KAYODE OLUWASEUN WRITES:

There has being news of the Former Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, marrying a woman of 18 years all over the media, and it has really gathered a lot of comments.

My Take:

The constitution of Nigeria however has however being silent on the marriageable age for females. However there are still some points to note in the constitution which i would outline:

-The provision of section 29 of the Nigerian Constitution says “any Nigerian of full age can renounce his or her citizenship” and some conditions were set such as:

(4a) under section 29 which says 18 years and above
(4b) said any married woman.

-Part 1 Section 61 of the 1999 Constitution, when a person marries a child under Islamic law in Northern Nigeria and is consequently in contravention of the Child Rights Act (CRA), such a person cannot be prosecuted because the Federal Government would be interfering with an Islamic marriage and would be in violation of Part 1 Section 61 of the 1999 Constitution.

Looking at the first law, the constitution did not define who a married woman is, but it is trying to tell us that a married woman has the right to make decisions and choices. It also brought a correlation between someone who is 18 years+ and a married woman. In a simple mathematical manner we can chose to say:

*****18 years and above = Married woman*****

That apart, the second law made us know that the Islamic law on marriage holds irrespective of any Child Rights Act as the Fed Govt is powerless against such laws.

It is vividly clear, and I can say out-rightly that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (SLS) has done nothing wrong in marrying the 18 year old WOMAN.

I know that so many people have gone on social media (facebook, twitter, google+) in protest to the issue, some even promoted the hashtag #ChildNotBride. Well, I shake my head at some of them, because it is still this same people that would be chasing girls below 18 on the streets. Probably, they haven’t seen an 18 year old graduate who has achieved more than them, that is why they are seeing this as an abomination or seeing the Adamawa princess as immature.

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