Muhammadu Sanusi II, the emir of Kano, has attributed the persistence of child marriage in parts of northern Nigeria on the failure of government to provide adequate schools and structured opportunities for young girls after primary education.
Sanusi made the remarks on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s ‘The Morning Brief’.
He featured alongside Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha, and Haliru Yahaya Ndanusa, the Emir of Shonga, in a discussion on culture, education and social reform.
Sanusi said while public discourse often focuses on child marriage, the structural conditions that push families into such decisions are frequently ignored.
The emir said many girls complete primary education at a very young age, with no pathway for further schooling or skills development.
“There’s no secondary school, there’s no skill centre, there are no provisions for her life,” he said.
He said in such circumstances, poor families are often driven by fear rather than cultural preference when marrying off young girls.
“We’re talking about child marriage, but you go to some parts of the north, there’s a primary school and that’s it,” he said.
“Between 11 and 18, what arrangements have you made for her? The poor man basically finds that she’s 12 or 13; he’s afraid that she can get pregnant on the road, and the next young man that comes, he marries her off. Sometimes these cultures basically reflect poverty.”
The emir criticised urban perspectives that ignore rural realities, pointing out that roads are often unsafe, schools are distant or non-existent, and local government services are lacking.
“It’s easy to blame culture. It’s easy to blame a victim. But the government has not provided the schools,” he said.
Sanusi said according to the constitution, every child is entitled to an education.
“So if you take a child out of school you’re supposed to have committed an offence,” he added.
The monarch, however, questioned the practicality of enforcing such laws when the state itself has failed to meet its obligations.
“But how many people have ever been arrested for taking a child out of school? None of them,” he said.
He said the reason enforcement is non-existent is because government has not provided the necessary schools to accommodate children, especially in rural communities.
The emir said addressing child marriage require more than moral arguments or cultural condemnation, adding that government must invest in education and social infrastructure to give young girls viable alternatives.
