• About 105 young women have finally been married off in a government-sponsored mass wedding in Zamfara state, amid fanfare
• The 105 benefitting brides were orphans whose parents died as a result of terrorist attacks in the state, were married off to their lovers on Saturday, July 6, amid fanfare
• The development has gotten many talking on social media X platform, querying the decision of the lawmaker, Representative Abdulmalik Zubairu (APC-Zamfara)

TheTalk.NG journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements

On Saturday, July 6, the lawmaker representing Maru/Bungudu Federal Constituency in Zamfara state, Abdulmalik Zubairu, married off 105 orphans, whose parents were killed by armed bandits in the state.

Zamfara mass wedding: Some of the brides.
Photo credit: @channelstvSource: Twitter

The ceremony, which took place in Bungudu town, the headquarters of the Bungudu local government Area (LGA) of the state, was attended by prominent personalities both within and outside the state.

As reported by Channels TV, mass wedding is a common tradition in Northern Nigeria, aimed at supporting parents who cannot afford to marry out their daughters due to economic hardship.

However, in recent times, the tradition has faced a lot of criticisms.

Zamfara wedding; Zubairu paid N10.5 million as dowry

Despite the recent criticism, Zubairu sponsored the wedding of the orphans.

In a speech at the event, the lawmaker said that all the beneficiaries were assisted with household materials, including beds, mattresses, wardrobes, bed sheets and pillows, in addition to N10.5 million paid as dowry for 105 brides, PremiumTimes reported.

He said:

“We paid N100,000 for each of the 105 brides as dowry.”

Bride grooms got N100,000 each

Honourable Zubairu has also provided the sum of N100,000 for each of the 105 bride grooms and N50,000 to each of the 105 grooms to enable them start business of their choices.

Nigerians react to Zamfara mass wedding

As usual, Nigerians shared their thoughts via the comment section on X. TheTalk.NG captured some of their reactions below;

@dammygtnet tweeted:

“I don’t like seeing this kind of news. Marriage should be based on love, not passage of liabilities, so to say.”

@OlabisiLaw tweeted:

“At least 105 vote or more is guaranteed from them. Maybe that’s one of the reasons.

“While some of us are focusing on the future, many are still living in the past, not even in the present. This lawmaker is one of them.”

@bigmorsh tweeted:

“Hauwa no fit see this one lailai.”

@Jayprrime tweeted:

“Imagine if this people practice more of monogamy, who go marry all these women.”

@OyjakaC tweeted:

“Nigeria great country with great doings this lawmaker deserve a national award congratulations sir.”

Kwankwaso, Yusuf wed 1,700 couples in Kano

Similarly, the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) presidential candidate during the February 2023 election, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and Kano state governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, joined 1,700 couples at a state-sponsored mass wedding.

Kwankwaso was the representative of the grooms, while Governor Yusuf was the representative (Wali) of the brides.

Kwankwaso counselled the couples who participated in the mass wedding. He urged them not to check their spouses’ phones, which could help prevent marriages from falling apart.

Source: TheTalk.NG