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Nigeria: Undressing Anti-Nudity Critics

Paul Nwabuikwu

12 August 2008

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opinion

Lagos — Until recently, Senator Eme Ekaette had two major claims to fame. The first is an impressive career achievement while the second was acquired through a bit of marital good luck. Mrs Ekaette is past president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria. Even though the number of women heading professional bodies has been on the upward swing lately (for some reason the unglamouorous accountants of ICAN seem to be particularly gender-friendly) it remains an important professional achievement for a woman to rise to such heights in a largely male-dominated society.

One can safely assume that Mrs Ekaette, who prefers to be identified by the rather colonial title of Lady, possesses a higher than average competence in her chosen profession and the that the position she attained was a reflection of the goodwill and high esteem which she had earned among her peers and colleagues.

Lady Ekaette's other claim to prominence comes, of course, from the fact that she is married to Ufot Ekaette, the veteran civil servant from Akwa Ibom State who served as Secretary to the Government of Federation under the Obasanjo administration. It has been suggested that the clout of her spouse has been more critical to her progress than her professional exploits. From all accounts, the formidable Chief Ekaette, one of the few persons who survived eight years of close proximity to Obasanjo, deployed his political influence to good effect in the run up to the 2007 governorship and legislative polls. Taking full advantage of the well known fact that former President did not like former Governor Victor Attah very much, he became the most influential factor in the polls. Virtually every serious Akwa Ibom politician who wanted to survive that bare knuckle era gravitated to his orbit. Not surprisingly, his better half was one of the key beneficiaries. But the point needs to be made - again - that she was already quite distinguished before she became a distinguished Senator. I refer anyone who doesn't think this is an adequate defence to the immortal words of former Minister of Works, late General Abdulkareem Adisa who, upon being asked why a disproportionate number of the ministry's contractors were comprised of his friends and relations replied: "When you become Minister, give all the contracts to your enemies!"

But all this is history. Senator (Lady) Ekaette is now much better known for a more worthy cause: the Anti-Nudity Bill. Ever since the lady, in a fit of uncontrollable moral fervor, decided that it was time to use legislation as a weapon to deal, once and for all, with the human eyesores defiling the streets of our villages, towns and cities with their immoral get ups, she has emerged as a distinguished national figure in her own right, no longer tied to the apron strings of any one, not even her closest and dearest. One must give credit to whom it is due. The Senator has displayed uncommon courage and fortitude in fighting the cause of anti-nudity, even though she has been assailed, from every side, by the press and it's partner-in-crime, civil society groups.

Pray, what is the Lady's crime? A closer look at the bill which she proposed in her capacity as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Women and Youth reveals that there is nothing in it that many of us have not canvassed in our churches, mosques and even in the more convivial environment of beer parlours. The Lady is being harassed for going public with a cause that is already quite popular in the hearts of Nigerians.

Even the title of the proposed legislation reveals the purity in the heart of the good Senator. It is as long as her good intentions: A Bill for an Act to prohibit and punish public nudity, sexual intimidation and other related offences in Nigeria and a bill for an act to make provision about sexual offences, their definition, prevention and protection of all persons from harm, unlawful sexual acts, and for other purposes convicted therewith. Only people who are congenitally anti-decency or those who are actively promoting public nudity, sexual intimidation and similar terrible crimes can find fault with such a worthy cause.

Senator Ekaette, as befits a Lady, has been quite circumspect in the midst of the storm generated by individuals and groups who do not share her vision of a morally sanitized Nigeria where "though tribe and tongue may differ, in decency we stand " Engrossed with the noble and urgent task at hand, she has granted few interviews (which makes strategic sense - many of the reporters have, after all, been brainwashed by the enemy). But she has made a few pithy comments which capture the essence of her vision. Let's consider one of them:

'If you want to wear something, I believe that there are certain parts of the body that must be covered. You cannot go naked in the name of fashion.'

Now why would anyone quarrel with this obvious truth? Who wants his or her wife, sister or daughter gallivanting about in a state of near undress? Nobody brought up in a proper home can quarrel with the thinking behind this unimpeachable sentiment. (You don't need to be a rocket scientist to guess the kind of unspeakable places which some of the characters who have been condemning the good Senator come from.)

In their desperation to misrepresent the Senator and sabotage her good intentions, her critics have sought to portray the proposed legislation as anti-female. But this cannot be true because the bill unambiguously seeks to outlaw "indecent dressing by both men and women". (For the information of her many critics, Mrs Ekaette is a woman - and proud of it).While it is true that the virus of nudity is friendlier to the female of the species, the Senator is an equal opportunity crusader who recognizes that the virus is by no means exclusively a "woman wrapper".

Anyone who has watched a football match in recent times can attest that abnormal dressing, a first cousin of nudity, is becoming quite popular. It has become increasingly more difficult to differentiate between a Super Eagles and Super Falcon player. For reasons which only the devil can perhaps explain, many of the boys now prefer to go about in permed and braided hair and, most unnatural of all, earrings! The Senator deserves praise, not condemnation, for anticipating this growing evil and promoting a proactive, pan-gender legislative intervention. At the right time, when the Bill becomes a glorious reality, some of these dangerous multimillionaire clowns who constitute such a terrible example to the hundreds of youths who idolize them will be arrested - straight from the football pitch. There should simply be no place in a decent society for those who misuse their fame and fortune and whose acts of omission and commission put the interests of our society at risk.

Unwittingly, some of the critics are confirming that the bill is not only morally but also logically sound. Consider this statement by the Civil Liberties Organisation and the Women's Unity Forum: "Some ladies 'dress indecently' in order to attract the attention and patronage of mainly our corrupt and obscenely rich politicians, including Senator Ekaette's male counterparts in the legislature who use our girls as objects of sexual pleasure and gratification."

The statement confirms that the letter behind the spirit of the Anti-Nudity Bill is a sound one. Let's ignore the libel directed at the distinguished colleagues of Senator Ekaette for a moment and focus instead on the admission at the heart of the statement: irresponsible dressing is dangerous! When these small girls put on little strips of cloth which reveal to the whole world parts that only a properly acquired husband should have access to - behind closed doors - they can ignite a whole range of unfortunate events which only can lead to tears, sadness and, even, God forbid, a successful coup in the kitchen and bedroom of a victim who is in no position to physically ward off the aggression. What better reason to take action before it is too late for all decent women?

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