Nigeria: Bishops Oppose the Samoa Agreement

ACI Afrique explains that this agreement is “an economic partnership between the European Union (EU) and the member countries of Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific (ACP) [now the OACPS]. It covers six principal domains—namely: democracy and human rights, sustainable economic growth, climate change, human social development, peace and security, migration and mobility.”

According to Agenzia Fides, “The new agreement, which will serve as the general legal framework for their relations over the next twenty years, replaces the previous ones (Lomé agreement of 1975 and Cotonou agreement of 2000).” As the same agency reports, the bishops described this agreement as a “threat to the sovereignty and values of Nigeria.” The Nigerian ambassador signed the agreement on June 28 in Brussels.

A Reminder of Nigeria’s Responsibility

“In a 25-point statement, published on 10 July at the end of their Assembly, the Nigerian Bishops, defining themselves as ‘watchmen and guides, deeply committed to the sound moral, religious, and cultural growth of our dear country’, call on the government ‘to propose an amendment of the Agreement or withdraw from it’,”Fides reports.

According to the bishops, “the Agreement looks innocuous and attractive on the surface, but underneath it is carefully blended with post-modern secularistic ideologies that significantly undermine the moral, cultural, and religious beliefs of Nigerian citizens,” the statement accuses and Fides quotes.

The bishops add: “We are concerned that our civil authorities may not be fully aware of the implications of the nuanced language in the document, which threatens our national sovereignty and values.”

“The signing of the Samoa Agreement, according to the leaders of the Catholic Church,” ACI Afrique notes, “makes Nigeria renounce its position as a persistent opponent to contested language during negotiations in several international forums.”

“’The greater part of Africa has always counted on the leadership of Nigeria to contest the anti-life, anti-family, anti-culture, and anti-African values at the United Nations,’ they say, and they recall that ‘the decision not to sign the Samoa Agreement in November 2023 was consistent with Nigeria’s persistent objection to these questions,’” the same media continues.

A Strong Warning Against Gender Ideology and “Reproductive Rights”

“’The Samoa Agreement has 61 references to gender equality, gender perspectives and gender mainstreaming’, explain the Bishops. ‘The most outstanding is Article 2.5: The parties shall systematically promote a gender perspective and ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed across all policies,’ Fides quotes.

“According to the CBCN ‘The term gender is no longer an innocent term. There are over 110 genders that would claim a stake in the term gender equality."

ACI Afrique reports the bishops add that “the agreement also commits Nigeria to ensure that gender perspective is systematically integrated into all policies and programs. [...] Nigeria will also have to support universal access to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). [...] ‘Universal access means access for all, including children. It is the constant objective of sex education without values in schools. Comprehensive sex education allows the growth of the demand of SRHR products for children and youth,” the Catholic bishops of Nigeria note,” according to the same media.

This is why the bishops are proposing for the government to insert “an article in the general agreement and the regional African protocol worded as follows: ‘Nothing in this restricting agreement can be interpreted as including obligations concerning sexual orientation, gender identity, comprehensive sexual education, abortion, contraception, legalization of prostitution, same-sex marriage, or the sexual ‘rights’ of children’.”

“If it is accepted, this amendment will greatly contribute to preventing sexual and reproductive rights from becoming international through an economic partnership agreement,” ACI Afrique explains.

Fides notes that the bishops conclude that "Nigeria should withdraw from the Samoa agreement if the EU rejects the proposed Amendment. A precedent has already been set by South Africa, which withdrew from the Cotonou Agreement in 2023."