Making Case against Legalisation of Abortion, Contraceptive Usage in Nigeria

A coalition of pro-life oriented Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, in Nigeria, reiterating their stance  on ‘Respect Nigeria’s Law on Abortion and Related Matters’, have strongly flayed the promotion of contraceptive usage in Nigeria, and an alleged plans to legalise abortion in the country. Sunday Ehigiator reports

Richly endowed with both human and material resources without comparing globally, Africa continues to grapple with myriads of socio-economic problems like poverty, lack of health-care infrastructure, illiteracy, instability, etc.

At the same time, richer and more endowed countries continue to take advantage of the continent’s vast resources, while exploiting the continent’s many vulnerabilities to push and force Africa to accept and accommodate their social and cultural values that are not only inimical to Africa’s ability to fulfill her ‘manifest destiny’ but have led to the near destruction of the very countries (Europe and America) from where these social and cultural values emerged.

Against this backdrop, the CSOs, including the Foundation for African Cultural Heritage (FACH), Project for Human Development (Ph.D.), Association of Concerned Mothers, Association of Catholic Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, Foundation for Marriage and Family, and Islamic Platform of Nigeria called on the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, to dismantle existing structures in place to promote abortion, use of contraceptives and other related interventions from the West in Nigeria.

Coalition 

Members of the coalition include the Foundation for African Cultural Heritage (FACH), Project for Human Development (Ph.D.), Global Pro-life Alliance (GPA), Doctors Health Initiative, Happy Home Foundation, Association of Concerned Mothers, Nigerian Life League, Islamic Education Trust, and the Association of Catholic Medical Practitioners of Nigeria.

Others are, the Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria, Knights of St. Mulumba, Blissful Life for Youth Empowerment, Nigerian Association for Women Advancement, Catholic Lawyers Association, Sympathy Worldwide Organisation, Life Choice International Initiative, Good Parenting, and Youth Empowerment Initiative, Foundation for Marriage and Family, Centre for Corrections and Human Development, Islamic Platform of Nigeria, and Heart2Heart SexEd.

The Issues

The coalition in a joint statement read by their convener, Dr. Nkechi Asogwa argued that interventions from the western countries were found of being dressed up in so many deceitful phrases and euphemisms that convey a feeling and impression of love and charity for the continent, as many of their recommendations, proposals, and programs of action in the continent are ‘poisoned chalices and ticking time bombs set to undermine and destroy the Africa continent.

“Indeed, the consensus reached at various United Nations conferences is that the law passed in every developing county including Nigeria must reflect the diverse social, economic, and environmental conditions of that country, with full respect for their religious, cultural backgrounds, and philosophical convictions. Abortion has no respect for the religious and philosophical convictions of the Nigerian people and therefore cannot be imported into Nigeria.

“Unfortunately, what we see in Nigeria and the continent of Africa as a whole is the consistent attempt to bully our peoples and political leaders into accepting practices, not only unwholesome to our way of life but practices that are also harmful to the future growth of the continent. 

“This stems, sadly, from the economic and political dependency of the continent on foreign capital and debilitating conditions tied to foreign aid from the United States and Europe”.

Legal Standpoint

Abortion in Nigeria is illegal and carries a heavy jail sentence of up to 14 years imprisonment unless it is performed to save the life of the pregnant woman. Nevertheless, a large number of clandestine abortions continue to be carried out regularly, often with dire consequences for the lives and health of the women involved.

Abortion legislation in Nigeria and court decisions on the subject are governed by the Criminal Code in the southern states and the Penal Code in the northern states.

The combined effect of Sections 228, 229, 230, and 328 of the  Criminal Code (and their equivalent provisions in the Penal Code)  is to the effect that any woman who,  with intent to procure her miscarriage unlawfully administers to herself any poison or other noxious thing or any person who assists her in doing the same is liable to imprisonment for a period ranging from three to fourteen years.

By the virtue of these sections of the Criminal Code, abortion is illegal.

Coalition’s Standpoint

The coalition maintained that while the Western countries, who are population controllers, talk endlessly about ‘celebrating diversity, they are the greatest destroyers of cultural diversity in history as they impose American and European values and practices on the people of Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia. They accuse the west of an attempt to kill Africa’s culture.

“The culture of Death attempts to separate children from their parents by trying to force them to have more liberal attitudes. This is done with explicit sexual education, “values clarification,” which is designed to present exercises that direct the child towards secular attitudes, and secret counseling of children deemed troublesome (i.e., who have traditional values).

“The Culture of Death not only weakens, but also corrupts, and kills individual people, it destroys millions of families and even entire nations and continents, like Europe.

“Girls and contraceptives: under the campaign, 9ja girls, young girls aged 13 to 17, are being groomed by the same NGOs to start early sexual activity. They are given many incentives.  And these are without parental knowledge or consent.”

Way Forward

On the way forward, the coalition noted that parents and guardians have to tell their girls that protecting themselves from getting pregnant isn’t about contraception but about valuing yourself as a person with human dignity.

“Our youths need character education, not contraceptives! The current debate in the State of California in the U.S. about whether to teach four-year-olds sex, gender, gay parenting, and transgender issues is a signpost of the degree of moral relativism in the west.

“The European, Western, and American leaves are already dried and shriveled. We must not wait for them to fall before we take care of our green but threatened leaf. Africa today is in a much better place with its youthful population. 

“The potential for an African renaissance is extremely high. It has been predicted that in the decades to come, Africa’s youthful population will constitute 25 per cent of the world’s youthful population. If the continent gets it right with political leadership, Africa is destined to rule the world.”

The coalition noted that the battle for the soul of Africa by the west was propelled increasingly by the convergence of both profit and the hedonistic lifestyle of the liberal order.

They equally noted that the financial motivation for a cultural shift in Africa is huge, as big pharmaceutical companies stand to gain billions of dollars in profit, which is why investments by these companies and European governments have increased astronomically year on year through the bribing of government officials, buying up of the media space, and consistent funding of liberal agenda-driven NGOs in an attempt to change Africa’s cultural and social narratives.

Demands

The coalition thereby urged the Minister of Health, Mr. Osagie Ehanire to dismantle an alleged structure he has put in place to promote abortion and all related interventions in aid of abortion in Nigeria.

“We call on the president, Muhammadu Buhari, to ensure that his ministers do not work in violation of the existing laws of our country.”

Quote 

Our youths need character education, not contraceptives! The current debate in the State of California in the U.S. about whether to teach four-year-olds sex, gender, gay parenting, and transgender issues is a signpost of the degree of moral relativism in the West