The poisonous sides of forced, child or early marriage are beginning to emerge from fairly enlightened backgrounds. In a country where hundreds of thousands of women in some communities aged 18 years or above detest being forced into marriage, their counterparts far below that age (18 years), considered as the statutory age of maturity in Nigeria, are compulsorily paired with men as wives in other areas. Reports say girls at the tender age of between 12 and 14 years are already ripe for marriage in some parts of the country; and parents are too glad to part with the kids who are supposed to still be in school learning and acquiring skills to confront the challenges of life.
The Emir of Kano and former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Muhammadu Sanusi II, stated last weekend that forcing young girls into marriage and exposure of youths to information technology and social media were among the major root causes of youths becoming members of the Boko Haram insurgent group and similar social vices in the country. Speaking at the 10th Annual Ramadan Lecture organized by the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) in Kaduna, Sanusi emphasized that a product of girl-child marriage enjoys no parental care; and, therefore, quickly finds interest in insurgent activities at youthful age. “… You know from taking her out of school and forcing her into marriage without education result to having a child from her who does not have a mother that can give the child proper training. That is a child that gets on drugs, Indian hemp or joins Boko Haram. All these things are connected. We have to face these challenges”, Sanusi said. He stated in addition that youths learn new ideologies fast from the internet and, after watching, they go to Iraqi and Syria to join Jihadist groups.
Related to Sanusi’s contention would be the case of 14-year-old Wasila Tasi’u from Gaya Local Government Area of Kano State, who was arraigned in court last year for the murder of four men. She was accused of killing the 35-year-old man, Umaru Sani, she was forced to marry, alongside three of his friends, who allegedly ate the food she prepared and mixed with rat poison in April, 2014, barely a couple of days after her marriage to Umaru. According to the police, Tasi’u confessed to poisoning Sani and his guests at Unguwar Yansoro village, near Kano, because she was forced by her parents to marry a man she did not love. She was quoted as saying: “I have never enjoyed the opportunity of going to Islamic school or acquiring Western education. My father forced me into this mess by stubbornly forcing me into a relationship I was not prepared to live in”.
Though 15-years-old this year, Tasi’u, who is still a minor in the eyes of the country’s 1999 Constitution (as altered), stood the risk of a death sentence had she been convicted. But just last month, the Gezawa High Court, near Kano, formally struck out the charge of culpable homicide brought against her and granted her freedom. Human rights activists, civil society organizations and concerned Nigerians not only celebrated the acquittal of Tasi’u, but used her travails to draw global attention to the failings of child marriage, which still appears a compulsion, especially in many parts of northern Nigeria.
The 1999 Constitution, in Section 29 (4) (a), recognises “full age” as the age of 18 years and above; while Section 29 (4) (b) says any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age. The Child’s Rights Act of 2003 likewise outlaws child marriage and betrothal. The Act rejects any marriage contracted by anyone less than 18 years; as well as parents, guardians or any other person betrothing a child to anyone. Indeed, forced, child or early marriages constitute grave dangers to the nation. But more worrisome, perhaps, is the fact that punishing infractions against the law that prohibits them has been an uphill task for both the police and the judiciary as a result of purported cultural, traditional and religious linkages. But the nation seems left with no locum, except confronting the hurting and destructive challenges by helping Nigerian youths to embrace Western and Islamic education and guiding them in the right direction. Besides, we are looking forward to the day that parents, guardians and all who gleefully breach child marriage laws would be penalized for their crimes.
