Based
on a prediction that his fortune would experience a leap, should he be
married to a 12-year-old, a septuagenarian is hell bent on exchanging
marital vows with the pre-teen girl despite the protestations of the
mother.
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Twelve years old Aminat Hamisu, a Class 1 student of Ansar Ud Deen
Junior Secondary School in Ado Odo/Ota Local Government is in dire need
of someone to save her life from impending disaster. She is a subject of
a forceful marriage to a man, old enough to be her grandfather. She
lost her father in the course of the confusion that ensued over her
planned marriage to a septuagenarian. Aminat is supposed to be a Junior
Secondary School 2 student but had to miss a whole academic session as a
result of the fact that she had to escape from being forcefully engaged
to a man, who should have been her guardian rather than husband. The
insistence of the old man to marry her has also resulted in her missing
classes.
Forty three years old Salamatu Hamisu, the mother of the 12 years old
girl, while speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, appealed to
well-meaning Nigerians and human rights organisations to save her
daughter from forceful marriage to a man bent on marrying the girl. The
mother of seven, while narrating the whole episode to Nigerian Tribune
stated that it all started in 2001, when a man identified as Mallam
Ibraheem Mairago, who was like a father to her insisted on marrying
Aminat, who was just 11 years of age at that time.
According to her, a certain Mallam Alli had told Mairago that he had a
dream that if he could marry Aminat, his riches would multiply. Meirago
believed Mallam Alli and instantly approached the father of Aminat,
Alhaji Hamisu Aliyu, now deceased, asking for the hand of his daughter
in marriage.
“Initially my husband refused but, when Mairago promised him some
goodies, he accepted the marriage proposal without telling either the
girl or me. Mairago promised to give him a portion at the ram market in
Mile 12. He also promised to always involve him in Quranic recitation
for wealthy people in Lagos,” Salamatu narrated. She also stated that
“One day, my husband brought some yards of cloth home and said that it
was meant for my daughter. I asked him where the cloth was from and he
said that Alhaji Mairago bought it for her. I asked her for what reason
and he said he did not know. I rejected the cloth and when I prodded him
further he confessed to me that Meirago wanted to marry our daughter.”
The planned marriage led to a clash between the household of the late
Mallam Hamisu Aliyu, forcing him to report the case to his brother in
law in Sagamu. The brother in law also initially kicked against the
planned wedding but later succumbed, in a circumstance Salamatu
described as suspicious. “When I refused to support the marriage
proposal, my late husband reported me to my brother in Sagamu and my
brother also kicked against the marriage but later he took Mairago to my
brother and it was agreed that Mairago should pay N50,000 as the bride
price. At this stage, my daughter was not even aware that somebody
wanted to marry her,” the mother said. She also said that “When the
situation got to a stage my daughter was informed and she became really
devastated. Because of the marriage talk, she ran away from home for
four days. On the day she ran away, I woke her early in the morning and
told her to go and pray. For more than three hours, I did not see her
and we looked around Mile 12 Market but she was nowhere to be found. It
was after four days that we saw her. The situation grew so tense that
the deceased Aliyu divorced his wife, who was then nursing a two-month-
old baby. The woman said that she was sent away from her husband’s house
and she had to live on menial jobs in Mowe area of Ogun State. Before
the death of Aminat’s father, her suitor forced him and the mother’s
brother to refund the N50,000 naira he paid to them as the bride price.
Though the father was said not to have taken out of the money when it
was paid, the brother-in-law collected N40,000, while a certain Alhaji
Manga also went away with N10,000.
The refund of the bride price, ordinarily, should have been the end
of the proposed marriage but Alhaji Meirago kept on pestering the girl’s
family that he wanted to marry the underage girl. He was accused of
victimising the late Aliyu, who was then working under him. “Before my
husband died, he got to know that I had relocated to Sango in Ogun
State, where I was staying with my cousin, Mallam Thani Bala. He even
pleaded with my cousin not to allow me return to Mowe. By this time
Alhaji Mairago had married another wife for him. My husband still loved
me and he was coming to see me, even sometime he would sleep in my
cousin’s house,” the woman claimed. She further claimed that “When
Alhaji Mairago got to know that my husband was still coming to see me in
my cousin’s place, he changed to him totally. Even when they told him
that my husband was ill, he said that as long as my husband was coming
to see me, he should die.”
The death of the father of the 12-year-old girl has, however, not
changed the situation as Mallam Mairago has turned his attention to
Mallam Bala, who he accused of habouring his wife. According to the
mother, “Mairago has continued to insist that Aminat is his wife and
that he wants the police to force Thani to release the young girl to
him.” In his reaction to the issue, Alhaji Mairago, who spoke through
his lawyer, Mr. Jeleel Bashir, said that the proposed marriage was in
accordance with Islamic Law. He said that he had secured the approval of
the bride’s father and paid the required bride price as stipulated by
Islamic law. The lawyer claimed that there were witnesses to the
marriage between Alhaji Mairago and Aminat, adding that the only person,
who had the right to dissolve the marriage was Alhaji Mairago himself.
On the claim by the girl’s mother that the bride price had been
returned, the lawyer said that “I am not aware that the bride price had
been returned. Even if the bride price was returned, that does not mean
that the marriage has been dissolved.”
According to Bashir, Islamic law permits such marriage, even if the
bride to be is not in support of the marriage. “Islamic law allows a
guardian to choose for the girl if she is underage,” he said. He,
however, said that the purpose of such marriage is not essentially for
sex but for the suitor to take care of the underage girl.
The girl, while speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, kicked against
the planned marriage. She insisted on completing her education before
thinking of marriage and added that the man was even far older than her
father. “I don’t want to marry now; I want to finish my schooling.
Alhaji’s children cannot even be my friends because they are older than I
am. I don’t want to marry Alhaji. He should leave me to complete my
education,” the 12-year-old girl said.
Super Eagles midfielder Mikel Obi has been described as one of the best players available to Chelsea by the team’s manager Roberto di Matteo. The Italian, who spoke in London on the eve of their UEFA Champions League match against FC Nordsjaelland of Denmark, said it was very unfortunate that fans had always misunderstood the role played by the Nigerian on the pitch for the Stamford Bridge team.
Mikel was forced to close down his Twitter account last week following fans hate messages sent to him. No matter how fans may judge the midfielder recruited by Jose Mourinho, his teammates also believe so much in his ability. Goalkeeper Petr Cech backed Di Matteo.He said, “Everybody has their opinion, but ever since John Obi joined us, he’s been a player who has played a lot of games — all the important games.“He’s never missing. If he’s available for selection, he plays. He’s very useful and part of our success in the last few years. He’s a massive player for us and we’re happy to have him in the team, no matter what other people think.”Mikel’s days appeared numbered at Stamford Bridge under Andre Villas-Boas until the Portuguese was sacked in March. His fortunes and performances improved once Di Matteo took over and he played key roles in wins over Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the Champions League. He has continued to command a regular position this season also.
