by Femi Ogunshola
The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to prohibit the production, importation, and usage of educational materials that contain content promoting Lesbianism, Bisexuality, and Transgender (LGBT) in the nation’s educational resources.
This resolution followed a motion by Rep. Sulaiman Gumi ( PDP-Zamfara) during plenary in Abuja on Thursday
Gumi stressed the importance of banning inappropriate educational materials in Nursery and Pre-Primary Schools across the country.
He said the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) has a crucial role in ensuring quality assurance in national-level book development and local authorship.
He also pointed out the influx of foreign educational materials that introduce values contrary to the nation’s cherished norms and ethics.
Gumi specifically called attention to the widely used book, ‘Queen Primer,’ which subtly introduces terms like ‘gay’ and ‘eros,’ propagating sexual perversion and immoral behaviours to innocent children.
He deemed this exposure as unlawful, unethical, highly immoral, and in direct contradiction to the principles of child upbringing.
In response to Gumi’s motion, Rep. Fayinka Oluwatoyin (APC-Lagos) proposed an amendment, suggesting that the use of such materials after their ban should be deemed a criminal offense.
This amendment was unanimously adopted by the House and referred to the House committee on Basic Education.
The House urged the Federal Ministry of Education, the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council, and the Education Research Council (ERC) to thoroughly review and censor the content of educational materials used in Nursery and Primary schools.
The house also said their directive is to ensure that these materials are appropriate and devoid of any connotations of immoral behaviour.
The committee on Basic Education has been mandated to oversee and ensure compliance with this directive.(NAN)
