Opinion: My open letter to Senator David Mark

by Stephen Chukwuma

david-markMr. Senate President, does the term “human rights are universal” mean anything to you and your colleagues at all? While the world is progressing in advancing human rights, we are constantly going several steps backwards because you and your colleagues have become mouth piece for the Lord and have failed to do the job you were all elected for.

Dear Sen. David Mark

As it is the season of open letters in Nigeria, I decided to write one to you. This is because of your recent interest on gay issues in Nigeria and how you have used your power as Senate President of Nigeria to divert our interests from important pressing issues to issues that mean nothing to an ordinary Nigerian whose only interest is to eat healthy food, travel on safe roads and be protected from criminals.

Many people believe that “a lot of homophobic people around the world, are people who might be closeted homosexuals.” Not like I find it consequential to assume you are a closeted homosexual yourself, Mr. Senate President, your interest might stem from this. If you had not considered this a big issue, I would have kept mute.

The records have shown that since the inception of democracy, no average Nigerian has gained the benefit of democracy and yet our politicians including you, pride yourselves as people who speak for the interest of the average Nigerian and work for the interest of the country. As we all Nigerians can see, you all only work for your selfish interests, fly business class in planes and probably owning private jets and properties that your generation yet unborn don’t even need.

Mr. Senate President, I chose this medium to communicate with you because if I dare try to request for an opportunity to speak with you, those military men that look like lions looking for a scape goat to devour would jump on me and devour me before I even try to run and these are the same military men that our money is funding.

I am tired of waking up every day to read in the papers and hear in the news of constant bombings in northern Nigeria.  I am tired of having to hear of how poor NYSC members face the anger of disgruntled Nigerians; I am tired of hearing of how a minister stole money to buy cars to protect herself from enemies that we can’t see and wondering who protects the ordinary Nigerian.  I am tired of hearing that the National Assembly members are the highest paid in the world.  I am tired of hearing these ugly things and I am seriously tired of having to deal with you people’s arrogance including the impunity to play politics with the lives of Nigerians.

It is very clear to we Nigerians that the reason you and your cohorts continue to debate and press on with this anti-same sex marriage bill is because you people constantly want to divert our attention from the pressing issues facing this country and we are sick and tired of it. I know that lots of people are very tired but they are afraid of speaking up because they would be called homosexuals. I am tired of having to debate an issue (gay marriage) that has no effect on the progress of our country and forget about other serious issues that affect us as a country. I am tired, we are all tired of these games.

You have used the Bible, the Quran and the so-called ‘African culture’ as backbone of your argument against gay people. You have justified all your claims and I can understand that. I’m appalled you think you were bungled into the Senate by God, your religion and that your colleagues who are Muslims came in through the same way. What do we do to our fellow citizens who are atheists, agnostics, humanists and traditionalists? I guess send them all to jail because they don’t believe in the bible and Quran. May I remind you and your colleagues that when you people were being sworn into your positions, you were given the bible to swear with that you would uphold the constitution of Nigeria and not given the constitution to swear with that you would uphold the bible and I guess the Quran was same for your muslim colleagues.

Nigeria is a free country, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said few days ago when summoned by the members of the House of Representatives. People have absolute right to choose whatever religion, sexual orientation and belief system, so long as their existence doesn’t threaten the lives of others and in this case, I don’t see how this issue threatens our lives. This, I think, is what you should consider as a well-travelled man and learned mind. If I can understand what ‘African culture’ you politicians talk about all the time, I would have asked the question: do Nigerians still dress like they used to in the 16th century? Have we not transformed? Changed. Become better? That aside, if we follow you and your colleagues argument on culture, then we need to completely reject the Christian religion to protect the African culture? Why do we have to take some and abandon some. I am not a teacher and I won’t start bugging you with the semantics of homosexuality; whether gay people are born or ‘made’ by themselves.

Sen. David Mark, young people in Nigeria are dying of HIV/AIDS almost everyday, because they have no access to sex education and they can’t be open about what and who they are to the people who can proffer solutions. They are dying, in Lagos, Abuja, Awka, Enugu and heavily in your state Benue including all places in Nigeria. This disease is spreading; it is killing them and it is killing everyone. Gay people are going underground and because of this, some of us who work in the field of sex and health education will not be able to reach out to them. They might think we are spies sent by the government to arrest and jail them. Open your heart, sir. This bill cannot change people’s sexuality; rather it would create an opportunity for double lives and lies and the effect of this obnoxiously dangerous.

Mr. Senate President, does the term “human rights are universal” mean anything to you and your colleagues at all? While the world is progressing in advancing human rights, we are constantly going several steps backwards because you and your colleagues have become mouth piece for the Lord and have failed to do the job you were all elected for.

There are several cases of corruption at the moment in Nigeria, videos going viral of people being beaten to death on the streets, accusations of killer squad set up to kill Nigerians, accusations by the Central Bank Governor of certain money missing, our universities have been shut down for 6 months and only recently just opened, PDP members defecting to APC like flies after excrete (which is really not our business), continuous road accidents on our highways and yet you and your colleagues continuously divert our attention to anti same sex marriage bill. Our doctors have also started their own strike and the final answer now is which way Nigeria? Is this the kind of country the God you serve wishes for us?

Mr. Senate President, are you aware that the 4 boys that were beaten to death in Aluu Rivers state are still not resting in peace as their killers still haven’t gotten any punishment, are you also aware of another one that happened in Badagry and have you seen the video of 2 twin babies thrown into a carnal obviously by a young girl? Are you aware of the women that were beaten and molested because they stole pepper in Ejigbo? I doubt you would be aware of all of these because you live with your colleagues in posh Asokoro and only deal with mighty things like billions and people’s sexual orientation.

You people don’t involve us when it comes to talking about the billions and sharing it oh, but you come to us and tell us you want to criminalise same sex marriage because it is very important to do and that it would help our country grow. Really? Even when the marriage act in Nigeria already defines marriage as between a man and a woman and there is no proof of homosexuals clamouring for marriage in Nigeria, atleast you people should show us evidence and call all these people out, at least you people should involve us in a fair process to talk about the issue, rather than decide for Nigerians. My guess is that you all are representing us or maybe you people are there for another purpose, please correct me.

I am sincerely tired, Mr. Senate President and as a concerned Nigerian I have decided to speak up, even while I will be tagged a homosexual and maybe running into trouble with you and your colleagues, I have still decided to speak up because we Nigerians are tired of this game you people continuously play with us. Of all the corrupt cases in Nigeria that we hear about a panel being set up to investigate, we never get to the end of it, we never hear what happens afterwards. Our youths are engraved with the idea now that the only way to make money is to get into politics and steal what you can or do some fraudulent business as that’s what everyone is doing and our politicians are helping us perfect the act. When would all of these end and when would you all truly represent us? When would you people realise that it is the old woman in the village, the young boy on the street, the married man with no job and five children, the young girl out of school and hoping for a good life that sacrificed everything including standing under the rain and sun to vote you all in the hope of a better Nigeria and not the private jet flying pastors and greedy aides advising you people that truly voted you or better still are not affected with anything you do because they get all the money they want and when they want it.

I remember clearly when subsidy issue was on, there was the argument that its for the benefit of the poor people, yet when the whole thing happened, it was the poor people that suffered, died and are still suffering the whole thing now and yet even the benefits we still haven’t seen till now. Nigerians have turned to saints, they sleep in churches, they pray and intercede even more than angel Gabriel and the rest, yet their situations have turned worst while the pastors and church leaders continue to grow rich by the day and churches springing up everywhere.

Following your argument of Nigeria being a religious land, one would expect that it would be a great country with everything going well, yet reverse is the case as everything keeps getting worst and yet it means nothing to you and your colleagues, rather what you all are interested in is anti gay marriage bill. Na wah oh!

I would like to reiterate one thing Mr. Senate President and that is same thing everyone has said and is still saying, if Nigeria continues to move the way it is moving, it would crash seriously. Nigeria is sitting on a time bomb and we must act fast to save her, we must deal with important issues while the sun is still shinning. We must desist from telling our widows to go and die in the village but we must realise their sincere suffering, we must wake up and realise that our youths are the future of this country and we must invest greatly in them, we must realise HIV/AIDS as a real issue affecting our country and deal with it, we must also work to advance the human rights of everyone in our country as no country can survive when everyone is silenced, victimised and are left to face jungle justice.

Dear, Senator David Mark, please stand up and act for the reason we voted you into power. Your aides would a lot of times tell you what you want to hear, they would tell you they have given you information based on the interest of Nigerians, that is not true. They are far from the realities facing Nigerians, they only read the newspapers and draw their own conclusions based on the gifts and money they would get from you. A lot of the stories they read are paid for and an average Nigerian wouldn’t pay for it because he/she prefers to have food in their stomach and survive. Reach out to them in a substantive way and hear their cries, work for them as that is why you were voted. You people should not only mourn Mandela but take an example from the life he lived and would it be okay if I asked you to become Nigeria’s Mandela and believe in freedom and equality for all?

If Nigeria fails, you all would never be forgotten and the angry fingers of mother death, would continue to torment you all even while your bodies lie lifeless.

We are not going to sit and watch for too long so we encourage you all to act fast and rightly while the sun still shines.

Your fellow citizen,

 

Stephen Chukwumah

 

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

One comment

  1. Mr. Writer, seriously you are being emotional here and you want your readers to follow suite. What has gay marriage denial got to do with bad roads and poor health care?

    You already said it that people would accuse you of being a gay. What else do you want them to say? Why are you speaking for them?

    This gayism insanity requires commonsensical approach and I think you are not getting it. Just bring any animal as an illustration, which of them goes to the same-sex to enjoy the pleasure of coitus?

    Secondly, gayism is a filty act and I want to agree it pleases you- inserting ones manhood into an opening meant for passage of faeces. In the normal design of this anal opening, was it meant to accomodate such thing?

    Now, imposing what is not meant for a thing on it, what do you expect to result, if not troubles? Medical issues for sure. Do some analysis and write a new letter, Mister.

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