Emir of Kano wants to stop poor men from marrying more than one wife

monjola sotubo

February 20, 2017 11:32 AM

The Emir is seeking to propose a law which will expect men to fulfill certain conditions before they can qualify for polygamy.

Ku dena haihuwan ʼƴaʼƴa kamar kayyayaki

Emir of Kano,

He made the revelation on Sunday, February 19, while speaking at the 50th death anniversary of Ambassador Isa Wali in Abuja, Punch reports.

“Those of us in the North have all seen the economic consequences of men who are not capable of maintaining one wife, marrying four. They end up producing 20 children, not educating them, leaving them on the streets, and they end up as thugs and terrorists,” the Emir said.

“It is perhaps a tribute to Mallam Isa that today, as I speak, in the palace in Kano a sub-committee of scholars, which I set up and has been working for about a year, is finalising the final sections of a family law we intend to introduce in Kano which will address some of the issues that Mallam Isa was concerned about.

“The law will address what Islam says on marriage, it will outlaw forced marriages, it will make domestic violence illegal, it will put in conditions that you need to fulfil before you can marry a second wife, it will spell out the responsibilities of a father beyond producing a child.

“It is a big law which covers a whole range of issues from consent to marriage, to maintenance to divorce, to maintenance of children and inheritance. It will be the first time in northern Nigeria that a Muslim law on personal status will be codified,” he added.

Sanusi also said that he had been able to establish a connection between polygamy, poverty and terrorism.

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He however said that there is nothing wrong with polygamy if it is practised properly.

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