130 persons registered for mass wedding in Jigawa State.

No fewer than 130 suitors have registered in Gwaram Local Government Area to participate in a mass wedding, sponsored by the Jigawa State Government.

The Local Government’s Information Officer, Malam Nasiru Yusif, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Dutse on Friday that the new suitors comprised of 80 men and 50 women.

 

Yusif said the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the wedding in the area, Malam Abdullahi Basirka, announced the figure at a stakeholder meeting held in Gwaram on Thursday.

 

He said the committee would visit the District Head of the area to solicit his support in educating people on the importance of the programme.

 

According to him, the Council Chairman, Alhaji Ilu Shuwarin, has pledged the council’s support towards successful hosting of the mass wedding.

 

On July 16, the Jigawa Government set up a 19-member committee to organise mass weddings for widows and divorcees in the state.

 

The committee is headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Abdulkadir Fanini.

Cancelled Kano Mass Wedding Leaves Couples Frustrated- Report

Twenty-two-year-old Inuwa Inuwa and his 16-year-old girlfriend Kaishia Yunusa are in love.

“I met him three years ago when I was 13. Other suitors were coming, but I fell in love with him and now he is the only one,” says Kaishia.

“I liked her because she is very kind and she has a very good upbringing. She upholds the teachings of Islam,” Inuwa says.

Both are from agrarian families in a rural community in Kano state in northern Nigeria. They were supposed to be married last Saturday, but the event was cancelled.

Their families had prepared a wedding banquet. A goat had been slaughtered. Chicken had begun roasting. Bags of rice had been purchased.

“I had already invited my friends and many of them have come from far away places, only to come to Kano to hear that the wedding will not be taking place,” says Inuwa.

About 100 couples were supposed to get married there in a single ceremony organized by a state senator. But political tensions between the state governor and the senator resulted in the event being indefinitely postponed.

To re-enforce the decision, the state police department said it received intelligence that the mass wedding could be a security threat.

Thousands of people were expected to attend, including five governors from other states, according to the organizers.

More than 4,000 women have gotten married in the mass wedding program over the past four years. The government pays all the wedding costs – the venue, traditional bridal gifts, the dowry, food for the guests, furniture for the matrimonial home and even some starter cash for the couple.

The state governor’s administration says it will try to organize a mass wedding as soon as possible. The Sharia board says 10,000 women have already registered. The Sharia board plays a central role as a matchmaker and wedding coordinator. A single man or woman can come to the Sharia board office and look through stacks of photos to find an attractive person. Or a couple who cannot afford a wedding can come to the Sharia board to register to get married.

The Sharia board ensures that the couples are medically screened. Before the mass weddings, health screenings for potential couples was not common.

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