There is a trending video of a 60 years old man showing off his latest wife, an 11 years old girl. This marriage is nauseating to the conscience of reasonable fathers and mothers.
This ‘child-wife’ could be the granddaughter of this depraved 60 years old man. What’s happening to our moral values that a 60 years old man would be comfortable and proud to show off an 11 years old girl as wife?
Child marriage contravenes the Nigerian constitution as well as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which affirm 18 as the age of majority, and guarantee a child’s right to be free from coercion and violence, and to get health care and education.
Why is the governor of Kano state, Nasir El-Rufai and Police authorities in Kano state silent about this child marriage? Would El-Rufai give out his 11 years old daughter in marriage? Where are the moral integrity of governor El-Rufai and the Kano state Commissioner of Police?
Almost two decades after the Child Rights Act was passed, Nigerian girls are still being forced into child marriages,
In Kano state and across the North, girls are being married off at younger ages than ever – as young as 12 and 13 – perhaps to reduce the economic burden on their parents and generate revenue from the bride price.
Married girls in Kano state are denied their fundamental rights to education, a safe dwelling, and freedom from violence, and often do not have access to adequate health care. Without strong regulatory protections for girls, families force them into early marriage for several reasons, including religious and traditional practices and to avoid the social stigma over teen pregnancy.
In the Sharia-legislated Kano State, across North-East and North-West states, the rate of child marriages are some of the highest in the country. In February 2022, the Kano State Assembly voted to adopt the Child Protection Bill, but Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has yet to assent to it. State legislators should ensure that the final version of the law guarantees adequate protections for girls, including recognizing 18 years as the age of majority as set out in African regional and international law.
Nigeria’s rates of child marriage are some of the highest on the African continent. Although the federal Child Rights Act (CRA, 2003) prohibits marriage below age 18, the Nigerian constitution contains provisions which appear to conflict with this position. States with Islamic legal systems have also failed to adopt both the federal law and 18 as the age of majority for marriage. Some southern states which have adopted this position have failed to take adequate steps to carry it out.
This child should be saved and rescued from this depraved man if her future is to be guaranteed. She should be rescued from this marriage and sent to school.