NEWS
Beyond Kano Mass Wedding: What Should Governments Truly be Funding?
By Ebuka Ukoh
Blurb: While acknowledging that marriage is a legitimate social goal, this piece ultimately calls for a shift in public spending from transient ceremonies to the foundational conditions that enable couples to achieve lasting economic independence and thrive beyond their wedding day.
Keywords: Public policy, Nigeria, governance, economic development, social welfare, marriage, government spending.
Culture has a way of shaping how societies understand responsibility.
I grew up in Lagos in a family whose roots are in southeastern Nigeria.
One phrase I heard repeatedly in Igbo whenever an adult man displayed a pattern of irresponsibility was, “Let’s find him a wife.” Let that sink.The inherent assumption was striking! Marriage was presented not as the union of two prepared adults, but as the solution to a man’s unfinished maturity. It was as though responsibility could be outsourced to an unsuspecting woman.
I do not share that view today, but I have often reflected on what it reveals about the expectations we have placed on women for generations. Too often, we have expected wives to complete the work that families, communities, and society never did.
Elsewhere in Nigeria, the conversation takes a different form but raises equally important questions. The recent mass wedding programme in Kano has once again placed marriage at the centre of public policy. This time, however, the question is not whether a wife can reform a man. It is a question of whether the government should be financing weddings. At the same time, millions of Nigerians continue to struggle with the far more fundamental challenges of poverty, education, healthcare, unemployment, and economic opportunity.
Let me be clear. There is nothing wrong with marriage. Strong marriages build strong families, and strong families strengthen society. There is also nothing wrong with helping vulnerable citizens. The real question is whether a wedding ceremony is the most effective public investment the government can make in the lives of young couples. Public policy should be judged not by how memorable a ceremony is, but by whether it leaves citizens better off years after the applause has faded.
Reports indicate that approximately ₦1.5 billion was allocated to support 1,500 weddings. Broken down, that amounts to roughly ₦1 million per couple. Every naira the government spends is also a decision not to spend it elsewhere. Economists call this opportunity cost. Public policy is therefore not only about what we choose to fund, but also about what we choose to leave unfunded. That number deserves reflection.
Imagine placing ₦1 million in front of a young couple and asking a simple question. Should it pay for one day? Or should it help build the next thirty years? The answer says everything about how we understand development. A wedding lasts a day. A marriage lasts a lifetime. Governments should certainly care about families. But governments strengthen families less by paying for ceremonies than by creating the conditions under which marriages can flourish. Decent jobs, affordable healthcare, quality education, safe communities, functional schools, access to credit, housing, reliable electricity, security, and opportunities for young couples to build stable lives together.
Weddings begin marriages. Institutions sustain them. The greatest investment the government could make is not in wedding ceremonies but in preparing young people for marriage itself. Financial literacy, conflict resolution, parenting education, reproductive health, vocational skills, and employment support are all investments that strengthen families long after the wedding celebration ends. A successful marriage depends on far more than a successful wedding.
Families struggle
Nigeria remains home to one of the world’s largest populations of people living in multidimensional poverty. It also has one of the world’s largest populations of out-of-school children. Thousands of young people graduate each year into an economy unable to absorb their talents. Families struggle with inflation, rising food prices, inadequate healthcare, and uncertain livelihoods. Against that backdrop, governments must constantly ask themselves a difficult question. What public problem are we trying to solve? If the objective is poverty reduction, then the policy should reduce poverty. If the objective is youth empowerment, then policy should increase employability and entrepreneurship. If the objective is stronger families, then policy should strengthen the economic foundations upon which healthy families are built.
A government’s budget is more than a financial document. It is a moral document. It reveals what a government believes is urgent, what it values most, and what it is willing to postpone. Supporting marriage is a legitimate social goal. But supporting marriage is not the same as supporting married people. There is a difference. Helping a couple celebrate their wedding is one thing. Helping them survive their first five years of marriage is another. Which investment is more likely to reduce poverty? Which investment is more likely to improve child welfare? Which investment is more likely to create lasting economic stability? Those are the questions public policy should answer. There is another concern that deserves careful reflection.
Politics of mass wedding
Images from the ceremony showed many of the groomsmen wearing clothing bearing a political party’s logo. Whatever the explanation, public welfare programmes should always avoid creating the perception that assistance is linked to partisan identity. Public resources belong to every citizen, irrespective of political affiliation. Programmes funded with public money should strengthen confidence in government, not raise avoidable questions about political neutrality. This conversation is ultimately about something much bigger than a single programme in a single state. It is about the difference between relief and development. Relief responds to today’s problem. Development reduces tomorrow’s. Relief is important. Development is indispensable. No nation has ever escaped poverty by investing primarily in weddings/ceremonies. Countries transform themselves by organising themselves better and investing in people. By educating children. By creating jobs. By expanding opportunities. By supporting entrepreneurs. By strengthening healthcare. By building institutions. By preparing young people not merely for weddings, but for life.
Support marriages or married couples?
Imagine if every couple leaving that ceremony also received vocational training, business startup support, financial literacy education, health insurance, access to affordable housing, and ongoing mentorship for the first five years of marriage. Imagine if the celebration became the beginning of economic independence rather than a substitute for it. That would be a different conversation. That would be nation-building. The question, therefore, is not whether the government should support marriage.
It should, the question is how. Because public policy should not simply produce beautiful wedding photographs. It should produce flourishing families. One day, the decorations will come down. The music will stop. The guests will return home. The cameras will disappear. What will remain is the marriage itself. And that is where the real work begins.
The government should be there too, not merely on the wedding day. But in the years that follow, we will create the conditions in which every family has the opportunity not merely to celebrate, but to thrive. Simply put, they should invest less in ceremonies and more in the conditions that make celebration sustainable.
When history looks back on this moment, I hope it remembers not the number of government-funded weddings but the number of families it helped flourish. The true measure of public policy is not whether it creates memorable ceremonies, but whether it creates better lives.
Mr Ukoh, a PhD student and coauthor of Built By The Ancestors, writes from his base in New York, the United States.
NEWS
UPDATE: Sacked Oba of Onise Risks Imprisonment as Contempt Proceedings Filed In High Court Against Him
By David Torough, Abuja
The legal battle over the Onise of Ise stool in Lagos State has taken a new turn, with contempt proceedings initiated against Ibrahim Adebowale Saliu, whose installation as the Onise of Ise Kingdom was recently nullified by the Lagos State High Court.
The development follows a September 11, 2026 order by Justice Yetunde Adesola Adesanya in Suit No.
LD/0022PRA/2026, directing the Lagos State Government to withdraw the appointment and recognition granted to Saliu and setting aside his installation and coronation conducted on August 21.The court also ordered Saliu to stop parading himself or holding himself out as the Onise of Ise pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The fresh contempt proceedings are contained in documents made available by counsel to the claimants, The Legal Hub Partnership, which represents members of the Okuoye Ruling House, Igbekodo Quarters, Ise Town.
A Form 48 notice dated September 15 was issued against Saliu, warning him of the consequences of alleged disobedience of the court’s orders.
Similar notices were issued to the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, SAN; the Special Adviser to the Governor on Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dr Nurudeen Yekini Lanre Agbaje; and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, Mrs Kikelomo Bolarinwa.
The notices relate to the orders made by the court in the ongoing chieftaincy dispute and warn that continued failure to comply could result in contempt proceedings and attendant legal consequences.
In the September 11 ruling, Justice Adesanya had ordered the withdrawal of the instrument of appointment issued to Saliu and nullified the installation and coronation carried out on August 21.
The court further restrained him from presenting himself as the Onise of Ise Kingdom while the substantive case remains pending.
Following the ruling, The Legal Hub Partnership, in a letter dated September 15 and addressed to the Lagos State Government, formally drew the authorities’ attention to the orders and urged compliance.
The law firm specifically asked the government not to recognise Saliu or accord him the official status, rights or privileges attached to the Onise stool unless and until a competent court makes a contrary order.
The latest development stems from a dispute over the process through which Saliu emerged as Onise of Ise.
The claimants, Alhaji Adeniyi Atere, Mrs Idowu Adebisi Lana and Mr Babatunde Ekundayo Lana, instituted the suit for themselves and on behalf of the Okuoye Ruling House.
The September 11 ruling had found that an earlier interim order issued on August 13 had been infringed when the disputed installation proceeded on August 21.
The court consequently granted mandatory orders directing the reversal of the installation and withdrawal of the instruments of office.
However, the court made clear that its orders were interim in nature and would remain in force pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The underlying dispute over who is legally entitled to occupy the Onise of Ise stool therefore remains before the court, even as the latest contempt proceedings introduce a separate legal issue concerning compliance with its orders.
By Laide Akinboade, Abuja
League of Women Voters
of Nigeria (NILOWV) on Tuesday, tasks the National Assembly on the quick passage of Special Seat bill for women and people with disability.
The President of NILOWV, Hon.
Irene Awunah-Ikyegh, stated this while briefing the media in commemoration of 2026 International day of Democracy, in Abuja.She lamented that no nation can claim to leave a lasting democratic legacy without it’s commitment to inclusive democracy that include women and people with disabilities.
She there begged NASS not to waste the opportunity but to make history, the opportunity to tell the daughters of
Nigeria that Parliament sees them, the opportunity to tell young women that their political aspirations
are legitimate, the opportunity to strengthen our democracy.
She said, “The Special Seats Bill presents an opportunity to leave a lasting democratic legacy. The question is not
whether Nigerian women are asking for too much. The question is whether Nigeria can continue to
claim that it is committed to inclusive democracy while women remain so dramatically
underrepresented.
“You have the opportunity to make history, the opportunity to tell the daughters of
Nigeria that Parliament sees them, the opportunity to tell young women that their political aspirations
are legitimate, the opportunity to strengthen our democracy. Please, do not waste this opportunity”.
She noted that, “This day is not merely a day for speeches, ceremonies and declarations. It is a day for reflection. It is a day to ask difficult questions. It is a day to examine whether the democracy we practise truly reflects the aspirations of the people. It is a day to ask whether every citizen has a meaningful opportunity to participate. It is a day to ask whether our institutions are working. It is a day to ask whether our political
parties are truly democratic. And, most importantly for us at NILOWV, it is a day to ask whether Nigerian women who constitute approximately half of our population are being given a fair and meaningful opportunity to participate in political leadership and decision-making”.
She lamented, “The final list of National Assembly candidates provides us with a sobering picture. There are 4,408
candidates contesting for seats in the Senate and House of Representatives. Of this number: 3,965 are
men while only 443 are women. Women therefore constitute approximately 10 percent of the candidates, while men constitute approximately 90 percent. This means that, for roughly every one
woman appearing on the National Assembly ballot, there are about nine men.
“These figures are more than statistics they represent the continuing imbalance in access to political power. They tell us that although Nigerian women are participating in the political process, the pathway from participation to actual political power remains extremely difficult and this is where we must
distinguish between participation and representation.
“Women may constitute a large proportion of voters Women may attend political meetings. Women may
mobilise communities. Women may campaign tirelessly. Women may provide food, logistics and
grassroots structures during elections.
“Women may even constitute the majority of volunteers in some
political activities but when it comes to the point at which tickets are allocated, resources are distributed and candidates are selected for elective office, the numbers suddenly collapse.
“That is the problem Women are often visible in political mobilisation but invisible in political power that
is not equality that is not inclusion and that is not the democracy Nigeria should be proud of” .
She decries, “We must humanise these figures. Behind the 443 women on the ballot are hundreds of Nigerian women
who have decided that they are ready to serve but behind the thousands of women who are not on the
ballot are also stories. There is the woman who wanted to contest but could not afford the nomination
and expression-of-interest fees. There is the woman who had the qualifications but lacked the political
godfather.
“There is the woman whose party told her to wait. There is the woman who was encouraged to contest but later discovered that the ticket had already
been informally allocated. There is the woman who was told that she could serve better as a campaign
mobiliser than as a candidate. There is the woman who was warned that politics is too dangerous for
her.
“There is the woman who was threatened. There is the woman who was sexually harassed. There is
the woman who was subjected to online abuse.There is the woman who was told that she was too ambitious. There is the woman whose competence
was questioned simply because she is a woman and there are women who have watched all these
experiences and quietly concluded:
“Perhaps politics is not for people like me.”
She therefore concluded by urging every Nigerian not to give up on democracy, ‘Instead, demand a better democracy.
Democracy belongs to citizens. If we withdraw, others will’.
The Abia Government has elevated selected cultural and natural sites to state heritage and monuments as part of efforts to position them for recognition as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, said this while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting on Monday in Umuahia.
Kanu said the State Executive Council had approved the declaration of selected heritage and natural sites as state heritage and monuments to strengthen their preservation and promotion.
He said the approved sites included the National War Museum, Ojukwu Bunker and Government College, all in Umuahia, as state monuments.
He also listed the Ibom Waterfall in Arochukwu and Ulochukwu Caves at Alayi Bende as state natural monuments.
According to him, the elevation of the sites would enhance their tourism potential and position them for possible recognition as UNESCO heritage sites.
Kanu also announced the designation of Aba as a Creative and Innovative City, saying the move was part of efforts to promote the state’s cultural, creative and tourism potential.
He further said that the retrofitting of the Ojukwu Bunker and National War Museum had reached about 80 per cent completion and was expected to be completed before the end of 2026.
The commissioner said that the projects, when completed, would enhance the preservation and historical value of the sites, improve visitor experience and increase their tourism potential.
Kanu said the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy had commenced the development of the Ibom Waterfall Tourism Corridor in Arochukwu.
He said that initial development works, including the grading of access roads to the waterfall, had commenced, adding that the project was expected to be completed before the end of 2026.
According to him, the project is expected to unlock additional tourism and economic opportunities in the state.
He said that the ministry had also commenced the erection of monuments at strategic locations across the state to preserve Abia’s heritage and honour its heroes and heroines.
Kanu said one of the monuments would honour the heroines of the 1929 Aba Women’s Uprising, celebrating their courage, resilience, resistance and leadership.
The commissioner said that the initiatives reflected the state government’s broader efforts to preserve its historical and cultural assets while using them to drive tourism and economic development.
On tax rates in the state, Kanu said the rates being circulated were not new, adding that most dated back to 2020 and were introduced by the previous administration.
He said that the Abia Board of Internal Revenue could not increase tax rates without enabling laws and that no such increase had been introduced by the board.
Kanu also dismissed reports that an akara seller was paying N50, 000 in tax, describing the claim as false.
“Akara sellers don’t pay tax or levies, they pay daily tolls, and none can pay as high as N50, 000,” he said.
On gratuity payments, Kanu said that the state government had paid the batch covering 2001 to 2010, while preparations covering 2011 to 2025 were being processed.
He dismissed claims that the government was compelled by the opposition to commence gratuity payments, describing the narrative as misleading.
He explained that the government had incorporated gratuity provisions into its 2026 to 2030 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework to ensure that future arrears did not accumulate.
“This does not translate to the payments being terminated in 2031.
“So, as soon as the internal processes are done with, these payments will continue at pace and in batches,” Kanu said.(NAN)
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