‘With this strange wedding between a man and a male dog now officially consummated, the US must have wittingly opened a new vista in the journey to bestiality and amorous rascality.’

The debate on same-sex marriage has been ranging back and forth for some time. It gathered momentum recently when Nigeria passed a legislation which put a seal on the abnormal behaviour. Since then, different groups and governments, especially the United States of America, USA, and the United Kingdom, UK, have been very vociferous against the clampdown. The reason is simple: their laws support such inanities and, therefore, whoever goes against such moral absurdity is regarded as a ‘sinner’. At least, that is the unfolding scenario that is threatening to suffocate all of us and lead us through the path of evil and perdition.

Now the United States, the self-acclaimed custodian of morality, has gone a step further. On Monday, February 3, 2014, the most obscene event took place. The venue was the Chapel of Our Lady at the Presidio in San Francisco, California State, where the first-ever state-recognised human-animal marriage took place. Paul Horner, a 35-year-old local resident, was the groom during the wedding ceremony. He was joined in ‘unholy’ matrimony with Mac, his faithful dog, who is 36 years old in dog years. Mac was to have been the groom, but the animal ended up wearing a white veil at the last moment.

On hand to perform the marriage rituals at the outdoor wedding was Reverend Father McHale. Shortly after he had officiated, an obviously elated Fr. McHale told reporters that he was extremely happy to be a part of “this joyous moment of life”. According to him, “this is the definition of true love my friends. There is nothing more sacred than the bond between a man and his faithful dog. It’s a fantastic day to be alive.” Among those who witnessed this eye-sore of a union was Horner’s entire family who flew in from Hawaii for the event, while Mac also had her puppies in attendance.

In the book of California’s State Laws and Regulations there is a little known law that was passed as the state was being formed in 1850. Article 155, paragraph 10, clearly states: “If a man and a man can get married and a woman and a woman can get married, if ever comes that day, then a human and animal will have the exact same rights to marriage in every eye of the law. God help us if this ever is to happen!” Now, it has happened. Since it is recognised as a legally binding marriage by California law, “Horner and Mac will have all the same tax benefits and everything else coming to them that a regular married couple would receive.”

However, Horner, the man of the moment, surprised many when, after the wedding, he quickly said that he would not have sex with the dog. According to him, “I just love my Mac so much; I can’t wait till we can finally get back to the honeymoon sweet in Montana where bestiality is legal… People keep asking me why I wanted to marry a dog. I told them I just want the same God-given rights that every person in California is allowed to have. Don’t tell me I can’t marry my dog. I don’t tell you that you can’t marry a 500 lb woman with gas issues. That’s your decision. Don’t tread on me. I love my dog and I know he loves me a hundred times more than any gay wedding out there.”

With this strange wedding between a man and a male dog now officially consummated, the US must have wittingly opened a new vista in the journey to bestiality and amorous rascality. It is a one-way ticket to Sodom and Gomorrah. As usual, they may be too willing to export this strange union to other parts of the world. What this signifies is that we are seriously in trouble with this convoluted definition of human rights as espoused by the Americans and their cohorts in other parts of the world.

Nigeria has been placed under the hammer since the country recently signed the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill 2013 into law. This action unsettled many gay-rights enthusiasts across the globe. When the Senate, the Upper House of the National Assembly in Nigeria, passed the bill on November 29, 2011, the international community greeted the move by launching a spirited campaign to stall the final passage of the bill into law. At the forefront of the international campaign were the UK, Nigeria’s colonial master, and the US. Since then, their resentment had multiplied not diminished.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Australia towards the end of 2011 provided an opportunity for David Cameron, the petite British Prime Minister, to assault the collective sensibilities of Africans when he veered off mark during his speech and launched himself into a sermon ostensibly targeted at Africans at the meeting. In the long speech, which betrayed his deep-seated anger and emotional stress, Cameron laboured hard to espouse the beauty of same sex marriage. He said his country would not tolerate a law that seeks to punish people because of their preferred ways of life in accordance with their orientations and beliefs.

He was not alone. Barack Obama, the US President, added his own voice by issuing an executive order through a memo personally signed by him, empowering US diplomats worldwide to advance the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, LGBT, persons. According to the memo, “the struggle to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons is a global challenge and one that is central to the United States’ commitment to promoting human rights. By this memorandum, I am directing all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that US diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons”. The release of that memo coincided with the day some handpicked Nigerians posing as gays, staged a protest against the same-sex bill in their country in front of the Nigeria House in New York.

Homosexuality is illegal in most African countries, where sodomy laws were introduced during colonialism. In Uganda, punishments for homosexual acts range from 14 years to life imprisonment. By the new law, the gays in Nigeria risk 14-year jail terms if they do not retrace their steps and renounce such marriages. Also, any person who operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations directly or indirectly will earn 10-year imprisonment. Those who administer, witness, abet or aid the solemnisation of a same-sex marriage are going to bag 10-year jail term. The signing of the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill into law has foreclosed any pressure on the Nigerian government not to assent to the bill.

Indeed, this is a piece of legislation that is needed in this country to protect the traditional family and the future of our children because the African cultural values do not tolerate same-sex marriage. Like I said in my column on December 14, 2011, “Africans abhor same sex unions”. African culture revolves round their ancestors, the living and the unborn children. Not even the advent of the dominant religions – Christianity and Islam – has been able to interfere with that fundamental belief. Therefore, marriage in African context has never been seen as a private affair. Rather, it is a community affair, and that is what gives it essence and meaning. Christianity and Islam frown at homosexuality. So also is African traditional religion, wherever practised. In actual fact, African traditional religion does not only frown at it, it imposes severe sanctions on those involved and even their families. So, for all practical purposes, homosexuality is un-African; the society condemns it in its entirety and, in most cases, ostracizes anybody involved or passes a curse on such a person or persons”.

Now that human beings are getting married to animals – and maybe trees and other objects much later – this satanic practice, rather than bring development, will only spell doom for those who engage in it or who tolerate it in the name of civilisation. However, in Nigeria and as a people, we must remain steadfast and undaunted as we move gradually and steadily to annihilate the vestiges of bad influence on our culture, beliefs, tradition and norms.