Opinion

Early Marriage And Girl-Child Dev

Published

5 years ago

June 2, 2021

Early marriage occurs when the persons involved are in the ages of 13 and 15 years. In fact any marriage contracted before the age of 18 is termed an early marriage. Early marriage has become a problem affecting many nations, cultures, religions and ethnic groups.
In early marriage, the girl-child is always the one to suffer the consequences because it is associated with many problems. In most cases, the male partner is usually older and more experienced. In the first place, the girl may not have completed her secondary education to be more knowledgeable in making the right choice in terms of marriage.
A situation where a 13-year old girl will be forced and given to a 50-year old man in marriage should be condemned. This may happen due to certain reasons. The truth is that some of the marriages involving minors, as we have seen, do not last. The cause of some divorce cases in recent times is as a result of early marriages. After marrying in ignorance, when the girl becomes aware of things she never knew before the marriage, she begins to make moves to quit. I have seen a girl whose parents forced to marry an old man. When she later saw that her mates were getting married to younger men she simply withdrew. Others may demand to complete their secondary education or to further their tertiary institutions.

Parents will sometimes push their girl-child into marriage feeling that she is a burden to them, so giving her out in marriage will reduce the liability on them. Some parents are of the opinion that girls who go into marriage on time, will have more chances of pregnancy and bear children than graduates. Anybody can still have children after school, it just depends on planning.
I want to say that the problems associated with early marriage outweigh the gains. There is also this inequality between boys and girls which emanates from harmful social and gender norms. Parents will prefer to use their limited income to train their male children since the girl will leave the parents’ family one day.
Parents think that when girls get married on time, it will protect them from violence and insecurity, but in our society today, mature married women are also kidnapped and raped.
Others feel that younger wives are more submissive than the older ones as well as dowries paid on younger ones are less than when the woman becomes a graduate and gets more mature.
Many early marriages had caused our girls to drop out of school. In these days of civilisation, socialisation and computer age, even if a girl completes her secondary education at 18, it is still early. An 18-year old girl needs more awareness on marriage. Marriage is not something you jump in and out of, it has to do with maturity in mind, soul and education.
Education acquired in character and in learning will guide her in managing herself when she finally settles down. With this level of education and empowerment, she can cope when the spouse is not doing enough.
I have seen a situation where a girl who got married with a school certificate requested to further her education and the husband refused and said she must first give birth to the number children he wants. If the man is not a graduate, he may be apprehensive that the woman will become his rival one day.
Most underage girls in marriage usually end up as full-time housewives. Being a full-time housewife has its own implications. A wife without empowerment will depend on her husband for everything. When her demands are not met troubles may occur.
When a girl gets married at a tender age, the right choice may not be there. Recommendation comes through friends, relatives and well-wishers. This kind of marriage comes with persuasion and, at the end of the day, problems occur because she never made the choice herself. When a lady gets mature before marriage, she can handle issues that may arise. She chooses her spouse herself perhaps after courtship and, in this case, will not blame anyone if problems arise.
Pregnancy and childbearing have to do with maturity. A minor or an adolescent who is unable to manage herself, going into marriage, will definitely end up frustrated. One who behaves like a baby cannot take care of another baby. At night, she may fall asleep and abandon the baby while it is crying.
In girl-child pregnancy, the danger of being infected with one form of disease or the other is there. Underage mothers have difficulty in labour because, according to medical experts, the muscles in the hip and all the mechanisms that facilitate delivery may not have developed. The cervix and the uterus which connect the womb may be affected which can lead to cervical cancer. The complication can lead to the death of both mother and child.
Furthermore, early marriage can occur when a man forcefully impregnates a girl and the parents ask the man to take her for a wife, the man could decide to drop her later. When that happens the girl becomes a single parent. This is a situation parents should guard against.
To put a stop to this in our society, government should enforce laws that will protect girls from forceful marriages and rape cases. Any rape case concerning our girls should be taken seriously and the perpetrator brought to book.
I call on the Ministry of Social Welfare and other relevant agencies saddled with the responsibility of protecting the girl-child and women to review policies and programmes that will educate communities and our schools at secondary and tertiary levels on the dangers associated with girls and early marriages.
More awareness should be raised and, in fact, local and religious leaders engage parents, informing them that empowerment of girls through education and employment is necessary.
When girls go to school, the knowledge they gain help protect them from illness, unwanted pregnancies and social vices.
Educated girls gain certain potentials, social and economic status in the society. They contribute to the health care and welfare of their immediate and extended families as well as where they come from with the income got from jobs after graduation.
An empowered girl-child can cater for her family in the absence of her husband.
Remember, train a woman and you train a nation.

By: Eunice Choko-Kayode

Opinion

FG’s Transport Support And Rivers Workers

Published

2 days ago

October 30, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Government’s approval of a N70,000 monthly transport intervention for public service workers for six months, beginning in November 2026, offers hope to employees struggling with the rising cost of living. The agreement with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), reached at a conciliation meeting in Abuja on October 27, is intended to cushion transport costs and ease pressure on workers’ incomes. But for public servants in Rivers State, it raises a familiar question: will the State Government key into the intervention and ensure that its workers benefit? The agreement provides for N70,000 monthly across all levels, for six months. The Federal Government also approved peculiar allowance arrears effective from May 1, 2026, to be paid in three equal instalments beginning in November.
The parties agreed to reconvene after one month to assess implementation. Ultimately, the value of these resolutions will be measured not by announcements but by whether eligible workers receive the money. Transport costs consume a substantial share of many civil servants’ earnings before they can meet household needs. Support for commuting is therefore not a luxury or political favour; it is temporary assistance to help workers remain at their jobs without sinking further into hardship. For lower-paid employees, transport costs can turn modest salaries into a daily exercise in difficult choices and sacrifice.
The agreement also urges State and Local Governments to participate and unions to press for implementation. The federal agreement does not automatically guarantee that every State and Local Government employee will receive the support. State authorities must clarify how it will apply to their workforce, make the necessary arrangements and publish a payment timetable. Rivers State must approach the arrangement with urgency and transparency. The Government should State whether it will implement the intervention and when payments will begin. Any administrative or financial question should be addressed promptly with organised labour, not allowed to become excuses for delay.
The concern is sharpened by the earlier N35,000 monthly wage award introduced by the Federal Government in 2023 after petrol subsidy removal. It was intended as temporary relief pending a new national minimum wage. While several States negotiated and paid wage awards or related sums, implementation nationwide was uneven. Reports in 2024 indicated that many States had failed to pay the federal award, while others provided different amounts. In Rivers, labour and media reports raised concerns about implementation of the N35,000 award for State workers, amid separate announcements and arrangements concerning Local Government employees.
The wage award was meant to ease the immediate effects of subsidy removal, yet workers faced uncertainty over whether the promised relief would reach them. In February 2024, the Rivers State Government announced approval of the N35,000 award for local government workers, but subsequent reports showed that implementation across worker categories remained a concern. The lesson is clear: approval and implementation are not the same. A declaration at a meeting offers little comfort to a worker whose account does not reflect the promised payment. For workers who travel to their offices daily, the implications of delayed support are significant. Transportation expenses compete with food, rent, school fees, healthcare and other essential household needs.
As fares rise, employees may be forced to reduce spending on necessities or borrow to sustain their families. A timely transport intervention would therefore provide practical relief and demonstrate that government understands the economic pressures confronting its workforce. Its temporary nature makes prompt implementation even more important. It is fair to acknowledge that this transport intervention is a new agreement and that its administrative details may require clarification. Rivers State should not be condemned in advance for a failure that has not occurred. Nevertheless, the earlier experience gives workers legitimate grounds to seek assurances before the November commencement date. The State should avoid allowing uncertainty to persist until workers begin asking why the promised assistance has not arrived.
The NLC and unions in Rivers State should engage the State Government immediately and seek a written commitment, an implementation plan and a process for reporting missed payments. If clarification from the Federal Government is needed, the State should seek it without abandoning the goal of providing relief. Labour leaders must also keep members informed about progress and insist that any agreed arrangements are applied fairly and transparently. The Rivers State Government should treat this intervention as an opportunity to rebuild confidence. Timely support would show that workers’ welfare is more than a talking point and that the State recognises the economic realities confronting its employees.
Silence, delay or selective implementation, by contrast, would revive frustration over earlier relief measures and weaken trust between government and labour. Every month lost to administrative delay leaves workers facing the same transport burden without the intended assistance. The State should consult labour, publish arrangements and pay eligible workers on time. Rivers workers should not have to wonder whether federal relief will reach them. The Federal Government has announced the support; now the State must make its position clear. We hope the N70,000 monthly transport intervention will not follow the troubling path of the earlier wage award. Rivers State should learn from that experience and ensure that this time, relief is not merely promised but delivered.

Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi

Opinion

Ancestorial Worship: My Take (1)

Published

2 days ago

October 30, 2026

The Tide

Everyday, Christians call on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as they pray to God in the privacy of their homes across our multicultural, multiracial and multiethnic world. On Sundays and almost everyday of the week in the new-found full freaking fanaticism in Pentecostalism, they gather in the more than four million churches or congregations in the world to worship God, invoking the spirits of the ancestors of Jews. Meanwhile, in the scaremongering antics of institutional religion, the African has allowed himself to be hoodwinked into believing that invoking the spirit of his ancestors in prayers is idolatry and patently evil. He is mind-controlled into believing that indulgence in what the Christian clergy calls ”Satanic Act” is a sure ticket to Hell, where the individual is tormented, burnt and charred till eternity on the orders of a loving Father; what a laughable irony.
Come with me on my experience of what the Christian clergy contemptuously calls ancestorial worship. One Monday in September 1988, I drove from Port Harcourt to Owerri, accompanied by Chief AM Abasi who was the general manager of Delta Holdings Ltd, a company owned by Chief Ranami Abah, (Abadifeni III). Our mission was a meeting with Mr. Nwaorgu, the marketing manager of 33 Breweries Ltd for a dealership for Mrs. Alice Abah, whose husband, Chief Ranami Abah, had substantial equity shareholding in 33 Breweries Ltd. At the end of the meeting, we agreed to return on Wednesday with Mrs Alice to sign a contract for the dealership. When Chief Abasi and I stepped out to the parking lot, it hit me that I could not recollect how I drove from Port Harcourt through Igwuruta, Isiokpo and Elele to Owerri.
First, I waved the feeling off, ascribing it to the aerodynamic and slippery nature of the super slick German machine, a Mercedes-Benz 280 SLC convertible owned by Chief Ranami Abah. But on a second thought, I sensed a premonition; an ominous feeling. Then a sense of foreboding hit me, leaving me with the chilly feeling that something wrong was in the air. For a person who does not know fear as a result of having had out-of-body experience (OBE) in 1975 and considering the threshold of death the most beautiful experience in my life, it was a very worrisome feeling, to say the least. I quickly shook those thoughts out of my head, engaged the gear of the ever-ready German machine and zapped through Owerri traffic, attracting the same attention that trailed us all the way from Port Harcourt.
At Control Post, an inner voice instructed me not to return to Port Harcourt through the route we came. In reflexive obedience to the mysterious inaudible voice, I turned right (northwards) and stepped heavily on the gas. The straight six-cylinder engine roared in dutiful obedience; the automatic transmission immediately dropped into a lower gear, thereby giving the engine a very powerful pull that enabled the small-bodied car to dust every other vehicle on the road. Through the rear view mirror, I saw the vehicles we overtook recede speedily and virtually disappear behind us. In almost a whisper, Chief Abasi asked if I wanted to visit the 33 Brewery factory at Awo Omamma; I said ”no” without explaining the movement in the opposite direction of our journey.
Strangely, Chief Abasi did not pry further. We raced on, northwards; in thunderous silence. At Ogbaku junction, I turned left, drove westwards past Ejemekwuru and Izombe, turned left at Oguta and headed southwards on the Oguta Lake–Egbema–Omoku–Ahoada Federal Road. Carefully navigating the potholes that generously punctuated the road vis-a-vis the very low clearing of the car, I entered Egbema territory at Opuoma, drove through Mmahu, Abacheke, Okwuzi and turned eastwards to Mgbede, my home town. There, I quickly introduced Chief Abasi to my parents, left him with them and briskly walked a few metre to the grave of Osai, my grandfather. At the graveside, I solemnly told Osai that I sense something wrong in the air.
Then, in furious rage, I threatened him and my uncle, Lazarus, who lay beside him, that if they remained sleepy-eyed in that dimension and I am forced out of this world, that I will scatter their ribcage with penknife. My cousin and age mate, Luke Ofere, came out of his house and asked what was wrong and why I was in tears. With hot tears running down my cheeks, I turned around and left the graveside without a word to him; shock, surprise and confusion were boldly written on his face. On my way back to my father’s house, Nze Romanus Ogboh caught up with my brisk strides and, viciously pulling his right ear, he warned me to be careful on the road; that he dreamt that I died in a motor accident but that he administered a potion on me and I came back alive.
He was completely confused when I replied ”I know” and continued walking in tears towards my father’s house without a further word. Still in the holy rage, I called out Chief Abasi to join me in the car. Back to Port Harcourt through Omoku, Ahoada, Elele Alimini and Emohua, I told my spouse that something wrong is certainly around the corner. As we planned, Chief Abasi travelled to Calabar on Tuesday to inform Auntie Alice of the development and request her to come to Port Harcourt on Wednesday for onward journey to Owerri to effect the dealership contract. On Wednesday, I waited for them but they did not show up. I called Chief Abah and complained about the development. Thursday morning, they pulled up in front of my apartment in a blue Peugeot 504.
To be continued in our next edition.

Jason Osai
Osai lectures in Rivers State University.

Opinion

Checking Voter Apathy In Nigeria’s Electoral Process

Published

6 days ago

October 26, 2026

The Tide

Quote:“Apathy may express frustration, but surrendering our votes only gives others greater power to determine our future. Nigeria needs credible elections, accountable leaders and citizens who refuse to abandon their democratic rights.”

“I actually don’t know what is wrong with this country called Nigeria. Nothing will ever make me go out under the scorching sun to vote for anybody again. After all, my vote doesn’t count. “We go out and vote, but in the end, they announce whatever result they want and tell the opponents to go to court. Is this the Nigeria we all want?” These are the frustrations of many Nigerians who have lost faith in the electoral process. For them, elections have become a cycle of high expectations, alleged irregularities and disappointing outcomes. Consequently, many are becoming indifferent to how political leaders emerge and what they do after assuming office. This growing voter apathy poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy and must be addressed before the 2027 general election.

Some politicians, including councillors, local government chairmen, members of the House of Representatives, senators and governors, have disappointed the people they were elected to represent. Constituents who expect their representatives to address pressing community needs often complain of neglect, poor performance and limited engagement after elections.bAs Chinua Achebe’s celebrated novel, “Things Fall Apart”, suggests, things appear to be falling apart in Nigeria’s electoral system. Yet, withdrawing from the electoral process is not the solution. Rather, it could worsen the situation by allowing a relatively small proportion of voters to determine the country’s political future. Recently, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) launched a nationwide grassroots mobilisation campaign to address voter apathy, vote buying and electoral violence ahead of the 2027 general election.

The campaign, themed “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Future: Say No to Apathy, Vote Buying and Violence. Let’s Build a United Nigeria in 2027,” was inaugurated in Abuja. Speaking at the event, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, commended the agency for the initiative, emphasizing that citizens must recognize the importance of their votes in determining the country’s political leadership and future. He warned that voter apathy, vote buying and electoral violence threatened democratic development, calling for stronger collaboration among government institutions, electoral authorities, security agencies, community leaders and citizens. The Director-General of the NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, explained that the agency would deploy its state directorates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to promote responsible electoral participation.

The campaign will use local languages, radio programmes, town hall meetings, community dialogues, drama and digital platforms to reach Nigerians in both urban and rural communities. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, also reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to conducting free, fair, transparent, inclusive and credible elections in 2027. He stressed the importance of early preparation, stakeholder collaboration and active citizen participation. These initiatives are commendable. However, their success will depend on sustained implementation rather than public announcements alone. Voter education must continue beyond election periods, while electoral institutions must demonstrate through their conduct that citizens’ votes deserve protection.

The government, political parties, electoral authorities and civil society organisations (CSOs) all have important roles to play. First, governments must demonstrate genuine commitment to credible elections by rejecting electoral manipulation, vote buying and the use of thugs to intimidate voters. Electoral offences must be investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law. Security agencies must also remain professional and impartial throughout the electoral process. Beyond elections, elected officials must deliver the dividends of democracy. Reliable electricity, accessible healthcare, quality education, good roads and employment opportunities can help restore public confidence in governance. Citizens are more likely to participate when they see that democracy can improve their lives.

Political officeholders must also change their attitude towards their constituencies. Representatives should maintain regular contact with their constituents, explain their activities and demonstrate how they address local concerns. Representation should not end with election campaigns, nor should elected officials remember their constituents only when another election approaches. CSOs and political parties must intensify voter education, helping citizens understand that voting is a fundamental democratic right and an important means of holding leaders accountable. Voters should also learn to verify electoral information, report irregularities through appropriate channels and reject inducements that compromise their choices.

The electorate, too, has responsibilities. Voters must resist the temptation to sell their votes for money, food or other temporary benefits. Although economic hardship makes such inducements attractive to some, selling a vote undermines the opportunity to demand accountable leadership. Equally important is the rejection of electoral violence and misinformation. Nigerians must learn to disagree politically without becoming enemies. Citizens should verify claims before sharing them, particularly on social media, and report suspected electoral malpractice to the appropriate authorities. Participation also extends beyond voting. Citizens can attend community meetings, question elected representatives, monitor public projects and demand transparency between elections.

Nevertheless, citizens cannot be expected to sustain enthusiasm when credible complaints are ignored or electoral processes lack public confidence. INEC must therefore strengthen transparency, improve election logistics, communicate promptly and ensure that electoral complaints are handled in accordance with the law. Where disputes arise, the courts must provide lawful remedies. Nigeria’s democracy cannot thrive when eligible voters surrender their voices out of frustration. Restoring participation requires more than urging people to turn out on election day. It demands credible elections, responsible leadership, effective civic education and accountability. The 2027 general election presents an opportunity to rebuild public trust.

The NOA campaign is a welcome step, but all stakeholders must translate its message into action. Every eligible Nigerian should understand that a vote is not merely a mark on a ballot paper; it is an opportunity to influence the country’s future. Apathy may express frustration, but active and responsible participation offers a better chance of achieving change. The time to restore confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process is now. The earlier we act, the better for our democracy and future generations.

By: Calista Ezeaku