The idea of regulating bride prices and other activities related to marriage relationships appears to be completely consumed by the authorities of the state of Sokoto. According to the records that have been made available, the Bafarawa administration was the one that initially played with the idea of the government intervening in what is, for all intents and purposes, a private affair between two families by passing a law to that effect. Since that time, the measure has continued to garner the attention of legislators, who have also kept coming back to it to make small adjustments here and there.
The law that governs the “Regulation and control of expenses of marriages, naming and circumcision ceremonies and for purposes connected thereto” was initially enacted in 1992 and was subject to a review in 1996. It was brought up once more in 2022 with the purpose of reevaluating it and possibly making some changes to it. Already, a final draught is sitting there, awaiting the approval of the governor of the state.
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The proponents of the bill that seeks to reform this statute claim that one of its goals is to cut down on the extravagant costs associated with organizing the ceremonies that are mentioned. It is also supposed to be in response to a number of complaints received from members of the public regarding the excessive expense of marriages, for instance.
Legislators are of the belief that financial considerations have become a barrier in the way young people get married. And what’s even worse, it’s a source of early marriages that are fraught with problems and frequently end in divorce. These justifications are not unique to the state of Sokoto. In certain parts of the world, getting married is a major construction project that requires a significant financial outlay. Nevertheless, we are adamant that the subject needs to be kept solely within the purview of the families that are involved.
We are of the opinion that it is a waste of time to attempt to govern topics pertaining to the heart or anything else associated with it. If a potential husband is passionately in love with his future wife, he will not care what it takes to win her heart or how much it will set him back. He is able to have a conversation about the situation with the parents of his future wife and children without any meddling from overzealous legislators.
In the culture of the region in question, marriage is not restricted to solely the young people of the population. The political elite has made it a hobby to amass a number of spouses, and they take great pleasure in replacing their “old” wives with “younger” ones, either to conform to their newly attained status or to sate their “overflowing libido.” Perhaps they are looking for a more affordable price.
Already, some elders and clerics are pointing out to the government that such meddling in a subject that is specifically private contravenes the requirements of the Shariah law, which encourages adherents of the faith to marry a person whose socioeconomic position matches their own. In other words, such meddling in a topic that is expressly private violates the Shariah law.
As a newspaper, we are dumbfounded by the fact that the parliamentarians are only listening to the screams of the people with regard to this particular problem of marriage customs. Because they are politicians, it is expected of them that they will listen to the concerns of the people on issues that are related to their welfare.
For instance, why don’t legislators regulate the cost of living in order to bring it down to more manageable levels so that people may afford to live there? Why aren’t they passing laws that raise their wages and allowances to levels that take into account the widespread inequality that exists in the political system? Why are legislators not passing laws to prevent looting of the Treasury and excessive exit benefits?
The difficulty arises from the fact that members of the political class or the ruling elite are complicit in the issue that is driving young people into poverty and preventing them from getting married. How can a young man get married if, years after leaving school, he is unable to find work of any kind, no matter how menial the position? Or maintain the vitality of a marriage?
It is not just the cost of the bride that prevents young people from getting married and starting families, in our opinion; this is a significant barrier on its own. The most significant barrier is that the socioeconomic conditions that have been brought about by poor governance as well as corruption in high places have eaten up the resources that could have been used to generate jobs and other economy-boosting activities that would have put the youths in a better position to enter the business of married life. This is the primary obstacle. These are the types of things that, in our view, provide significant challenges to the institution of marriage. And this is exactly how the lawmakers ought to spend their time in the legislative process.
On this page, we have discussed the ridiculous amounts of money that are spent on political campaigns and elections. We have also voiced our concern on the propensity of politicians to view politics as a business, with the goal of making a profit as soon as they are elected into office and recouping the costs of running for office. Nobody regulates them since they correspond to the interests of groups, and this is why. The legislators do not believe that it is important to take into account the implications of such misconduct on the welfare of the people, whose complaints and cries for help are ignored.
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There is no time at all to worry about how much it will cost one to have a wife in locations where there is strong governance and the welfare of the people is the top priority of those in political offices. In these kinds of places, those in political offices are focused entirely on their jobs. It is not appropriate to discuss it in public, as it is a private matter.
We are of the opinion that young people should have the option of getting married without having to worry about the financial repercussions. In addition, we would like to applaud the legislators for their attentiveness. At least on this one occasion, they are responding to the concerns expressed by members of the public. It is important to stress, however, that a young man who has access to financial resources and lives in a thriving economy is unconcerned about the amount of money it will cost him to win the love of his life. It is not the responsibility of the legislative body to be concerned.
