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LOUD WHISPERS: The ‘Foot In Mouth’ Senators

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Friday, March 18th, 2016
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On March 8th 2016, as part of the activities to mark International Women’s Day, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Chair of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs tabled a motion to pay tribute to Nigerian women. As part of her motion, she said, ‘We represent courage and resilience, and without us, I don’t think this country will move forward’. Millions of Nigerian women, and hopefully quite a number of men would have agreed with this declaration. I am very sure that the hundreds of thousands of women who mobilized, travelled, danced, clapped, cooked, queued in the scorching heat and voted for the mostly male Senate in March 2015, would have agreed with Senator Tinubu as well. So we can only imagine her dismay when the Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume from Borno State, rose in response to the motion to say, ‘I urge men to marry more than one wife…..the first care of a woman is marriage. Men should take care of women by not just befriending them, but by going further to marry them. Starting with the Senate President (Senator Bukola Saraki), I ask him to consider marrying more than one wife’.  He then proceeded to move a motion to ask the Senate to declare that Nigerian men should marry more than one wife! He found a supporter in Senator Suleiman Nazif, representing Bauchi North Senatorial District.

There are two possibilities when we think about Senator Ndume’s failed motion. First, he was probably joking and decided to get his colleagues to loosen up and not take things too seriously. The second possibility is that he was dead serious and meant every word he said, regardless of how ‘politically incorrect’ it all sounded. The way I see it, neither of these two scenarios is acceptable behavior from a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a country which is currently facing contestations due to many layers of diversity. This drama came just two weeks after Senator Dino Melaye from Kogi State declared that Lara Oshiomole, the Cape Verdian wife of Governor Adams Oshiomole is  a ‘Foreign product acquired with foreign exchange’.

This ribaldry at the expense of women is very unbecoming of distinguished Senators. There is nothing funny about March 8th International Women’s Day. This is a day for serious minded leaders around the world to re-dedicate themselves to uplifting women and addressing a whole range of political, economic, social, religious and technological disadvantages that weigh them down. Even though progress has been recorded and gains made, there is still a lot to be done. Across Nigeria on March 8th 2016, women and men gathered to take stock and motivate themselves for future actions. It is a day that required sober reflection, analysis of what has worked, and a commitment to addressing the numerous roadblocks which still exist. When Senator Remi Tinubu rose to address her distinguished colleagues, the least she would have expected from them was to be taken seriously as a peer. Instead her contribution became a backdrop for an unwarranted display of unseriousness. It was not Senator Remi Tinubu who was insulted on March 8th, it was the Nigerian women she was advocating for.

Let us examine Senator Ndume’s statement further. ‘The first care of a woman is marriage’ he declared. Really? What happened to educating her, giving her skills, employment and self-reliance? ‘Men should take care of women by not just befriending them, but by going further to marry them’. Aha. Here, the Senator openly admits what we all know, that many married men are always on the prowl after other women. The ‘lucky’ ones get married and the less fortunate are recycled to others. Of course, many of the men in question prefer ‘fresh blood’ which rules out the probably more deserving widows and divorcees in favour of young girls, sometimes the age of their daughters.

Women who venture into public service usually need to have skin as thick as that of a rhinoceros. I am sure Senator Tinubu, in spite of her dismay, took the shenanigans in her stride. She has probably heard and seen worse. However, one of the strategies we learn as kids on the playground, is to push back when you encounter a bully. Senator Binta Garba from Adamawa State  appropriately responded to the looking for trouble Senator by saying ‘We are not sex objects’. You go sister!

Our female Senators should not have to be put through this. If their male peers want to crack sexist jokes, they should do so in their spare time and not on the dime of Nigerians, including the Nigerian women who provided the plush seats for them to sit on in the first place. We still have our missing daughters from Chibok who have not been found. We still have women dying every day from maternal related issues. The level of violence against women and girls has increased exponentially. We have thousands of people languishing in internally displaced camps, most of them are women and children. With the education, roads, healthcare, high crime rates, and unemployment of many of our youth still key challenges, amongst others, I can understand if our Senators feel overwhelmed every now and then and need comic relief. But it cannot be at the expense of women, and the distinguished Senator chose the wrong day to get his laughs. The utterances of these male Senators serves to affirm a reality in the world of patriarchy – that women are  transferrable objects, property to be acquired, owned and disposed of, and where applicable, old models replaced with new ones.

Thankfully, the Senators voted against the strange motion tabled by Senator Ndume. What would have happened if the motion had passed? Monogamy in Nigeria would have become illegal or what? Or at least, the culture of ‘Aristo’ would now have public policy backing? This would have probably pleased quite a number of men, especially the ‘Mono-Polygamists’ who declare one wife in public and when they die there is drama at their funeral.

Don’t women’s rights activists like myself have a sense of humour? Can’t we take a joke? Of course we can. Life is too short to be serious about everything all the time. There is a time and place for joking around. There are also issues that are not funny. There is nothing humourous about disrespecting women in leadership positions. There is nothing funny about setting aside a day to think of ways in which fifty percent of the population can live lives of dignity and respect. It is not funny when our representatives refer to us as products to be acquired in whatever currency, or prescribe marriage for us as our path to salvation. It is not a laughing matter when our children hear their leaders and role models speak in this way.

Now here is a joke for Senator Dino Melaye. When you take your Naira to the market to ‘purchase’ your own ‘local product’, remember that some people will be waiting to compare your ‘purchase’ with that of Governor Oshiomole. At least we know he did not waste his dollars! For  Senator Ali Ndume,  I hope you are not thinking of visiting Senator Bukola Saraki at home anytime soon. My dear sister and friend Toyin Saraki is as sweet and beautiful as they come, but she has nails of steel…………..just thought I should warn you sir. You are on your own.

 

Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender Specialist, Social Entrepreneur and Writer. She is the Founder of Abovewhispers.com, an online community for women. She can be reached at BAF@abovewhispers.com

 

7 Responses

  1. It is this nauseated idea that marriage is the beginning and end of a woman’s life is the greatest problem of women empowerment. Are women of Nigeria not in great problem if a sitting senators idea of empowering them is by marrying them?
    I seriously don’t think their utterance is a joke and I won’t be surprised if religion is thrown into the argument, that is heir favourite go-to place to buttress their chauvinist statement.
    Seriously we women don’t know how powers, if we band together we will elect a president in the next general elections and make sure chauvinist Ali Ndume and Oppressor of the common man Dino Maleye never see that hallowed chambers again.

  2. The issue of religion is commonly used to justify the acts of our ‘leaders’. At the same time religion can’t be used as a yardstick because there are so many loop holes in religion.

    1. i dont know about islam but there is is no loophole in christianity regarding such issues as polygamy or child marriage. Even as i am not a muslim i can remember a conversation i had with a muslim friend of mine and he said what is wriiten in the quaran as regards polygamy was a parable ‘You can marry more than one wife if you can love themequally’ but we all know it is not possible to love two people the same way.

  3. Our dear senators just showed us that they do not deserve to be there. I really do ask the question of how did we end up with some of these guys in the National Assembly because they seem not to understand what service to their constituents mean except for what pays them.

    Senator Ndume should have done his research on what happened with the Eritrea story, the journalist that perpetrated that event was sacked, so it is not time to make a joke of the holy matrimony at the expense of womanhood.

    As for Dino Melaye, we truly are waiting for what he will bring back from the market, but truth be told, he is sure to be lucky if he does come back with a made in Naija product as some of us are aware of his bullying of women.

    I propose a law be pass that men should pay their wives for taking care of their houses, making sure they have a clean home to come to, for cooking their meals, for taking care of their children, for carrying the baby for 9 months and putting to bed. Maybe then, they will understand the existence of a woman.

    A quick reminder, if God did not create eve, there would have been only Adam and the animals and plants he named. The human race and existence is because of women, do treat them with the utmost respect.

  4. Senators like Dino and Ndume are a reflection of the mindset of the majority of men we have around. Men who see women as just sex objects, baby producing factories, and ‘sit-at-home and take care of the kids’ species. They feel threatened when they come across women breaking grounds,and making things happen.
    Sometimes I wonder how some women end up with men as this, and still remain in the marriage.
    Dino and Ndume did not just insult Nigerian women, they actually insulted their wives and daughters as well, and this gives us an idea the kind of homes they run.
    We carry the pregnancy for months, tend for the baby, make sure the home is in order and then in another 10-20years you suddenly realize we’ve grown old and you need a new blood? Na wa!
    Now let me drift a abit. If you are a young lady and reading this, you have all the right to be in love but while at it use your number 6 very well I beg you o. Some ladies fall in love abi grow in love to the extent where they acquire the family’s property in the husband’s name even when you are the one bringing most of the funds to the table. Don’t be stupid, if you have kids use their names, if you don’t, use your name and that of your husband.
    Trust is an integral part of a relationship, but don’t trust ‘too very’ much…lol. Always give room for ‘what ifs’
    We young ladies should learn from things happening around us and not fall victims.

  5. Now they will call themselves Men. Unfortunately, they act like Boys! When this so called Men and Leaders reason below optimal level,this is what we would expect. The main part of this is that Nigerians forget things easily. We should take notes of every thing and work on them, deal with the menace that are pending and also teach these grown babies that they can do more than seat and talk Bagladesh. Just like @olufunke Dasylva said, Fellow Babes please Shine those Cute Eyes very Well.

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