We have started this campaign not for what we have to gain but what we have to give.
Change comes when the people are ready, when the people speak up and when they resolve that their voices will not be drowned. In this document is a skeletal plan on how we can stop Yerima and his fellow senators from stealing the rights of the Nigerian girl child. And it is a consolidation of our twitter rants.
SITUATION ANALYSIS
The Senate is currently on a constitution amendment exercise. And they have voted that a girl is of marriageable age at any age. This amendment has not taken into cognizance the social, psychological and health implications for the girl child. The Senate is made up of representatives of the people. Now, is this truly a reflection of the Nigerian populace? Or are they there to serve themselves? In Nigeria, we believe that our votes count for nothing. Oh, well, if you believe you are defeated then you are defeated already. If not, then you can do something. Malcolm Forbes says evil thrives not because of the evil men do but because good men stand by, doing nothing. This proposal is to challenge us to do something and create a change. There is no assurance that this change will come but you may never know until we try.
WHAT WE CAN DO
The House of Reps will put this to a vote if it becomes controversial. Lawmakers in each state also have to give their assent to this amendment move. We want to make this bill controversial and get our lawmakers to vote in our favour.
· Get the House of Reps to vote in our favour
· Get the state houses of assembly to vote in our favour
HOW
· Write a ‘letter to the editor’ and send to sgmine2@gmail.com. We will push these letters to the publishing houses for the newspapers
· Get ready for a nationwide march on Tuesday. In whatever state you are, if you are in the state capital, better, you will march alongside other Nigerians to your state house of assembly
· If you cannot join the protest, especially since it is a working day, here are a few more things you can do.
o Join the #1000voices campaign. How?
§ Record a video of yourself, a personalized video and upload on Channels TV youtube channel.
§ Send an SMS to the reps member in your state and in the national assembly. As you can expect, the numbers will soon start flying around.
§ Make T-shirts, placards, banners for protesters in your state
ABOUT THE PROTEST
· Simple, we going to our various state houses of assembly with our message. This is not religion, neither is it about mals-female difference. It is about the lives and healtgh of young girls at risk. It is also about the moral stance of the nation.
WHERE WE ARE
· Oge is preparing the message in Abuja. A unified message will go to every house of assembly
WHAT WE NEED
· 36 state coordinators
IT IS SIMPLE
· Send this message round
· Respond with suggestions
· If you have been involved in organizing a march before, let us know if there are procedures to follow
· Get this to NGOs, news editors, etc.
OVERALL MESSAGE
· #ChildNotBride. The Nigerian girl child deserves the right to feel safe and explore her childhood and make her choices when she is of age. If the legal age of driving can be pegged at 18, why not the legal age of marriage? If the legal age for admission into tertiary institutions can be pegged at 16, why not marriage? If the voting age can be pegged at 18, why not marriage? If the age for full citizenship can be pegged at 18, why not marriage. These decisions are not as grave as marriage, therefore, that of marriage must be given greater priority.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
· Start writing your ‘letter to the editor’. All you have to do is write and we will disseminate to different newspaper. State your stance on the issue
· Get ready to tweet and retweet
· Circulate this to your friends
· Create time for this campaign
· Tell us what you would rather do
· Sign the online petition here: http://www.change.org/