If God says I can, who can say I can’t? Well it seems Nigerian leaders wish<\/p>\n
to do so. Ultimately as a believer I shall obey the laws of the land. The
\nLord shall task those in authority who “have two heads” that took it upon
\nthemselves to restrict me from my God-earned inalienable rights.<\/p>\n
What am I talking about? Well Nigeria’s Emir of Kano is pushing the state
\nand indeed northern governments to regulate polygamous marriage among the
\npoor. While obviously there are many great parts of the large proposed new
\nlaw, there are some areas that quickly raise concern and prompt public
\ndialogue.<\/p>\n
According to Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s proposal as I understand it,
\ncertain bodies will review the wealth status of prospective multiple wife
\ntakers on a case-by-case basis. Those who “cannot afford it” shall be
\ndenied permission to have more wives.<\/p>\n
I am left aghast. MURIC backed
\n<http:\/\/dailypost.ng\/2017\/02\/22\/muric-backs-sanusi-plans-bar-kano-men-marrying-one-wife\/>
\nthe
\nEmir citing two verses from the Quran. (Qur\u2019an 24:33) and (Qur\u2019an 4:3). One
\nsaid what means, “do not marry unless you can afford it.” Such verse if
\nturned into law will challenge even a first marriage and is not targeted at
\npolygamy any more than it may be at monogamy. The second verse described
\n“treating all wives fairly, not giving advantage to one over the other.” I
\nfailed to see how these verses supported an argument of the state
\nregulating multiple marriage of the poor.<\/p>\n
What is the religious basis if any for this new proposed legislation? Is it
\nborne from Islam or from colonial laws and societies and demands of Bill
\nGates and the World Bank? Is it to stem the Almajiri child-abandonment
\nincidence which I am by all means active against
\n<http:\/\/saharareporters.com\/2013\/06\/01\/nigeria-almajiri-and-nuclear-alms-race>
\nor
\nis it a means of using that ban-worthy practice to fulfill other agenda? Is
\nit a means of population control targeting the poor?<\/p>\n
Let’s analyse. If the new law rules that you must have a certain income to
\nmarry more than one wife. What if you had that income and ‘Buhari came into
\npower’ and then you lost your job\/trade and qualifying income? Will the
\nstate proceed to ‘repossess” your second wife, sort-of like credit cards
\nand mortgages?<\/p>\n
What if the second or third wife is wealthy…can afford to take care of
\nherself and you and perhaps others. Will the enforcers consider this in
\nevaluating your eligibility? I dare say that I doubt state enforcers could
\nnavigate such complexities and do so without prejudice and sentiment. We do
\nknow of several cases of quite wealthy wives. The first wife of prophet
\nMohammed of Islam upon whom be peace, Khadija was quite wealthy. Would the
\nprophet have been barred from marrying a second wife if he had so desired
\nunder this rule, if the first was capable of taking care of herself but his
\nown income was regarded as below the polygamy cutoff line? Cases like
\nBuratai’s wealthy “susu <https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Susu_collectors>”
\n“cooperative” wives comes to mind. They were ‘so wealthy’ from their susu,
\nthey were able to purchase million dollar luxury hotels in Dubai nd snake
\nfarms and other million dollar properties across Nigeria and other
\ncountries. Would this law not bar the marriage of such industrious wives if
\nthe man’s income is below threshold? I would hope such areas are clarified
\nbefore these laws are introduced.<\/p>\n
*Is Polygamy Linked With Terrorism?*<\/p>\n
I am not sure who the Emir is attempting to please with sensational
\nheadlines
\n<http:\/\/www.vanguardngr.com\/2017\/02\/law-ban-polygamy-theres-connection-polygamy-poverty-terrorism-emir-kano\/>
\nlike
\nthis entertained in Nigeria’s dailies. The Almajiri child abandonment
\nsystem is of course linked with terrorism. But rather than outlaw that
\nsystem of child abandonment which is already outlawed in Islam, the Emir
\nfocuses on outlawing what is permitted in Islam to supposedly treat
\nthe related disorder.<\/p>\n
It would be sufficient if the Emir’s new law prescribed punishment
\nincluding incarceration for families who abandon their children. In my
\nview, this should have first been attempted before considering banning the
\npoor from polygamy. Ban the Almajiri system and see what happens. Ban
\nparents from sending their children out to beg for any reason whatsoever
\nand see how many of them will live precariously. But to ban the poor from
\npolygamy!???<\/p>\n
Quran orders:<\/p>\n
*Quran 5:87 O you who have believed, do not prohibit the good things which
\nAllah has made lawful to you and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not
\nlike transgressors.*<\/p>\n
The verse warns: do not prohibit what God has permitted.<\/p>\n
Secondly it emphasizes that Muslims should be responsible and not exceed
\nboundaries in all cases.<\/p>\n
This verse in particular was used not just for polygamy but in a hadith to
\ndefend even the practice of “mutah,” the act of temporary marriage. This
\ngoes to show the fields covered by this particular verse. The very field
\nthe Emir is waddling into.<\/p>\n
Reference: *Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 139*:
\nNarrated Abdullah: We used to participate in the holy wars carried on by
\nthe Prophet and we had no women (wives) with us. So we said (to the Prophet
\n). “Shall we castrate ourselves?” But the Prophet forbade us to do that and
\nthenceforth He allowed us to marry a woman (temporarily) by giving her even
\na garment, and then he recited: *”O you who believe! Do not make unlawful
\nthe good things which Allah has made lawful for you.”*<\/p>\n
I would be quite afraid to prohibit what God has permitted, be it for the
\nrich or poor. Is poverty linked to terrorism? I beg to differ.
\nInstitutionalized
\ndisadvantagement
\n<http:\/\/newsrescue.com\/institutionalized-disadvantagement-not-poverty-is-reason-for-boko-haram-radiobiafra-terror-in-nigeria\/>
\nand
\nnot poverty is the reason for terror as I have written in the past. A
\ncompany of Nigeria’s SGF was paid $1 million to cut exotic grass
\n<http:\/\/www.vanguardngr.com\/2016\/12\/revealed-sgf-awarded-n220m-grass-removal-job-to-his-firm-senate-report\/>
\nin
\nYobe state. This is the reason for terror. This is where we need new laws
\nand the enforcement of them. This is where we hope to see our Emirs active.
\nThe money meant for displaced persons being coveted by officials of the
\npresidency. Terrorism in Borno is because of Shettima, Sheriff, Dasuki,
\nBadeh, Babachir, SEMA, NEMA and all others misappropriating the money, food
\nand land of the poor. 71 IDP food trailers went missing
\n<https:\/\/venturesafrica.com\/only-in-nigeria-with-the-rising-cases-of-starvation-and-deaths-of-idps-how-could-71-trailers-of-rice-to-be-supplied-to-idps-go-missing\/>
\nmid
\nlast year and nothing happened. No law was made and the Emirs did not act
\nor react while hundreds of the poor died of starvation. This is why we have
\nterror. Not because of poor people marrying. This was even Boko Haram’s
\npublicity pitch: that Boko (western civilization) is the reason for your
\npoverty…join us fight the corrupt westernized governing system that keeps
\nyou in deprivation.<\/p>\n
Poverty does not come before organized terror. Organized terror is
\nsponsored. Our religious leaders and governors in Nigeria quite often know
\nthe sponsors. How about we first face the affluent behind the terror rather
\nthan targeting the manipulated poor double-victims of the failures of our
\nreligious and state leaders? The Bible and Quran both adulate the virtues
\nof the poor. Mathew 5:3 goes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for their is
\nthe kingdom of heaven.” And Luke in chapter 6 verse 24 says: “But woe to
\nyou who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”<\/p>\n
A cursory look at the very western societies Nigeria’s north appears to be
\nemulating shows that many of the problems the Emir has easily associated
\nwith polygamy are actually problems solved where there is good governance.
\nHundreds of thousands of children are birthed by “jobless” single mothers
\nin the United States each year. These would have become Almajiri and
\nterrorists had it been in Nigeria where freely administrating government
\nofficials like Dasuki’s “procurement officer,” now CoAS, who buy luxury
\nhomes in Dubai and others who take million dollar personal account payments
\nto pluck exotic grass abound, while the religious leaders look the other
\nway and propose no new laws like the state adopting shariah hand cutting,
\nto check them. But in the US there is social welfare. Social welfare is an
\nessential stipulation in Islam. The poor must be catered to by the state
\nthrough its earnings and taxation of the rich. So where Nigeria’s leaders
\nfail to provide social welfare which will stop the poor and abandoned from
\nbecoming terrorists, they propose banning polygamy as a remedy.<\/p>\n
Would it not be a day, the day Nigeria’s leaders, spiritual or state,
\nproceed with chastisements, bans and restrictions for the wealthy and not
\nfirst for the poor? There will be a combined solar and lunar eclipse on
\nthat day.<\/p>\n
It is quite convenient for a wealthy Emir who has married at least five
\ntimes and has at least four wives, to promote new legislation that
\npreferentially targets the poor. It is expected for the rich
\nadministrators and legislators to pass this legislation and for the poor to
\nsoon be subject to it without say and any chance to protest. But does this
\nmake it right?<\/p>\n
*Proverbs 29:7 A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man
\ndoes not understand such knowledge.*<\/p>\n
And Allah(s) knows best.<\/p>\n
Dr. Peregrino Brimah; @EveryNigerian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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