.
This is even as the governor pleaded with Nigerians to make use of
the proposed National Conference to negotiate Nigeria’s continuous stay
as one united entity in order to achieve peace and development in the
country.
These were the submission of the governor when he received members
of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the proposed National
Conference who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House,
Bauchi, submitting that the decision to organise the conference was a
welcomed one.
While commending President Goodluck Jonathan, whom he said “has
taken the bull by the horn” for deciding to organize the conference,
which Nigerians had been clamouring for fro a long time now, Yuguda
admonished that it should be used to resolve issues leading to
suspicions among Nigerians.
According to the governor, the National Conference would provide the
opportunity for all to re-align with a view to making Nigerians free to
live and aspire any office in the country without having a recourse to
where the individual came from, saying that, “I dream of a situation
where a person from Sokoto, Calabar or any other part of Nigeria can
come, live in Bauchi and win a local government council election in
Bauchi.”
He declared that Allah had a purpose for keeping the various ethnic
nationalities in the country together, noting that, “if God had wished,
He would have created us like China, with one of the largest population
in the world, have one language, religion and ideology with a sense of
strong patriotism. He has a purpose for keeping us in one place called
Nigeria which was amalgamated by our colonial masters.”
Yuguda stated that a situation whereby Nigerians suffered
deprivations on the account of their tribe and religion was a tragedy
for the country, adding that the National Conference ought to be used to
settle issues like this.
“A situation where some people believe that once you are a Hausa man,
you are a Muslim, but if you are not a Hausa man, you are a Christian,
while others believe that once you do not belong to the major tribe, you
are not treated well, is a tragedy for Nigeria. This dialogue should
sort out all those negative things that are threatening our existence as
a people and as a nation,” Governor Yuguda declared.
Speaking earlier, the chairman of the committee, Senator Femi
Okurounmu, informed that his committee was in the state to consult with
the people on issue bordering on the modalities for holding the National
Conference, how it should be structured and what should be discussed at
the conference.
He added that the committee was to get the people’s views on issues
that would form part of the conference agenda, qualification for a
delegate, how many delegates would attend from each state, the life span
of the conference and its legal frame work and how decisions taken at
the conference will be utilized or made into laws.
“The conference has become necessary to enhance peace, stable nation
and to have a prosperous nation,” Okunrounmu said, informing that
members of the committee had already visited Maiduguri, the Borno State
capital, where views from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states were collated.
