By Uzair Adam Imam
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, to retract her litigation and petition to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) concerning the planned marriage of 100 orphaned girls in Niger State.
Malam Hassan Sani Indabawa, Chairman of the Kano State Chapter of MURIC, made this appeal on Thursday night in a statement, urging Nigerians to respect one another’s culture and traditions.
Indabawa noted that the marriage arrangement, sponsored by the Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Hon Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji, is scheduled for May 24, 2024.
On Monday, the minister announced that she had approached a court to halt the speaker’s plan to marry off 100 prospective brides and had also petitioned the IGP regarding Sarkin-Daji’s intentions.
“We find the harsh and hasty decision taken by the Honourable Minister for Women Affairs over a matter that is entirely beyond the scope of her ministry. The minister’s attempt at media demonisation of marrying off 100 poor and orphaned girls, who were largely traumatised from losing both parents to brutal banditry and insurgency, shows her ignorance of the culture and traditions of the Muslim North. This elaborate media blitz was deliberately done to sway public opinion against the marriage institution and vilify Sarkin-Daji, who demonstrated genuine concern for his constituents’ needs,” Indabawa said.
He recalled that the speaker had explained his intention to support orphaned girls, especially victims of banditry attacks, following an appeal by religious and traditional leaders from his constituency.
Hon. Sarkin-Daji expressed surprise at the minister’s attempt to tarnish his reputation without conducting a background check or consulting him to hear his side of the story.
Indabawa also criticized the minister for her controversial public statements since her appointment, including a recent TV appearance where she suggested that children could be involved in producing toothpicks and sanitary pads, thereby promoting child labor, which her position should condemn.
“We, at MURIC, therefore, categorically and unequivocally call on Minister Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye to immediately withdraw the legal case and the petition she filed with the IGP to avoid imminent embarrassment because, in this matter, no law has been breached and no coercion was established,” Indabawa noted.