By Olanrewaju Akojede
Lagos – Mr Brian Brown, President of World Congress of Families (WCF), has said that it was immoral for the government of the U.S. to have tied aids to Nigeria to changes in the families.
Brown, also a co-sponsor of the African Regional Congress, said made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
Brown is one of the guest speakers at the ongoing programme organised by Foundation for African Cultural Heritage at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The programme, tagged “African Regional World Congress of Families’’, has in attendance discussant on gender-based issues affecting the family.
Reflecting on the importance of families to human existence, Brown called on Africans to stand up against any policy that threatened human existence.
“It is important for countries in Africa and developing ones to reject the overtures from the Western countries, especially the U.S., it is another form of imperialism.
“Africa should say no to any culture that will adulterate its belief. What the western countries are doing is bullish to Africa. A threat is threat and it doesn’t last long.
“Tying aids to Africa with changes in the family way is wrong, some Americans object to this and I know the new U.S. administration will be much better in this regards.
“We should stand up against gay practice regardless of anything that we might be losing in terms of Western funds. The truth is worth standing for. It does not matter what sacrifice,’’ he said.
Brown said that rejecting foreign aids tied to the new form of imperialism might be difficult; hence it was worth the sacrifice.
“I realise it’s difficult turning down those aids, but I believe God will bless any nation that refuses to be drawn into the new form of imperialism which I think will not last long.
“We have had governments that said no and they survived it, like countries in the Eastern Europe. The countries are stronger. It is wrong to buy people off, it is not acceptable.
“We must stand up for the family because marriage is a union between a man and a woman; we have many Americans that still believe in it.
“It is only that the world leaders are trying to undermine that institution,’’ he said.
Brown said that abortion must not be tolerated in African culture, adding that it was alien to the people; they must not allow it under any guise of women and gender equality.
“Abortion is about killing of human being. The foetus is life, when it is killed that is life. When a woman gave birth it is a life from her body.
“No matter what we say, abortion is evil. Maybe we did not rise against all this evil on time, but now there is need for a concerted effort. We need global view.
“Africa is a ground zero of which the western world is trying to export evil to and we can put a stop to it. The future of Africa will define the whole world.
“If Africa stays strong on marriage and life, they will give hope to other countries in the world. Africa must also stay strong in the fight against same sex marriages,’’ he said.
Brown said that families determined what happens in the society, adding that it was evil for the world bodies to undermine the family setup.
“Without strong family, we cannot have strong economy and we can’t have strong country. It is imperative that the western world realise that the family is the most important in building the society.
“In the past few decades, governments in the west are now trying to impose a new definition of family on Africa and some developing countries and this is the reason we have to stand against it.
“We will work together in Africa to stop this evil. They sometimes come in form of treaties and resolutions which many did not understand.
“When they talk about women rights, they did not say there is an evil clause in it called abortion, they just talk about discrimination. It is not discrimination at all.
Brown urged African nations to rise up in one voice to speak against some United Nations’ resolutions that were against normal family practice.
“African nations have power to stop and expose anything that will undermine families.
“They should rise up against UN and unwholesome foreign policies and stop the attacks on our families,’’ he said.
