Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has declared that only virgins should be considered brides, arguing that any money demanded for a non -virgin under the guise of bride price amounts to extortion.
Omokri made this known on Sunday, August 3, in a lengthy post shared, via his official X handle.
“There is a huge difference between a dowry and bride price, But in this part of the world (Sub-Saharan Africa), we use them interchangeable”, he stated.
He explained that dowry refers to the property a bride receives from her parents, which becomes joint property with her husband after marriage.
“A dowry is 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 inline with the Biblical injunction that a wife is a helper to her husband, not burden – Genesis 2:18”, he wrote.
In contrast, Omokri described the bride price as a separate traditions, rooted in both African and Jewish customs, which applies only when the bride is a virgin.
“A bride price, however is different in African culture, and Jewish traditions and law, it is the property or money demanded by the bride’s family to give her away in marriage to her intended husband,on the grounds that she is a virgin.”, he wrote., citing Exodus 22.17 and Yoruba customs.
However, Omokri backed his argument with an extensive scriptural references, saying Bible consistently associates the term ‘bride’ with virginity.
-9News Nigeria.
