FOLLOWING the dust raised by the Niger Assembly speaker over his proposal to sponsor the wedding of 100 orphans as his constituency project, The ICIR visited Mariga Local Government Area (LGA) and spoke with some of the selected ‘children’, their relations and community leaders.

Kabiru Abubakar gazed at the new set of chairs, wardrobe, and full-size bed he got as gifts from the speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, for his planned wedding with disbelief and joy.

He wondered how the little proceeds he got yearly from his farms and tailoring work would have made him acquire such a ‘luxury’ before his marriage.

It also occurred to him that in his immediate community and, indeed some parts of  Nigeria, a man planning a wedding must have some basic items before the parents/guardians of his fiancee could consent to the marriage. 

The 26-year-old Abubakar could no longer wait to bring Rayya Umar, his wife-to-be, home to enable them enjoy their new bed and other furniture as they begin their married life together.

The young man was among the men selected to marry the orphans whose wedding was proposed by the speaker as his constituency project.

The wedding was scheduled to be held on Friday, May 24, 2024.

Following the proposal, the Niger State government, Speaker, Mariga LGA council, Kontagora emirate, district heads, couples-to-be and their relations and friends had planned a mass wedding for the beneficiaries.

The district head of Kamfanin-Bobi in the Mariga LGA, Kabir Muhammed, confirmed that  every young man planning marriage in the community must have those furniture as requirements.

He told The ICIR that, “Some of the youths have been in relationship for many years and have yet to be joined in marriage because they could not afford a bed of their own and other furniture.”

Similarly, Niger State coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Nuhu Mohammed, said it was compulsory for male youth desiring marriage to have basic items in their homes in many parts of the North. 

He averred that the lack of these items made many young men wait for years before marrying.

The ICIR observed that there is a high level of poverty ravaging the area, as most youth and other residents struggle to feed and cannot afford a decent life.

The problem has been compounded by recurring attacks and abductions by bandits who continue to terrorise  communities and make residents live daily in fear.

Some communities in the LGA remain inaccessible. Not only do they lack basic infrastructures such as good roads among others, they have been ravaged by insurgency which has cut off communication services and impeded the smooth running of schools and health systems.

In addition to the furniture the speaker donated to all the grooms-to-be, he gave them N50,000 each to pay their bride price.

It was also gathered that each of the 100 ‘orphaned girls’ got N100,000 and a new sewing machine from the state governor, Muhammed Umar Bago.

Some furniture makers in Minna and Abuja estimated the cost of the set of chairs, wardrobe and bed donated by the speaker to each of the beneficiaries to be between N600,000 and N700,000.

Dashed hopes

Plans for the wedding were in high gear in communities in the LGA, as friends and families waited impatiently for May 24.

“We expected the mass wedding to be one of the biggest events ever seen in this local government,” a resident of Bangi town, Kabiru Umar said.

Like the other grooms to be,  Abubakar’s dream of bringing home Rayya Umar began to fade as controversy began to trail the matter.

He said he became agitated and woke up every morning to stare at his new bed and other furniture in the room, nervous that his desire to use the bed for the first time on his wedding day might be unaccomplished.

Controversy trails  wedding ‘project’

As news of the planned mass wedding filtered out, the minister of women affairs, Uju-Kennedy Ohanenye, protested and wanted the proposal halted.

She described the ‘100 orphans’ as children and said it was an abuse of their rights by the speaker and everyone involved in the planned wedding to offer them out in marriage.

Ohanenye petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, and moved to approach the court to stop the wedding.

“The actions proposed by the Speaker are utterly unacceptable to the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and the government at large. We are duty-bound to uphold the Child’s Rights Act and ensure the welfare and future prospects of these girls,” she reportedly said.

Consequently, the speaker called off the wedding and said he was only trying to help the ‘orphans’ to start a new life.

Some of the ‘girls’ interviewed by The ICIR said they were sad over the cancellation. They even threatened to kill themselves if they were not joined with their chosen partners.

According to them, nobody forced them into the wedding and they were not children as claimed by the minister.

Parties broker truce

After a few days of disagreement between the federal and the Niger State government, the parties reached a truce on the matter.

On Wednesday, May 22, the minister’s representatives were at the palace of the Emir of Kontagora, Mohammed Barau Kontagora, whose emirate covers the Mariga LGA.

Present at the meeting were all the chosen  girls  with their relations, district heads and the Niger State Government; including the speaker.

The meeting resolved that the wedding be conducted but the intending couples must conduct the necessary pre-marital tests, including genotype, before they are joined together.

Because some of them had yet to do the tests, the parties agreed that the mass wedding be cancelled while district heads conduct the wedding for those who met the conditions.

Findings by The ICIR in all district head palaces visited showed that the federal government vowed to verify the test results even after the wedding had been conducted.

In addition to approving the wedding, the minister promised to support the ‘girls.’  

Uju-Ohanenye said the federal government would sponsor those willing to return to school and others who would accept skill acquisition. She urged each couple to open a bank account where they would receive financial support from the government.

Some ‘couples’ speak

The ICIR met seven of the female ‘orphans’ and their husbands in their respective communities in the Mariga LGA, including Beri, Mariga, Kamfanin-Bobi and Maigoge between May 23 and 25.

All the newly wedded brides said they hoped to find a better life in their marriage because it was the best option before them since they could not go to school or proceed with their education.

Kabiru Abubakar, 26, is a young farmer who married Rayya Umar on May 24 as others. He is the second child in his family of 13 and has both parents alive.

Abubakar, who hails from the Maigoge community, said he dropped out of school in SSS 2.

His wife, Rayya Umar, also hails from Maigoge. She is among the girls whose parents were killed by insurgents in the state. She is the second among five children and is learning tailoring; hoping to use the sewing machine she received when she is done with her apprenticeship.

Kabiru Umar and his wife, Salima, from Maigoge community, wished to remain in their marriage till death parts them. Bandits abducted and killed their fathers in 2021, but their mothers are alive.

Umar, 25, is a farmer and hopes his wife would join him on the farm and also go for skill acquisition as promised by the minister.

Rumaisau Ibrahim had been a petty trader who hails from Mariga as her husband, Mohammed. She lived with her mother, who fended for her and her siblings with the proceeds of groundnut cake that she sold.

Rumaisau said, “My father died without a house. We’ve been living in a rented house and things are very difficult for us. My father left many children but five of them were from my mother. Raising us was a very difficult task for her.”

She said none of her siblings was enroled in a school, adding that she would have loved to be a lawyer if she had gone to school but as things are, she wants to sell clothes.

“When the insurgency occurred, we ran out of the village for a while before we returned. I heard about the wedding support plans from the district head, through the Emirate Council on Marriage. I have dated my fiancé for four years. My husband is 30 years old, and he sells agro-chemical products.

“I really felt bad when I heard the wedding would no longer be held. It was never what we expected. All the plans were ready. We are adults. If not for poverty, we would have wedded about two years ago, but when we received support from the government, we didn’t expect anything to stop us again.”

Rumaisau’s mother, Hauwa Mohammed, told The ICIR, “Things have been difficult for me. Raising the children has been very challenging. Even when the father was alive, we struggled to eat. We could not afford to send the children to school. After my husband died, I’ve been struggling to pay rent and ensure I have a place to keep the children.”

Amina Umar is also from Mariga town, the 21-year-old lost her father to the insurgents who killed him after taking ransom four years ago. The father had 14 children from three wives.

Her mum sells firewood while she learns tailoring. She and her siblings never attended a school. She learnt about wedding support through the traditional institution in Mariga.

Her mother, Hajara Adamu, 43, said Amina was her second child.

“We’ve been managing to survive since my husband died. Their father never attended any school and he didn’t bother to enrol any of his children in school before the insurgents abducted and killed him,” she said.

Faiza Bala, 20, is from Beri village. She lost both parents to insurgency in 2021. The parents left eight children behind, out of which she’s number four. None of her siblings attended a school. She has learnt tailoring.

Habiba Mohammed 20, also from Beri village, lost her father in 2021 to insurgency. She is the first of her mother’s five children. Her husband, Usman Muhammed, is 25 and runs a barbing salon. She dated Muhammed for over five years and she’s happy with the Niger State government and the speaker.

Similarly, Saida Bala, 19, said she finished junior secondary school but could not proceed because of poverty. Her late father left seven children for her mum.

Some community leaders, including the district head of Bobi community, Kabiru Mohammed, the Hisbah commandant, Kontagora unit, Abdullahi Mohammed, and the chairman wedding planning committee, Mohammadu Bello Musa, lauded the speaker and the Niger State government for supporting the wedding.

Niger government didn’t abuse Child’s Rights Act on ‘orphans’ marriage – Human Rights Commission

The Niger state coordinator, National Human Rights Commission, Nuhu Muhammed, absolved the state government of any blame regarding the wedding.

Muhammed said the people’s culture of making intending husbands have necessary furniture at home delays their marriage, adding that the government did well by supporting the wedding.

He said the media hype that the ladies were children were based on the pronouncement of the minister who said they were children and forced into the marriage.

According to him, the ‘girls’ rights were not violated and there was no reason to make any issue out of the wedding.

Why I proposed mass wedding – Niger Speaker

Speaker, Sarkindaji, said the girls’ families approached him and pleaded that he should help them to settle down in marriage. Out of the 270 of those who sought his aid, he said he agreed to support 100.

He was unhappy that the minister failed to contact him or conduct any investigation before condemning his proposal.

He said as a lawyer, he knew his bounds and would not impinge on the Child Rights Act and the Nigerian Constitution.

 “I am highly disappointed in the minister of women affairs and it is unfortunate that she allowed herself and her office to be misled by social media reports without finding out from me the true situation on the ground concerning this marriage,” he said.

“The public should know that Niger state people are law-abiding people.