Soon, incision of tribal marks on children will be illegal

A bill to outlaw the incision of tribal marks has passed second reading at the senate.

The proposal entitled, ‘A bill for an Act to provide for the prohibition of facial mutilation, the offences, prosecution and punishment of offenders and the protection of victims under threat of facial mutilation and to provide for other related matters 2017 (SB. 408)’, is sponsored by Dino Melaye, a senator from Kogi west.

The upper legislative had debated the bill before giving it a nod on Tuesday.

Leading the debate, Melaye argued that facial marks subject victims to mockery, and robs them of self esteem.

“The irony of these marks is that it makes victims subjects of mockery by friends. Imagine someone being called a tiger simply because of the thick cheeks resulting from facial marks,” he said.

“These people have been subjected to different reactions. Some have lamented the marks that are bequeathed on them as generational inheritance. Many have cursed the day which this dastardly act was performed on them.

“Many of the grown adults have confessed that the most terrific debacle of their lives is their tribal marks. Some have become eunuchs because of this stigma.

“Imagine a boy in the class of 25 pupils carrying a tribal mark. His mates will call him the boy with the railway line. They are emblems of disfiguration.

“Some of them have developed low self-esteem and most times treated with scorn and ridicule including rejection by the female folks. The reactions of people who interact with them say it dampens and lowers their spirit.‎”

Contributing to the debate, Olusola Adeyeye, chief whip of the senate, said facial mutilation brings reproach to Africans, adding that it must stop.

“I don’t think anyone would oppose the bill, no parent should put a hot knife on a child’s face for identification,” he said.

“Medicine has got to a point where if you are trying to save life, the pain must be minimal; you should not administer unnecessary pain. If the so called surgeon knows that if you touch a child with a knife there is a penalty for it, this act will be stopped. This brings a reproach on the African race, we must stop the act.”

Speaking at the end of the debate, Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, said he was proud of the upper legislative chamber for considering the bill.

He said the bill would be worked on as soon as possible.

He then referred it to the committee on judiciary, human rights and legal matters for more legislative treatment.