Mass marriage for 100 girls: 'E beta to marry my daughter out dan for bandits to carry her for free‘ - BBC News Pidgin (2024)

Tori about di alleged 100 underage girls wey dem wan do mass marriage for inside Niger State, north central Nigeria, spark many reactions and controversies.

Tori bin fly upandan say di Speaker of di Niger State House of Assembly wan organise mass marriage for di 100 girls as ‘constituency’ project.

Dis tori make di Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye vex well well.

She para sotay she drag di Speaker, Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji go court and promise to investigate di mata.

Di mass marriage suppose hold on Friday 24 May, 2024, but goment put am on hold till further notice.

Some of di parents and guardians of di brides-to-be follow BBC Pidgin tok about why dem dey give out dia young daughters to marry at a veri young age.

'E beta to marry my daughter out dan for bandits to carry her for free

Mrs Asamau Shehu from Gulbin Boka community na one of di mothers of di brides-to-be.

She say she no know her own age but confam to BBC News Pidgin say her daughter dey 22 years and she no be underage, and she give consent to di marriage.

According to her, na di condition wey dem find demsefs force dem to make dis decision.

Di widow of late Mr Shehu say bandits dey worry dem too much as dem dey pass thru serious pain and trauma and no goment care about dem.

She explain say e dey beta for her to know wia her pikin dey and dey sure say her pikin dey alive instead of bandits to come carry her go unknown destination.

“Dis my daughter na twin, we marry her twin sister out last year, becos we no get anytin. We marry her off wit a dowry of N80,000. (54.7 USD)

“Di reason why I dey marry out my daughters na sake of say wen bandits bin come my house and kill my husband nobodi help us.

“And na during raining season, we dey suffer and nobodi care for us, sometimes I go send dem to fetch firewood and sell bufor we fit afford food,” di woman tok.

She explain say even though to marry out her daughters no be perfect solution to di problem but at least she and oda widows and women like her know say dia daughters dey safe.

“We dey marry dem out sake of say e dey beta to give dem out as brides dan for di bandits to come and kidnap dem, carry dem go forest, begin sleep wit dem and we no go even know how dem dey.

Mrs Shehu no happy wen she tell BBC News Pidgin say she and oda women no fit sleep well wen dem hear say Women Affairs Minister bin wan stop di mass marriage.

"For Gulbin Boka, women like me plenti. Wen dem tell us say dem wan cancel di marriage I no fit sleep for three days until wen dem tell us say di Speaker go assist us to marry dem off, na wen I sleep wit joy.

She appreciate di pipo wey bring di idea of di mass marriage sake of some of dia chilldren both boys and girls still dey for captivity wit di bandits.

“Some of our children still dey wit di bandits, dem neva rescue dem.

She add say dia children wey dem kidnap for Mariga wey be di headquarters of Gulbin Boka, Kumbashi and plenty odas neva return and dem no know dia fate.

On giving di girls education instead of marrying dem out, Mrs Asamau say "no free school and we no fit afford even 100 naira to give as pocket moni, instead we go use di 100 naira chop”.

She add say if di minister wan really help dem, make she go to dia villages and fix dia schools and make education free sake of say orphans plenti for dia.

She also beg goment to investigate di life of oda widows like her wey bandits kill dia husbands. She say some of dem dey pregnant and some don even sell dia houses sake of survival.

Education and empowerment for di girls

Tori about di Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Uju-Kennedy-Ohanenye wey don begin support di marriage of di 100 girls begin fly upandan on Friday, 24 May.

Dis dey come afta di minister send her team to Niger State to go see the girls by diasef if na true say dem dey underage, profile dem and confam if dem truly give consent for di marriage.

Di team land di Emir palace for Kontangora Local Goment Area. Kontagora na di headquarters of di Kontagora Emirate, wey Mariga and Bangchi local goments dey under.

Authorities for di Emirate carry di 100 girls come di Emir palace for tori pipo and di ministry representatives to see and ask dem questions if dem wan marry, go school or learn any skill.

Wen BBC News Pidgin journalist and di ministry team land di Emir palace dem observe say di environment get as e be, e no dey friendly and welcoming.

Dem aslo notice say some of di pipo carry stones and small knives inside dia clothes (Agbada).

Di atmosphere even wit security presence really dey tensed as dem dey wait di verdict of di minister.

Di atmosphere calm down wen di minister representative Mr Adaji Usman announce for di Emir palace say "we no come to stop di marriage, we come to see if any underage girl dey among, we come to find out if di girls give dia consent, anyone wey wan go school we go give dem scholarship and anybodi wey wan learn skill we go train dem”.

Bodi sweet dem as Mr Usman speak Hausa and announce to dem say "we dey profile di girls and collect dia account numbers too for empowerment”.

Di Ministry of Women Affairs also declare support for di mass marriage as dem present 100 bags of 10kg rice, sanitary pads and wrappers to di brides-to-be.

Dem also make am clear say di mass marriage no go hold until federal goment thru di Women Affairs ministry don finish empowerment of di girls wit skills so dat dem fit enta di marriage comfortably.

Surprisingly, afta profiling and asking di girls question none of dem agree to go school, dem prefer to learn any skill.

Di Emir of Kontagora tell tori pipo afta di visit say "na communication gap and misunderstanding between dem and di Minister of Women Affairs cause di whole kasala and I happy say evritin don dey resolved”.

Im warn di brides-to-be and grooms-to-be say im no wan hear say any of dem collect dis gifts finish and den divorce, else im go deal wit di pesin.

How dis mata take start

Speaker of di Niger State House of Assembly Mohammad Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji tell BBC News Pidgin how dis mass marriage of 100 girls start.

According to im, one of di village heads bin call am to complain say one of im villagers need help afta bandits kidnap her husband and demand a total ransom of two million naira bifor dem go release am but di bandits later kill di man.

"About four to five months ago, one woman bin call me thru one of di village heads.

Di woman begin cry dey beg me say kidnappers carry her husband for farm and dem ask dem to pay one million naira in 10 days for ransom.

Dem sell di man motorcycle kon raise di moni in 8 days, so di kidnappers say dem get moni so make dem bring extra one million naira.

By dis time dem no get anytin again sake of say dem don sell evritin di first time. Di woman get two daughters wey bin wan marry in six months time but due to di pressure she call di husbands-to-be make dem come marry di daughters sharp sharp just to raise di ransom moni.

Oga Sarkin-Daji tell BBC say di woman narrate to am say di two men raise di remaining one million naira, so afta dem pay di second one million naira di kidnappers kill her husband sake of say dem discova say im be vigilante.

"So di suitors of her daughters wey raise di moni begin ask for di marriage or make she refund dia moni and e no go good for her to marry di girls out wit empty hand, so she want make I help her,” Oga Sarkin-Daji tok.

Mr Speaker say her story dey sorrowful so im support her wit two million naira to use do di marriage for her daughters. Im explain say out of happiness di woman go tell di village head, di Imam of Ju'maat mosque make dem come tank am.

Im add say wen dis pipo come tank am, dem also beg am say no be only dat woman, say many women like her dey wey no fit marry out dia daughters sake of moni and dis girls get suitors already.

"Dem tell me say na 270 households wey need help to marry dia daughters, I tell dem say e too much I no go fit, sake of say to marry village girl na between N400,000 and N450,000 so na only 100 pipo I fit help for now.

" I support dem wit N50,000,000 from my own goodwill, I no know who dem be, I no know how di number take come, all I know be say my religious and cultural leaders meet me to help."

Im explain say wen di tori begin cause kasala between am and di Minister im vex well-well because di Minister no ask am weda dem be underage or not and dem from di same political party.

According to im, na di Emir of Kontagora bring im and di Minister to clear dia differences, so na for dat meeting dem agree say make dem bring di girls come make evribodi including di Minister see wit dia eyes.

"I dey happy say we don settle dis mata and shame di pipo wey wan cause problem between federal goment and di religion of Islam and our culture. We don see di girl and di men wey wan marry dem, we don confam say di girls give dia consent and dem no force dem, so na win win for evribodi,” im conclude.

'We no swap di girls' - Speaker tok

Dis mata neva end oh! as tori bin fly say pipo for di Kontagora Emirates remove di underage girls, about 38 of dem, and replace dem wit mature ones as dem hear say Minister team dey come.

But di Speaker clear di allegation, im tok say notin like dat happun.

"Wia di ones wey dem swap, you see dem by yoursef and di ministry pipo dey take dia data and account numbers.

Di rumour say dem swap di underaged girl no happun and e no go happun under my watch,” im tok.

Sarkin-Daji also clarify say no be all di girls be orphans as local media bin report.

Kidnapping and banditry dey happun well-well for Niger State, especially for di communities wey dey far from town.

For di last four to five months, bandit attack dey happun frequently for Mariga and Bagchi.

Community sources confam to BBC say na like three to five times dem dey get attack evri week but e don reduce in di last two months.

Nigeria as a kontri dey face banditry and kidnapping issues and oda insecurity mata dem but goment don continually assure pipo say dem dey chook eye for security mata.