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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