Following a Prime Progressreport on the ‘money woman’ culture in the Becheve community of Cross River State, youths in the community under the aegis of Becheve Youth Elite’s Association or BYEA have tagged the report “an attack on the good culture” of Becheve.
In a press statement made available to our newsroom, the association said they will “not live to see this unfortunate and incessant misrepresentation of the good culture and the tradition of the Becheve people continually.”
The statement reads: We, the entire Becheve Youth Elites, woke up this morning being 29Th of June 2023, to the unfortunate and misleading video attacking and colonising the good culture and tradition of Becheve people in Obanliku LGA by www.primeprogressng.com where we have been working tirelessly with the Becheve traditional stools and other concerned organisations (NGOs) many years ago that has led to the prohibition of the defunct child marriage aspect of the Becheve martial culture.
This is coming barely eight months after the good culture and the tradition of our dear father and ancestral land was similarly invaded by one Tunde Onakoya with the same aim of misrepresenting Becheve culture and tradition to make money from alien NGOs as we arrested the erroneous episode by the perpetrators.
To this end, Becheve Youth Elites Association will not live to see this unfortunate and incessant misrepresentation of the good culture and the tradition of the Becheve people continually.
We must decolonise the strangers who have little or no fundamental knowledge about the fantastic culture of our great people.
In fact, it may interest the entire world to know that; during the just concluded Becheve youths and leaders summit on the 24th of June, 2023, a lot was discussed and agreed via a communique on this so-called money woman marriage saga, which simply means dowry paid marriage or Bride Price
Consequently, on the above, BYEA is calling on the Cross River State Government and the entire world to disregard these grant-seeking NGOs who are just bent on eroding Becheve marital culture as we also advise them to engage other alternatives.
Becheve Youth Elites’ Association is a community development-based organisation founded in April, 2022 with the sole aim of developing Becheve society and advocating against any form of child or teenage marriage/abuses thereof and Obanliku at large
Youths in the Becheve community of Cross River State, under the Becheve Youth Elites’ Association (BYEA), have denounced a report by Prime Progress on the 'money woman' culture. They view the report as a misrepresentation of their cultural practices.
In a press statement, BYEA expressed their frustration over continuous misrepresentations and emphasized their efforts to eliminate child marriage practices from their culture. They called for a broader understanding and acknowledgment of their customs and traditions beyond external misinterpretations.
BYEA urged the Cross River State Government and the international community to disregard certain NGOs' attempts to undermine Becheve marital traditions. They clarified that the 'money woman' marriage refers to dowry-paid marriages or bride prices, reflecting their long-standing traditional practices.
Founded in April 2022, BYEA focuses on community development and advocates against child or teenage marriages and abuses, aiming to foster a better understanding of Becheve culture.
