‘Clash of Civilisations' and the future of Nigeria's Unity
Handling the Ethno-religious Factor
Abdulrahman Mele
30th April 2010
One striking peculiarity of the modern times is globalisation. The age when people group themselves together based on the similarity of their ethnic and religious inclinations and avoid constant dealings with others - save when they chose to - is gone for good. A great deal of changes has occurred in this world; largely attributable to colonialism, industrialisation, wars, and the cosmopolitan outlook of modern societies. Consequently, ethno-religious differences no longer define where we live on this earth and who we deal with. This makes tolerance and respect for diversity an indispensable part of modern living.
* * *
If you open your door the next morning and walk the street, chances are the first person you meet probably does not speak or understands a word of your language and do not believe in your God. What do you do next? You probably shake hands with him, take the same bus and you go to his shop and buy things and he comes to yours, you work in the same office, take your children to the same school etcetera and at the end of it all, each go to his god and other private affairs and the modern state stands to make sure one does not offend the other. This is tolerance – if it is not properly played, the composition of the society will have to be redefined and there could not be such togetherness.
To some extent, it will be right to say tolerance is what we have now that is missing in the comparably chaotic history of humanity, but this is not because we are morally superior to our ancestors. It is simply because we have mixed up with others and in the process our interests have become composite and our fates intrinsically interwoven. Unlike in the past, calling people to your faith or way of thinking, for instance, is done in a civilised manner and this is the only way it will succeed today. In fact this is what the principle of every faith teaches. This ability to live together and ensure the respect for the dignity and sensitivities of others is the treasure that keeps the modern world alive and thriving.
Talking of tolerance, a good case could be made out of the Nigerian nation. The country which is made up of North and South and defined by Islam and Christianity respectively and hundreds of ethnic groups is clearly a place deserving intensified tolerance by its inhabitants. This is especially because the force of globalisation has not abated but is still pulling humanity ever more closely together. For sometime now however, there is evidence of a growing disrespect for the sensitivities of others in this country. It is shockingly observable that a big divide is emerging on the map of Nigeria - a divide defined by ethno-religious diversity and sentiments.
Every now and then there will be skirmishes in one part of the country or the other and the victims and culprits are always delineated along ethno-religious lines. Discreetly however, the bigger part of the clash is taking place on the mass media, especially the print media which is accessible to a tiny fragment of the Nigerian society. There is evidence of what Huntington will have cited as a good example in his book. This manifests whenever an incident occur that one part of the divide find unpalatable. Because of its multi-ethnic and multi religious (or more or less duo-religious to be precise) nature, Nigeria, it seems, has become one of the frontiers in the ‘clash of civilisations' that is becoming obvious across the world.
Take the recent case of the wedding of Senator Sani Yerima to a young Egyptian girl. This is nothing new or abnormal in Muslim societies but alien to non-muslims, especially those who look onto the Western world for ethical guidance. Thanks to the move to implement Shari'ah law in the Northern Nigerian State of Zamfara some years ago, the Senator has somewhat earn negative reputation in the media.
This time, he is once again at the centre of a new debate having to do with the controversial ‘Child's rights Act', which some lawmakers are trying to make into law in Nigeria. He was accused of violating the provisions of the Act by marrying the ‘underage' Egyptian girl – some sources say a thirteen-year old. But in a BBC interview, the Senator, though did not say exactly how old she is, denied that she is thirteen, while another source said she is fourteen[1]. The row is still raging in the political, academic and social circles following the spread of this ‘news' but what is clear is that the views and opinions expressed are diverse and at loggerheads regarding the moral justification of his action.
Here again, the iconic problem of intolerance and failure to appreciate diversity is evident. It is always about people having access to the media sounding like they are on the moral high ground and that their views are the only ethically justified ones. While to some people, marrying a thirteen-year old girl is awfully unimaginable, to others, however, it is awful to question the moral righteousness in this[2]. Some, in their own rights, believe - as the so-called ‘Childs' Rights Act' enshrines – that girls must be at least eighteen before they get married, but in other parts of the country, the commonest practice is for women to have got married before they are eighteen. Even some of the lawmakers mocking the former Governor perhaps married their wives at even tender ages. And then many of them still besiege the remote parts of the North to rain looted Naira on the families of beautiful young under-eighteens and marry them. These weddings are not only in violation of that ridiculous Act but also without the girls' consent. In most cases because these rich barons pop up suddenly and approach the girls' families rather than flirting and courting with the girls to obtain their consent; this is a genuine cause of concern.
Why diversity is a problem here is that most Nigerians fail to be empathetic enough to realise that what is food to one man is not edible to another. The man did not marry from the south, or from a society that thinks like southern Nigeria[3]. Most of those who believe it is awful to marry young girls evidently believe it is against common sense. And common sense is of course what spawned the likes of the Child's Rights Act. And it is common sense that inspired such laws in the United States and other Western countries where proponents of these laws here in Nigeria turn for justification of their views but maybe they are not aware that reliable surveys showed that approximately one-third of young women in the United States become pregnant during their teens and that 1 million teenage girls below the age of sixteen become pregnant every year. It showed that 13% of US births are from teen girls and that 25% go on to have a second child [4]. These girls were not raped, they consented to have sex and they get pregnant and sometimes chose to go for abortion. Does anyone have a piece of evidence that every girl who got married before she is eighteen was forcedly given out by her parents? If a thirteen, fourteen or sixteen year old girl will choose to have sex and get pregnant in the US why would a girl in Egypt or Nigeria have no right to get married at such age? If a young girl will do this for money or sexual gratification out there in the West and other parts of Nigeria why would another not choose to accept a $ 100,000 dowry from a Senator to marry him? There are so many things we got to understand about this aspect of diversity in this country.
So, is the issue about marrying a girl against her consent or simply marrying a young girl? The religion of Senator Yerima is unquestionably against forced marriage – one without the girl's consent. There is glaring evidence to back this; the Holy prophet of Islam has, during his lifetime, repudiated a wedding because the girl did not consent to it. This is one thing. The other thing is that that religion is not opposed to marrying a girl as soon as she reaches the age of puberty.
In other parts of Nigeria, from whence most of his critics hailed, women get married at older ages, like twenty-five. But most lost their virginity much earlier, and ultimately suffer the attendant consequences of free promiscuous life that is gradually creeping into the accepted norm there.
This recent clamour typifies and glaringly exemplifies the nature of the ideological clash that is going on across the globe today. Non-Muslims fail to understand that Islam, ethically, stands on very different points of views. Islam is largely realistic while Western culture is idealistic about almost everything. Whenever the West accuses Islamic law and practices of bringing some negative impact on the human society, indisputable empirical evidences emanating from surveys show that such problems prevail in the West despite its numerous attempts to enact man-made legislation viewed as the best way to avoid such negative eventualities.
At the end of it all, nothing seem to be working; child rights acts do not stop the emergence of a generation heavily littered with paedophiles and child trafficking, women rights laws did not succeed in keeping women comfortable – a growing number are out there suffering psychological and social trauma after years of ‘enjoying' freedom, a large number are suffering physical and emotional violence and living alone in single parent houses. All laws seeking to define people below eighteen as minors and protect them unfortunately fail to achieve this and a growing number of girls are out there in the porn industry and suffering more than they would have suffered if they chose to marry someone a day before they loss their virginity – mostly below the age of fifteen.
A comprehensive study in the United States led by Paul C. Vitz concluded that late marriage, divorce and single-parent families (most of which emanates from young girls getting pregnant on the streets and having children without a father to look after them) exposes women to numerous psychological and physical health problems. It particularly concluded that married women who gave birth have better health standards than unmarried mothers[5].
Better things happen to girls who marry than those who go to the porn, music and sports industry. At the best, they enjoy short-lived lives as celebrities, but in most instances, they live most of their lives trying to get to these heights and along the road, there are many things that are dangerous to youths – especially girls.
Here, Islam's view is that there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop girls from wanting sex (for money or carnal gratification) and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop men from wanting to relate to these girls and young women. Islam legalises marrying a girl if she reaches puberty and considering some other factors; Western culture forbade this but cannot stop all the dangerous sexual misadventures of its youth. Here, the issue is that of institutionalisation - legalisation. Islam legalises early marriage and placed stringent rules on men on how to handle women – especially young ones.
In the much publicised scandal about Bishops and Church officials sexually molesting young girls and even boys, what is evident is that these priests cannot help doing what they do because their religion and laws of their lands forbade marrying young girls; if they are Muslims, they would not stay single and would have married such girls and this is why there is no such scandal in Islam's religious establishments.
Notwithstanding all this, anytime something related to Islam and Muslims occurs these malicious writers and commentators hurriedly took their pens and paint the picture of Islam and Muslims that's in their minds regardless of what actually happened. Sometimes, one just needs to wonder where on earth these so-called journalists and writers got their information; whether it is from implied common sense or some form of intellect. The intent is always clear – to express their disgust of a faith which they are convinced is erroneous. Take this clear example of ineptness from two media outlets in Nigeria over the Senator's case for instance. The Punch Newspaper's editorial board wrote; "The Universal Basic Education Act 2004 requires every child to be in school. Yerima has deprived his little wife the opportunity to learn with her age mates under a formal school environment"[6], while Next Magazine reported; "Miss Eladly (the girl), who entered Nigeria with a tourist visa, has returned to Egypt to continue her education after what sources said was a consummation of her marriage"[7]. This clearly shows that such articles and their abusive contents are awkwardly and purposely put together before their writers get to know the actuality of the issue.
What is annoying is that all the comments and articles obtaining on the websites of Nigerian Newspapers ridiculing Islam are ninety-nine percent from non Muslims who inarguably know more or less nothing of Islam. This is not to say the Muslim audience is not aware of all these or that Muslims do not write articles and make comments. On 4th May 2010, all but one of the comments on the Punch newspapers FrontPage are from non Muslims, for instance and this is becoming trendy in Nigeria. Newspaper websites have become a platform for mocking cultures that are alien to the commentators.
The Punch newspaper mentioned the story and cites health concerns as the main reason why children must be protected against early marriage. There is constant mention of VVF as if to say it is all about getting married early and nothing to do with poor healthcare services. But the fact of the matter is that people in the North lack healthcare facilities and some that do not go to modern schools often fail to approach professional care while pregnant. Married or not married, young women get pregnant and due to the fragility of their bodies, they need professional healthcare during such pregnancies to avoid complications such as these.
The prevalence of VVF in the North therefore ought to be ascribed to other factors and not just early marriage – or early childbirth to be precise. With an estimated 400,000 to 600,000 cases of the disorder and 4 cases per 1,000 births annually, VVF occurs in women of all child-bearing age and the major cause in Nigeria is obstruction due to Cephalo-Pelvic Disproportion which, according to expert sources occurs regardless of the woman's age. The major cause is ineffective healthcare delivery and late presentation to hospital. The problem is most prevalent in the north-east, north-west, north-central, south-east and south-west of the country[8].
This explains why VVF is not a healthcare problem in places like the United States where a very large number of girls between the ages of 14 and 17 give birth every year. It is because they have access to good healthcare. Besides, worse complications that led to maternal mortality are almost endemic in the Third World and all authorities are unanimous that the major causative factor is lack of good healthcare facilities and accessibility.
In reality, what the writes of such articles and the commentators do is exposing their true nature of being xenophobic zombies who think they know what is morally upright because they have unfaltering faith in Western culture and ethics. But do they really know much? My advice is that let these people decrying the action of the Senator first find out whether his religion – Islam – forbade what he did or not and then choose whether to condemn the religion or the man and then find out from the Constitution, which they obviously eulogise, whether every Nigerian has the right to practice his religion or not. If ever we have to practice our religions, then non-Muslims in this country simply have to shut their eyes to some of our actions because to Muslims, the laws of religion are given precedence over and above common sense.
NOTES
1. Elizabeth Archibong, "Yerima's bride is the daughter of his Egyptian driver", NEXT online, May 5, 2010
2. There was a protest in Zamfara State in support of the former Governor's action and in defence of it
3. The position of the Egyptian government, that women must be eighteen before they are married and that their husbands must not be 25 years older is not the popular view in Egypt, in just the same way that the provisions of the Child Rights Act is unacceptable to Muslims in Nigeria.
4. Overview, consequences of teenage pregnancy – http://www.womenshealthchannel.com/teenpregnancy/index.shtml accessed on 4/5/10
5. Paul C. Vitz, "Family decline: the Findings of Social Science", Catholic Education resource Centre, http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/marriage/mf00062.html accessed on 4/5/10
6. "Senator Yerima's new wife" By Editorial Board, The Punch, Published: Sunday, 18 Apr 2010
7. Elizabeth Archibong, "Yerima's bride is the daughter of his Egyptian driver", NEXT online, May 5, 2010
8. Agboola, (Ed), "Obstructed Labour: a public health problem in Gombe State.
University Services Education Publications Ltd, Lagos, Nigeria. Pp. 191-196.
Abdulrahman Mele
30th April 2010
One striking peculiarity of the modern times is globalisation. The age when people group themselves together based on the similarity of their ethnic and religious inclinations and avoid constant dealings with others - save when they chose to - is gone for good. A great deal of changes has occurred in this world; largely attributable to colonialism, industrialisation, wars, and the cosmopolitan outlook of modern societies. Consequently, ethno-religious differences no longer define where we live on this earth and who we deal with. This makes tolerance and respect for diversity an indispensable part of modern living.
* * *
If you open your door the next morning and walk the street, chances are the first person you meet probably does not speak or understands a word of your language and do not believe in your God. What do you do next? You probably shake hands with him, take the same bus and you go to his shop and buy things and he comes to yours, you work in the same office, take your children to the same school etcetera and at the end of it all, each go to his god and other private affairs and the modern state stands to make sure one does not offend the other. This is tolerance – if it is not properly played, the composition of the society will have to be redefined and there could not be such togetherness.
To some extent, it will be right to say tolerance is what we have now that is missing in the comparably chaotic history of humanity, but this is not because we are morally superior to our ancestors. It is simply because we have mixed up with others and in the process our interests have become composite and our fates intrinsically interwoven. Unlike in the past, calling people to your faith or way of thinking, for instance, is done in a civilised manner and this is the only way it will succeed today. In fact this is what the principle of every faith teaches. This ability to live together and ensure the respect for the dignity and sensitivities of others is the treasure that keeps the modern world alive and thriving.
Talking of tolerance, a good case could be made out of the Nigerian nation. The country which is made up of North and South and defined by Islam and Christianity respectively and hundreds of ethnic groups is clearly a place deserving intensified tolerance by its inhabitants. This is especially because the force of globalisation has not abated but is still pulling humanity ever more closely together. For sometime now however, there is evidence of a growing disrespect for the sensitivities of others in this country. It is shockingly observable that a big divide is emerging on the map of Nigeria - a divide defined by ethno-religious diversity and sentiments.
Every now and then there will be skirmishes in one part of the country or the other and the victims and culprits are always delineated along ethno-religious lines. Discreetly however, the bigger part of the clash is taking place on the mass media, especially the print media which is accessible to a tiny fragment of the Nigerian society. There is evidence of what Huntington will have cited as a good example in his book. This manifests whenever an incident occur that one part of the divide find unpalatable. Because of its multi-ethnic and multi religious (or more or less duo-religious to be precise) nature, Nigeria, it seems, has become one of the frontiers in the ‘clash of civilisations' that is becoming obvious across the world.
Take the recent case of the wedding of Senator Sani Yerima to a young Egyptian girl. This is nothing new or abnormal in Muslim societies but alien to non-muslims, especially those who look onto the Western world for ethical guidance. Thanks to the move to implement Shari'ah law in the Northern Nigerian State of Zamfara some years ago, the Senator has somewhat earn negative reputation in the media.
This time, he is once again at the centre of a new debate having to do with the controversial ‘Child's rights Act', which some lawmakers are trying to make into law in Nigeria. He was accused of violating the provisions of the Act by marrying the ‘underage' Egyptian girl – some sources say a thirteen-year old. But in a BBC interview, the Senator, though did not say exactly how old she is, denied that she is thirteen, while another source said she is fourteen[1]. The row is still raging in the political, academic and social circles following the spread of this ‘news' but what is clear is that the views and opinions expressed are diverse and at loggerheads regarding the moral justification of his action.
Here again, the iconic problem of intolerance and failure to appreciate diversity is evident. It is always about people having access to the media sounding like they are on the moral high ground and that their views are the only ethically justified ones. While to some people, marrying a thirteen-year old girl is awfully unimaginable, to others, however, it is awful to question the moral righteousness in this[2]. Some, in their own rights, believe - as the so-called ‘Childs' Rights Act' enshrines – that girls must be at least eighteen before they get married, but in other parts of the country, the commonest practice is for women to have got married before they are eighteen. Even some of the lawmakers mocking the former Governor perhaps married their wives at even tender ages. And then many of them still besiege the remote parts of the North to rain looted Naira on the families of beautiful young under-eighteens and marry them. These weddings are not only in violation of that ridiculous Act but also without the girls' consent. In most cases because these rich barons pop up suddenly and approach the girls' families rather than flirting and courting with the girls to obtain their consent; this is a genuine cause of concern.
Why diversity is a problem here is that most Nigerians fail to be empathetic enough to realise that what is food to one man is not edible to another. The man did not marry from the south, or from a society that thinks like southern Nigeria[3]. Most of those who believe it is awful to marry young girls evidently believe it is against common sense. And common sense is of course what spawned the likes of the Child's Rights Act. And it is common sense that inspired such laws in the United States and other Western countries where proponents of these laws here in Nigeria turn for justification of their views but maybe they are not aware that reliable surveys showed that approximately one-third of young women in the United States become pregnant during their teens and that 1 million teenage girls below the age of sixteen become pregnant every year. It showed that 13% of US births are from teen girls and that 25% go on to have a second child [4]. These girls were not raped, they consented to have sex and they get pregnant and sometimes chose to go for abortion. Does anyone have a piece of evidence that every girl who got married before she is eighteen was forcedly given out by her parents? If a thirteen, fourteen or sixteen year old girl will choose to have sex and get pregnant in the US why would a girl in Egypt or Nigeria have no right to get married at such age? If a young girl will do this for money or sexual gratification out there in the West and other parts of Nigeria why would another not choose to accept a $ 100,000 dowry from a Senator to marry him? There are so many things we got to understand about this aspect of diversity in this country.
So, is the issue about marrying a girl against her consent or simply marrying a young girl? The religion of Senator Yerima is unquestionably against forced marriage – one without the girl's consent. There is glaring evidence to back this; the Holy prophet of Islam has, during his lifetime, repudiated a wedding because the girl did not consent to it. This is one thing. The other thing is that that religion is not opposed to marrying a girl as soon as she reaches the age of puberty.
In other parts of Nigeria, from whence most of his critics hailed, women get married at older ages, like twenty-five. But most lost their virginity much earlier, and ultimately suffer the attendant consequences of free promiscuous life that is gradually creeping into the accepted norm there.
This recent clamour typifies and glaringly exemplifies the nature of the ideological clash that is going on across the globe today. Non-Muslims fail to understand that Islam, ethically, stands on very different points of views. Islam is largely realistic while Western culture is idealistic about almost everything. Whenever the West accuses Islamic law and practices of bringing some negative impact on the human society, indisputable empirical evidences emanating from surveys show that such problems prevail in the West despite its numerous attempts to enact man-made legislation viewed as the best way to avoid such negative eventualities.
At the end of it all, nothing seem to be working; child rights acts do not stop the emergence of a generation heavily littered with paedophiles and child trafficking, women rights laws did not succeed in keeping women comfortable – a growing number are out there suffering psychological and social trauma after years of ‘enjoying' freedom, a large number are suffering physical and emotional violence and living alone in single parent houses. All laws seeking to define people below eighteen as minors and protect them unfortunately fail to achieve this and a growing number of girls are out there in the porn industry and suffering more than they would have suffered if they chose to marry someone a day before they loss their virginity – mostly below the age of fifteen.
A comprehensive study in the United States led by Paul C. Vitz concluded that late marriage, divorce and single-parent families (most of which emanates from young girls getting pregnant on the streets and having children without a father to look after them) exposes women to numerous psychological and physical health problems. It particularly concluded that married women who gave birth have better health standards than unmarried mothers[5].
Better things happen to girls who marry than those who go to the porn, music and sports industry. At the best, they enjoy short-lived lives as celebrities, but in most instances, they live most of their lives trying to get to these heights and along the road, there are many things that are dangerous to youths – especially girls.
Here, Islam's view is that there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop girls from wanting sex (for money or carnal gratification) and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop men from wanting to relate to these girls and young women. Islam legalises marrying a girl if she reaches puberty and considering some other factors; Western culture forbade this but cannot stop all the dangerous sexual misadventures of its youth. Here, the issue is that of institutionalisation - legalisation. Islam legalises early marriage and placed stringent rules on men on how to handle women – especially young ones.
In the much publicised scandal about Bishops and Church officials sexually molesting young girls and even boys, what is evident is that these priests cannot help doing what they do because their religion and laws of their lands forbade marrying young girls; if they are Muslims, they would not stay single and would have married such girls and this is why there is no such scandal in Islam's religious establishments.
Notwithstanding all this, anytime something related to Islam and Muslims occurs these malicious writers and commentators hurriedly took their pens and paint the picture of Islam and Muslims that's in their minds regardless of what actually happened. Sometimes, one just needs to wonder where on earth these so-called journalists and writers got their information; whether it is from implied common sense or some form of intellect. The intent is always clear – to express their disgust of a faith which they are convinced is erroneous. Take this clear example of ineptness from two media outlets in Nigeria over the Senator's case for instance. The Punch Newspaper's editorial board wrote; "The Universal Basic Education Act 2004 requires every child to be in school. Yerima has deprived his little wife the opportunity to learn with her age mates under a formal school environment"[6], while Next Magazine reported; "Miss Eladly (the girl), who entered Nigeria with a tourist visa, has returned to Egypt to continue her education after what sources said was a consummation of her marriage"[7]. This clearly shows that such articles and their abusive contents are awkwardly and purposely put together before their writers get to know the actuality of the issue.
What is annoying is that all the comments and articles obtaining on the websites of Nigerian Newspapers ridiculing Islam are ninety-nine percent from non Muslims who inarguably know more or less nothing of Islam. This is not to say the Muslim audience is not aware of all these or that Muslims do not write articles and make comments. On 4th May 2010, all but one of the comments on the Punch newspapers FrontPage are from non Muslims, for instance and this is becoming trendy in Nigeria. Newspaper websites have become a platform for mocking cultures that are alien to the commentators.
The Punch newspaper mentioned the story and cites health concerns as the main reason why children must be protected against early marriage. There is constant mention of VVF as if to say it is all about getting married early and nothing to do with poor healthcare services. But the fact of the matter is that people in the North lack healthcare facilities and some that do not go to modern schools often fail to approach professional care while pregnant. Married or not married, young women get pregnant and due to the fragility of their bodies, they need professional healthcare during such pregnancies to avoid complications such as these.
The prevalence of VVF in the North therefore ought to be ascribed to other factors and not just early marriage – or early childbirth to be precise. With an estimated 400,000 to 600,000 cases of the disorder and 4 cases per 1,000 births annually, VVF occurs in women of all child-bearing age and the major cause in Nigeria is obstruction due to Cephalo-Pelvic Disproportion which, according to expert sources occurs regardless of the woman's age. The major cause is ineffective healthcare delivery and late presentation to hospital. The problem is most prevalent in the north-east, north-west, north-central, south-east and south-west of the country[8].
This explains why VVF is not a healthcare problem in places like the United States where a very large number of girls between the ages of 14 and 17 give birth every year. It is because they have access to good healthcare. Besides, worse complications that led to maternal mortality are almost endemic in the Third World and all authorities are unanimous that the major causative factor is lack of good healthcare facilities and accessibility.
In reality, what the writes of such articles and the commentators do is exposing their true nature of being xenophobic zombies who think they know what is morally upright because they have unfaltering faith in Western culture and ethics. But do they really know much? My advice is that let these people decrying the action of the Senator first find out whether his religion – Islam – forbade what he did or not and then choose whether to condemn the religion or the man and then find out from the Constitution, which they obviously eulogise, whether every Nigerian has the right to practice his religion or not. If ever we have to practice our religions, then non-Muslims in this country simply have to shut their eyes to some of our actions because to Muslims, the laws of religion are given precedence over and above common sense.
NOTES
1. Elizabeth Archibong, "Yerima's bride is the daughter of his Egyptian driver", NEXT online, May 5, 2010
2. There was a protest in Zamfara State in support of the former Governor's action and in defence of it
3. The position of the Egyptian government, that women must be eighteen before they are married and that their husbands must not be 25 years older is not the popular view in Egypt, in just the same way that the provisions of the Child Rights Act is unacceptable to Muslims in Nigeria.
4. Overview, consequences of teenage pregnancy – http://www.womenshealthchannel.com/teenpregnancy/index.shtml accessed on 4/5/10
5. Paul C. Vitz, "Family decline: the Findings of Social Science", Catholic Education resource Centre, http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/marriage/mf00062.html accessed on 4/5/10
6. "Senator Yerima's new wife" By Editorial Board, The Punch, Published: Sunday, 18 Apr 2010
7. Elizabeth Archibong, "Yerima's bride is the daughter of his Egyptian driver", NEXT online, May 5, 2010
8. Agboola, (Ed), "Obstructed Labour: a public health problem in Gombe State.
University Services Education Publications Ltd, Lagos, Nigeria. Pp. 191-196.
