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It is no longer news on the criticism of a marriage to a young adult of 18 years princess from Adamawa kingdom by the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II. This brought about one of the heated debate on social media. Many termed the criticism as unethical and unworthy to even talk about due to the fact that the marriage is not against any law; Ismalamic, Nigerian or international. The Emir finally opens up to give his first and last reasons for those who cares to read and understand as below. I am sure NC members all have their views and have kept quiet out of (appropriate) deference to our right to make our individual choice. Obviously I do not need to explain anything to anyone in a purely personal matter but a few points are worthy of note: The lady in question is 18 and therefore legally of age to marry under all laws and certainly under Muslim law. She is proceeding for her undergraduate education in the UK in January. She had an A in computer science in her O ...

By Jaafar Jaafar I have made this argument about a year ago when the rumor of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi's marriage to a "minor" raised some dusts. The age of consent varies according to culture and religion, I had argued. I don't know why one would combust energy criticizing cultural practices that are contrary to his religion, culture or warped intuition. Nigeria has two major religions which don't prohibit marriage at the age of 18. The constitution doesn't also prohibit it. Writing about age of consent, Professors Richard Wortley and Stephen Smallbone said girls married very young in European society prior to19th century. "In Medieval and early modern European societies, the age of marriage remained low, with documented cases of brides as young as seven years, although marriages were typically not consummated until the girl reached puberty (Bullough 2004). Shakespeare's Juliet was just 13, and there is no hint in the play that this wa...