HURIWA attacks AI’s move to legalise homosexuality in Nigeria, calls for sack of Lai Mohammed

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has called for the immediate sack of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

HURIWA made the call in a press conference addressed by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko in Abuja on Wednesday.

According to HURIWA, while the Minister is busy chasing shadows, Nigeria cultural values suffer and are receding with every minute that passes.

The organization called on the Federal Government to establish a full-fledged ministry to see to the promotion and preservation of culture as enshrined in the Constitution.

The group pointed out that culture affects all aspects of human life, adding that cultural rights illustrate the indivisibility and interdependence of all rights in a more comprehensive fashion than any other rights.

Speaking further, the human rights group pointed to the recent Amnesty International’s goals published on its Facebook account, which includes; making same-sex relations legal in all countries.

Amnesty had also vowed to make abortion legal in all countries and abolishing the death penalty in all countries and HURIWA expressed concerns over these moves, insisting that they are totally against the cultural rights and values of Nigerians.

The group queried what it described as a deliberate struggle by Amnesty International to rebrand a known fault vis-à-vis the African value on the sanctity of life and the sacredness of marital union culminating in the decimation of a fundamental truth.

“Through the African eyes, homosexuality is a high pedestal immoral act, best imagined or possibly practised exclusively by animals. Even, it is rated an inch higher than incest between close relatives, such as brothers and sisters, sons and mothers or daughters and fathers. Myriads of such sex misconducts are categorized among the taboos of the land and must be avoided with total disdain,” HURIWA explained.

The strong censorship is to allow decency, respect and sex morality to thrive as necessary ingredients for the survival of the ideal African society.

HURIWA reminded Amnesty International that gay marriage is a crime in Nigeria following Senate and the House of Representatives passage of the Anti-Gay Bill in December 2011 and July 2013 respectively with a unanimous vote which was signed into law on December 30th 2013 by then President Goodluck Jonathan criminalizing gay marriage and related practices with fourteen years imprisonment for defaulters.

The said, “It is our belief that Amnesty International which has authorised many damning reports against the Nigeria Army is not a fit and proper organisation to do so given their now advertised notorious trilogy of anti-African cultural objectives such as promoting recognition of same-sex relationships and promoting the abortion rights.

HURIWA noted that Nigerian cultures and traditions are not at variance with international human rights laws while calling on members of AI to denounce such moves.

HURIWA further called on the Nigerian National Assembly to pass a resolution condemning objectives such as those of AI from the root.

“The struggle for same-sex relationship and abortion is really a much-strayed politics that has no identity in the African cultural and religious landscape. No true African culture can recognize or accept the strange habit of sniffing for sexual pleasure in the anus of a fellow human.

“Even if the anal sex lifestyle is a western conspiracy for global birth control, it is seriously stepping on the toes of African core values and the belief system of most religions of the world. After all, birth control is a matter of self-discipline by a married couple, which can better be achieved through gradual family education.”

Speaking further, he added, “Our culture is under severe attack. We need a cultural ministry that will be headed by tested and trusted hands. We have professors 9f culture. We have professors in different languages and cultures.

“We need a full ministry of culture. I don’t even know who occupies that position. The last time we heard about him was when he jumped up and approved the demolition of a restaurant in Kaduna over, according to them, attempted adultery.

“That was the only time we heard that kind of person talking which means he doesn’t even know his job. We can have a ministry of culture that its job will focus on the Internet countering this kind of application by Amnesty International.

“I’m sure the minister doesn’t even know about Amnesty International’s move when he’s going about attacking AIT. We need a ministry headed by somebody who is interested in protecting our culture.

“We need a 21st-century ministry culture that will put our culture on the Internet. We are calling for the dismissal of Lai Mohammed as the minister of culture. He’s unfit.

“We need a fit Nigerian to handle that position because he has not done anything to defend our culture. We call for the total overhaul of the cultural sector.”