In the realm of religion, there is a genre of Christian churches
called the African instituted churches. Their unique
characteristics include wearing white garments while worshiping,
deep belief in visions, burning of candles of various colours,
sacrifices and prayers.
Christianity under this genre is presented in a way the
traditional African mind would appreciate and accept. The
traditional African mindset is one that believes in consulting
oracles to enquire about the source of his problems and receiving
instructions on how to solve the problem in the form of sacrifices
to appease the gods. Even the Jewish historian Josephus says that
when Ethiopia invaded ancient Egypt and routed its army, oracles
were consulted which recommended that Moses (then a prince of
Egypt) be entrusted with the command of the royal troops. He went
ahead and defeated the Ethiopians. On this formula, the African
instituted churches have leveraged on.
The introduction of the Bill against same- sex marriage in the
Senate by Senator Domingo Obende, and the subsequent assent to it
by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on the 7th day of January 2014,
generated a lot of verbal war from both sides of the sexual divide.
The verbal battle failed to notice a genre of same-sex; one that
could be termed an African instituted same-sex marriage –embedded
in some of our culture and customs. For this discussion on it, I
will take my Delta Ibo speaking area otherwise called the Anioma
people as a prototype.
This glorious geographical area has produced a plethora of
legendary personalities like the cerebral Professor Pat Utomi,
Demas Nwoko whose artistic and architectural works are reference
points all over the world, Professor Zulu Sofola, the first female
professor of drama in Africa, the desert warrior Newton Jibunor who
conquered the Sahara desert with the aim of drawing attention to
desertification, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo –Iweala, of the world Bank Fame,
the dogged Dr. Benjamin Okwumabua who, when the country was still
asleep, arrived American with just 10 Dollars in his pockets and
eventually became a millionaire and President of Watson industries,
a multimillion Dollars company, a feat that Ebony magazine
graphically captured, Dr. S. W. Martins who as far back as 1920 had
earned a Bachelors and masters Degree in American (even before the
equally legendary Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe) to become the first Nigerian
graduate of an American university and first African US
commissioned officer (He was the founder of the pilgrim Baptist
Mission ), Ken E. Mozia S.A.N, the election petition guru and
astute lawyer, and the legendary hot headed Major Kaduna Nzeogwu
whose activities was the traceable cause of the Nation’s civil war,
to mention but a few denizens from that region who in the words of
Godfrey Chaucer are “well read and well bred” .
In this Anioma area, there exist a custom where a woman is
allowed to “marry” another woman by paying her bride price and
fulfilling other cultural requirements. This happens when a woman
who cannot bear her own children and is wealthy enough would
“marry” another young prolific woman to bear kids for her. Under
this arrangement, the wealthy woman pays another woman’s bride
price and she would move in to live with her as wife. Men are
allowed to come in and sleep with the prolific woman only with the
understanding that the kids produced therefrom would belong to the
wealthy woman.
In the eyes of the law, this practice is not legal. It is
repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. Indeed,
in the seminal case of Edet V-Essien (1932) 11 N.L.R. 47, it was
held that a custom which denied a biological father of his child is
repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience, and
therefore cannot be upheld. In spite of the above position, this
customary practice has persisted; revealing clearly that it is not
always easy to change people’s deep beliefs by mere enactment of
law. In the course of my humble professional career, I have
personally come across such practices.
In one of those cases at Issele-Uku, a Kinsman of one of such
rich women that married a younger woman protested, contending that
the offspring of that union would not inherit from their
fatherland. Passions were high and the police were invited. The
young man ended up being charged for conduct likely to cause a
breach of the peace. In another sad case which I had the rare
privilege of prosecuting, a wealthy woman who could not bear kids
went and “married” a prolific younger woman. She paid the bride-
price of the younger woman and performed all the required marriage
rites and the younger woman moved into her house. A certain young
man was attracted and started sleeping with the young woman.
Several children resulted therefrom.
So many years later, this young rascal of a man, started
asserting his inherent rights to the children, he claimed that the
kids were his, since he was their biological father. He lured the
wife away from the wealthy woman, and she and the kids moved into
his house and started living with him as a man and wife would
do.
The wealthy woman complained, complained, and complained over this
seeming injustice to everyone that had ears to hear and to the
traditional authorities all to no avail. She even lodged a
complaint to the police who told her that it was not a police case
as no crime was involved. Finally, out of desperation and being of
a native character she reported the matter before a famous and
dreaded juju shrine in the neighborhood. It was an Okija- like-type
of shrine.
Not too long after this, several calamites started befalling the
young man and the wife that he lured away from the rich woman. One
of the children died of a mysterious illness that could not be
diagnosed. On the way back from their farm one day, the wife was
hit by a car and one of her legs broken. Other adversities were
noticed. The last straw that broke the camel’s back was at the
funeral of a famous hunter in the community. Our man who lured this
woman away from the rich woman was also a hunter. At the burial of
the famous hunter, the hunters in the neighborhood gathered to give
their departed colleague a gun salute as is usually done in kindred
Professions. As they all shot into the air, our man noticed that
his gun did not shoot. It was a double barrel gun. He therefore
stepped aside and uncorked the gun. His 13 year old son was beside
him holding the bag that contained his bullets.
After checking the gun, and the bullets, he corked it again and
behold there was an accidental discharge. The bullet went straight
into the heart of his son killing him there and then. There was a
pandemonium as the young boy lay in a pool of his own blood. The
amorous hunter and his Kinsmen went to the police station to report
the matter. He was arrested and subsequently charged to court. When
he was eventually granted bail, his family consulted widely and
resolved to return the wealthy woman’s “wife” (the young woman) and
the remaining children back to the wealthy woman. This they
eventually did with much begging, drinks, kola nuts and peace
offerings to the wealthy woman and her Kinsmen for her to forgive
and reverse the curse. These are the latent facts of the case with
charge nos. M1/23c/2003 & HC1/m/8/2003
I am quite sure that Senator Domingo Obende and our other
distinguished Senators did not have the above genre of same-sex
marriage in contemplation when they initiated and passed the
same-sex marriage (prohibition) Act, 2013. Going by section 5(3) of
that law, everyone who had a part in that “marriage” described
above, even the witnesses, violated the law with a punishment of 10
years imprisonment hanging on his or her head. Since in law we say
that ignorantia Juris Neminem Excusat (ignorance of the law is no
excuse) it behooves on our relevant authorities to widely
disseminate the particulars and provisions of the same sex marriage
(prohibition) Act 2013 among the people especially in the rural
communities so that they don’t run foul of the provisions of this
new law through ignorance which, like we have said is no excuse to
this jail attracting offence.
By: Ben. Ijeoma Adigwe Esq.Director, Ministry
of Justice Asaba. 08034917063 www.benadigwe.com
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