300 widows, divorces marry in Kebbi mass wedding
No fewer than 300 widows, divorcees, and indigents married in a mass wedding at the Gwandu Emirate Palace in Birnin Kebbi on Sunday.
The event, which was organised by the Kebbi state government under Hajia Nafisa Nasir Idris, the wife of the Kebbi governor, was performed by the NANAS foundation, a pet project of the first lady, Vanguard reports.
The mass wedding, according to the First Lady, was aimed at reducing the high number of divorces and widows who lost their husbands or had failed marriages, and to assist those who could not afford marriage expenses with beds, chairs and kitchen utensils to kick-start their marital journeys.
A total sum of 21 million naira was paid as dowry to the brides’ parents.
Each of the brides went home with seventy thousand naira dowry, a set of chairs, beds, kitchen utensils, and food items.
Mass weddings are fast becoming popular in Nigeria, especially in the northern part of the country.
Kano, for instance, has been conducting mass weddings over the last 10 years.
The Kano state government introduced the programme in 2012 to assist widows, divorcées and the less privileged who cannot afford the increasing cost of wedding and catering for a family.
The last mass wedding was organised for 1,800 men and women.
