By Ken Afor
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, took an unusual step on Thursday by announcing scholarships and providing various gift items to 100 orphaned girls in Niger State.
This move came ahead of a mass wedding ceremony for the girls held on Friday, May 24, 2024 which was sponsored by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Abdulmalik Sarkindaji.
Initially, Kennedy-Ohanenye had voiced strong opposition to the mass wedding, citing it as a violation of the Child Rights Act. She had petitioned the Inspector General of Police, IGP Egbetokun to stop the event and filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to restrain the Speaker from proceeding with the mass wedding.
However, the Speaker had criticized the minister for interfering in a religious and cultural matter she did not fully comprehend. He argued that the minister acted without first understanding the circumstances that necessitated sponsoring the weddings for these girls.
The Speaker received backing from the Niger State Council of Imams and the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), who insisted that the mass wedding must go on as scheduled and warned the minister not to intervene.
Ahead of the contentious mass wedding, Kennedy-Ohanenye, represented by her Special Assistant on Private Sector, Adaji Usman, visited Niger State.
She announced scholarships for the girls to pursue university education if they wished and distributed various items, including wrappers, foodstuffs, and 10 Point of Sale (POS) machines, for the 100 young girls. The distribution ceremony took place at the palace of the Emir of Kontagora, HRH, Alhaji Muhammad Barau Muazu II.
Additionally, the Emir of Kontagora announced the donation of a sewing machine to each of the girls.
Kennedy-Ohanenye also directed that bank accounts be opened for all 100 prospective brides, where a stipend would be sent to them for the next six months to help them settle into their new homes after marriage.
She, however, criticized the media, alleging they had exacerbated the uproar that initially arose regarding the mass wedding ceremony involving 100 orphaned girls.
The minister expressed gratitude towards the Speaker’s management of the situation. She pledged that the married girls would undergo close monitoring at their new homes to ensure the empowerment program’s goals were achieved.
On his part, the Speaker lamented that the well-intentioned initiative to facilitate the weddings of 100 girls had become a political controversy.
He said: “It was pure politics from my constituency. They misinformed the minister that I am playing politics with the lives of the children by forcing them into marriage.
“And the minister, because of her passion for women and the girl child, quickly waded into the matter even though she could not find out the true position of things and the media began to amplify the whole matter.
“But thank God today I have been vindicated. The minister and the whole world have seen that these girls are of marriageable age and nobody is forcing them into it. It is being done with their consent.
“I decided to support the marriage out of genuine concern for these girls, the majority of whom are orphans as a result of the insecurity in my constituency. It was with a pure heart.
“I equally commend the minister for this empowerment scheme for the girls; she has shown that she is a mother and really meant well for the girl child in this country.”
