More knocks on Kano mass wedding: ‘Same compassion should go to schools, hospitals’

File image of Kano government’s mass wedding for 1,500 brides. Photo: AFP

By Juliet Umeh

The wedding bells have gone silent in Kano. The colourful outfits have been put away, the rice served, prayers offered and the 1,500 couples who participated in the Kano State Government-sponsored mass wedding have begun what may be the most difficult part of the entire exercise – marriage itself.

For the newlyweds, the real ceremony begins after the celebration.
It begins with rent, food, electricity, healthcare, transportation, employment and, eventually, the cost of raising children.

That reality has transformed Kano’s mass wedding programme from a celebration of matrimony into a debate about poverty, governance and government priorities.

The state government reportedly committed about N1.5 billion to the exercise. Each bride received N100,000 as dowry, with another N100,000 reportedly provided as capital support, alongside household items including beds, bags of rice and cooking utensils.

While the government says the programme is designed to help economically disadvantaged people overcome the financial barriers of marriage, critics are asking a fundamental question: Is helping poor people get married enough when the economic conditions that made marriage difficult remain unchanged?

Reacting to the development on Arise TV’s What’s Trending, broadcaster Ayo Mairo-Eese questioned how the programme should be measured.

“It is funny but not funny. It is just that you have no choice but to laugh at some of these things. Is this development?” she asked.

According to her, government interventions should be measured by outcomes rather than the number of items distributed.

“How do you measure success? These are the things developmental organizations will use as metrics to determine whether or not what they are doing is working,” she said.

A bed is useful. A bag of rice is useful. Cooking utensils are useful. But none provides sustainable income, creates employment, repairs roads, provides electricity or keeps children in school.

What happens after the wedding?

Dr Ruben Abati, who also participated in the discussion, questioned whether the programme was a case of misplaced priorities.

“The mass wedding, we were told, cost the state government about N1.5 billion. N100,000 given to each bride as dowry, another N100,000 given as a capital grant,” he said.

Abati also raised concerns about population growth and family planning, arguing that the government appeared to be deliberately encouraging population increase.

“And so that the couple don’t go hungry, they have been given a bag of rice each,” he said sarcastically.

His larger concern, however, was sustainability. The success of the programme, he suggested, should not simply be measured by the number of couples brought together, but whether those marriages can survive the economic pressures ahead.

Rufai Oseni, another presenter, brought electricity into the debate.

“I want to make a vital point. One thing I see missing here are generators or solar,” he said.

Behind the humour was a serious point: newly married couples need more than household items to run their homes.

Government should not stop at the wedding

For Public Relations and Communications Strategist, Mr Barnabas Akindele, the mass wedding should not be dismissed entirely.

He described it as “a commendable display of benevolence”, particularly at a time when the cost of marriage has become burdensome.

But he said government support should not end with the ceremony.

“Such generosity should not end with weddings. The same compassion and resources directed towards helping people establish homes should also be extended to education, healthcare and the general welfare of citizens,” he said.

Akindele added: “Government should be judged not only by the ceremonies it facilitates, but also by the quality of life it creates.”

‘It is a misplaced priority’

Alhaja Bunmi Yekini, who spoke to Saturday Vanguard, was more critical.

She described the programme as a “misplaced priority”, arguing that Kano has more pressing challenges.

“Kano State is one of the poorest states when it comes to the poverty index in Nigeria,” she said.

“These are things that a state like Kano should focus on, not spending millions, billions rather, on weddings, mass weddings,” she added.

Yekini said government should focus more on jobs, education and getting people out of poverty.

“You are not employing people. You are not educating people. The next thing you think is best for the people of the state is to conduct a mass wedding with taxpayers’ money,” she said.

She also expressed concern over reports involving a 17-year-old bride, questioning what life skills and opportunities would be available to young people entering marriage at such an age.

‘Empower them to pay for their weddings’

Media and Communications Officer, CAPPA, Mr Robert Egbe, acknowledged that the state was responding to a genuine social need but questioned whether the N1.5 billion could have produced greater impact through economic empowerment.

“The Kano State Government says mass weddings are a way to help economically vulnerable intending couples begin married life with economic and household support. So you can see that they believe that it is an important societal need,” he said.

However, Egbe noted that N1.5 billion for 1,500 couples translates to about N1 million per couple.

“I’m wondering if it would not have been better to use the N1.5bn to economically empower economically challenged residents so they can make enough money to pay for their own weddings,” he said.