Nigeria's mass wedding - and how telling lovers from fraudsters is proving tricky
Celebrations have turned the northern Nigerian city of Kano into a riot of colour and excitement over the last week as 1,500 couples married at
Celebrations have turned the northern Nigerian city of Kano into a riot of colour and excitement over the last week as 1,500 couples married at a mass wedding. For days the city's streets have been buzzing with bridal parties and their families preparing outfits and attending other organised events. On Friday, brides in red hijabs with grooms in matching red hats and white robes went the palace of the Emir, the city's traditional Muslim leader, for the main ceremony where they officially became husband and wife.
The nuptials culminated on Saturday with a wedding breakfast hosted by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, who offered his blessing to the newlyweds. The Kano state government this initiative, spending 1.5bn naira ($1m; £815,000) to support those tying the knot - providing the bride's dowry and furniture for the couple's first home. The scheme targets low-income individuals who cannot afford the significant financial costs associated with marriage. The annual event was initiated in 2012 by the then-governor when 100 couples - primarily widows and divorcees - wed at the palace.
The mass weddings have continued under subsequent governors, with numbers expanding each year as demand has grown and included those in polygamous Muslim marriages. Such is the popularity of the scheme that 5,000 couples applied this year. The event is always overseen by the Hisbah - the city's Islamic police force - and one of their main tasks is to vet the couples wanting to wed. Kano has a majority Muslim population and Sharia operates in the state alongside the secular legal system.
Mujahid Aminudeen, deputy commander-general of the Hisbah, admits it is not an easy task. "Whenever we find out that there's something dubious or fishy about a couple, we disqualify them," he tells the BBC. He says some couples will go to great lengths to convince the authorities that they are a genuine love match when their eye is more on the benefits on offer.
The BriefWire