Yesterday, I was going through a copy of The Nation newspaper of friday 31st October, 2014. And what I saw on the the 12th page got me thinking so I decided to bring the issue on here.

It was about a 14-year-old who risks facing the death penalty if after the court proceeding, she is found guilty of murdering her 35 year old husband in accordance with sharia law.

Now, I can only imagine the trauma the girl is going through for what I believe isn't her fault and after being raped(because any sexual act under such union is tantamount to rape) by the so called husband.

The issue of child bride marriages is more prevalent in the northern part of the country where a 13-year-old girl who is still undergoing transition to adulthood(puberty) could be bethroned to a 50-year-old man as long as the parent have given consent to the marriage negliging the fact that the girl is very young and opposed to the "unholy matrimony".

What even makes it more appalling is the fact that the Nigerian costitution backs this so called marriage and parents who are supposed to be the guardians of these children approve of these marriages and a supposed matured man who should be thinking with his brain founds pleasure in marrying someone who should be his daughter's age. Even more disgusting is the fact that a senator of the federal republic even indulged in such a practise.

I have come to notice that this practise is mostly common in poor families who see the girl child as a sort of commodity that can be sold out at anytime, funny enough you won't see the elite giving out their daughter at such a tender age. This further goes to prove the saying that "poverty is a disease". I think poverty is far worse than a disease, it tends to change one's view of things and reduces their level of thinking.

Apart from the fact that this act is inhumane, the health risks this poses to these girls cannot be overemphasized. Take Vesico Vagina Fistula(VVF) for example. Honestly speaking this is plain wickedness. I think human right organizations should stand up against this modernised form of slavery.