Tag: reno omokri

Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has stated that only virgins should be regarded as true brides, asserting that requesting bride price for a non-virgin is tantamount to extortion.

Omokri further argued that many Africans have confused the terms “dowry” and “bride price,” misapplying their meanings despite their distinct origins and cultural significance.

He said …

“The Difference Between Dowry and Bride Price and Bride and Wife

There is a huge difference between a dowry and a bride price. But in this part of the world (Sub-Saharan Africa), we use them interchangeably. But they are not interchangeable.

A dowry is the money and property given to a female child on her wedding day, by her parents, to take to her husband’s home to become the joint property of both her and her husband.

It is practised in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

This is in line with the Biblical injunction that a wife is a helper to her husband, not a burden-Genesis 2:18.

A bride price, however, is different. In African culture, and Jewish traditions and law, it is the property or money demanded by a bride’s family to give her away in marriage to her intended husband, on the grounds that she is a virgin. Please see Exodus 22:17, and the aso asa Ibale custom of the Lukumi Yoruba.

Exodus 22:17 says:

If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.

And according to the Lukumi Yoruba, if the bride’s virginity is not proven by the aso funfun (white cloth on which the marriage is consummated on the bridal night), being stained, the marriage is not valid and the bride price will be returned.

The exorbitant demand for property and money by some Sub-Saharan African ethnicities, who I will not identify, for a woman who is not a virgin is not legally and technically a bride price. It is extortion!

If you read Scripture, the term ‘bride’ is never used for a woman who is not a virgin.

For example, Isaiah 62:5 is very clear on the matter. That verse says:

“For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons shall marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you.”

Also, Jeremiah 2:32 says:

For example, you will notice that David paid a bride price for King Saul’s daughter in 1 Samuel 18:20-27. However, he did not pay a bride price for Abigail-1 Samuel 25:40-42.

If we in Africa do not return to these traditions and continue the moral decadence in our society, where sex and sensuality are not curtailed, we will continue to be the dregs of the world, with high rates of sexually transmitted diseases.

Finally, a White wedding is not our culture in Africa, and it is not a Christian wedding. It is purely a European traditional wedding.

If we must adopt that culture, we must appropriate it accurately.

In Europe, from where we got the practice, it is NOT the man or his family that pays for a White wedding. Customarily, it is the bride’s father who foots the bill.,

Industrial Money Obtainers, I hope you’ve heard?”

See post below …

Reno Omokri, the popular Nigerian social critic, has explained that Nigeria is not a pushover or should be afraid of using its military-industrial complex to advance the cause of democracy and the rule of law in Niger Republic, even as Nigerians fervently and consistently pray against war.

According to Omokri, Nigeria has a vested interest in what happens in Niger Republic, the way Russia has a vested interest in what happens in Ukraine and America in Cuba.

In a tweet, the social critic boasted that Nigeria’s defence budget is larger than every other ECOWAS state combined.

He added that Nigeria intervening to reestablish the rule of law in Niger might be better than building a wall.

He wrote, “Nigeria’s defence budget is larger than the defence budgets of every other ECOWAS state combined. Our military personnel are more than the military of all fourteen other ECOWAS nations combined. ECOWAS has a combined annual Gross Domestic Product of $760 billion. Nigeria generates almost $500 billion of that amount or 63%.

“So, while we fervently, strenuously, and consistently pray against war, that does not mean Nigeria should be a pushover, or be afraid of using its military-industrial complex to advance the cause of democracy and the rule of law. We have a vested interest in what happens in the next-door Niger Republic, the way Russia has a vested interest in what happens in Ukraine and America in Cuba.

“Gone are the days when President Obama would destabilise Libya and then hand off and leave Nigeria to bear the consequences in the form of Boko Haram, which were essentially a spillover effect of the Libyan crisis.

“Political instability in the Sahel will not be the direct burden of France, NATO or Russia. Libya and Chad, which share a border with Niger, are somewhat in a crisis. Algeria is dead set against opening its borders to non-Arab, and non-Amazigh persons. Mali is facing hydra-headed issues, including a power struggle, an Islamist insurgency, and a population growth rate higher than her GDP growth rate.

“Therefore, if there is political and economic instability in Niger, the influx of refugees and migrants will naturally be to Nigeria.

“And that is why it is in Nigeria’s interests to reestablish the rule of law in Niger. Either that or we build a Trump-style wall between us and them.

“Singapore is perhaps the least mineral-resourced nation on Earth. Yet, she has the world’s strongest passport, according to the Henley Index, and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world at almost $90,000. And the reason is that Singapore has an unassailable commitment to the rule of law.

“The above means intervening to reestablish the rule of law in Niger might be the better option than building a wall.

“And for those who are thinking that this is a Western imperialist action, please give Nigeria some credit. We have come of age. We know our right from our left. And we can pursue our own agenda and asset our own interests. And Russia is not the saviour here. Neither is the US or NATO. Nigeria is the Black saviour!”