|
Bin Laden Fever Grips Nigeria
 |
| New born
babies named Bin Laden in Nigeria
|
Additional reporting by IOL correspondent in Nigeria, Sulaiman Osho
ABEOKUTA, Nigeria (IslamOnline) - The leader of Al-Qaeda network, Osama bin Laden, who is being chased by the U.S. in Afghanistan for alleged acts of terrorism has been declared as hero in different parts of Nigeria.
Newly born babies in Nigeria are being named after the man who is regarded as a "hero for challenging America's double standards in world politics."
Investigations revealed that seventy percent of baby boys born in a hospital in Kano, northern part of Nigeria are being named Osama bin Laden.
A nurse at the hospital told IslamOnline's correspondent that "this is a season of Bin Laden babies where fathers who regard him as hero name their children after him for his bravery and undauntedness."
Meanwhile, a nursing mother in Calabar, Cross River State of southeastern Nigeria has fled home in protest against the naming of her newly born baby after Osama bin Laden by her husband.
The woman, a Christian, has decided to divorce the Muslim husband for naming her child after "the most wanted man in the world." But the husband had insisted that his son's name is Osama bin Laden.
This is not the first time controversy has arisen over naming a child after Bin Laden.
In November last year, a Brazilian couple announced they are filing a lawsuit to secure the right to name their new-born son "Osama bin Laden Oliveira Soares," after the civil registry office refused to let them register the name, news agencies reported.
Osvaldo Oliveira Soares and Maria Aparecida vowed they will take the issue to the courts after social workers recommended that they choose another name due to the difficulty the name could cause for the boy in the future, according to Sao Paulo's daily newspaper, Jornal da Tarde, reported Spanish news agency EFE.
However, the couple has refused to opt for a different name.
Oliveira Soares expressed his admiration for Osama bin Laden and noted that "he is a good person, not the terrorist the United States makes him out to be."
He added that his respect for the Saudi-born exiled millionaire originated when he was transferred to the Baghdad office of the Brazilian Construction Company for which he works.
While living in Iraq, Oliveira Soares traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan, but he denied ever having contact with the leader of the Al-Qaeda network.
In another incident in the Philippines, a Christian family in October, also named their newborn baby, Osama.
The infant's father, Nicolas Sivellejo, said he had named his son after Bin Laden, in support of the Saudi dissident's anti-American stance.
In his town, the registrar there also tried to dissuade the 27-year-old Sivellejo from naming his son after his hero, Bin Laden.
The baby was born on September 24th, 13 days after the attacks. Sivellejo said his first-born was named after his hero for showing the world that "America is not at all invincible."
Sivellejo, who is a devout Catholic, told local newspapers that he does not like the "American imperialists."
Another pro-bin Laden supporter in Malaysia almost named his baby boy, also born in September, after Bin Laden. He was planning to name his son Usamah, but cancelled his plans, fearing reprisals.
|
