A Child For A Wife?

'You don't know how lucky you are, Risikat. Many girls your age yearn for the opportunity that has come your way. You have to take hold of this chance unless you want to die in poverty. Danladi is wealthy. He's a good man too. So, we stand to gain if you accept his proposal. In fact, you have to, for the good of this family'. Those were the words of Risikat's father, Musa who was all too willing to marry his 14 year old daughter off to Danladi. He hoped that would end their sorry tale of abject poverty. He(Danladi) had come to his house three days ago, and expressed interest in having Musa's eldest daughter for a wife. Musa gleefully told his daughter's suitor that he'd get back to him in three days' time. From the day Danladi came seeking her hand in marriage, he started discussing it with her. It was clear she didn't want to be given away yet her insensitive father thought he shouldn't let this opportunity pass without grasping it with both hands. Poverty! Her father had let poverty affect his mind and sensitivity to his daughter's plight.

Despite her pleas against getting married, she was married off at the age of 14. The traditional wedding was a lavish one. Musa must have been so proud of his new in-law. Everyone seemed to be happy, except two people- Danladi's beautiful bride and her poor mother. It was with much effort that Risikat kept the tears from trickling down. Her mother could not hold hers, as the salty liquid flowed profusely from her eyes.

Madam Basirat was married off early, but her case was a bit better. Musa was only five years older, but in her daughter's case, her daughter would be thirty years younger than her husband, for Danladi was 44. Madam Basirat knew the effects of early marriage herself: she never had the chance to enjoy her childhood. She was married off at the age of 13, the age children were still children and fed at their mothers' hands in some families, in some communities far away from Risikat's homeland. She became a mother at the age of 14, and it was tough. She knew next to nothing about motherhood when it pounced on her. Worse still, her first child was unhealthy from babyhood. He suffered from what medical doctors would call sickle-cell anaemia. But they didn't know. They had no knowledge to know nor enough understanding to seek medical help. They tried to cure him with traditional medicine. However, he could not be saved. That was how she lost Nuhu. She was young, and immature psychologically. She almost lost her mind when he died. She carried a heavy burden of guilt. It wasn't her fault he died, yet she couldn't stop blaming herself. Now, she feared history would repeat itself in her daughter... her daughter whom she loved so dearly. She had big dreams for her. Dreams that seemed far beyond the reach of her precious daughter.

Risikat had goals and aspirations. She wanted to continue with her education, and be like Aunty Sarah, the Corps member. She wanted to be like Mrs Zainab Haruna, the Minister of Education. Her tender heart had great dreams locked up in it, but now her world came crashing down. Goodbye to school!

Epilogue: One year after the traditional wedding, Risikat became the mother of Aliyu. Then, six months later, the symptoms came in full force: involuntary passage of urine, vulva irritation and all that. Cervical cancer took the life of Danladi's first wife, Asabe. She died, and then he went for the young and beautiful Risikat. Now, Risikat's life is ruined, ruined by early marriage and Vesicovaginal Fistula(VVF). Her illiterate husband who owns the biggest herd of cattle in the entire community plans towards taking yet another wife, one with less bad luck hovering around her, because in his opinion, he has been a victim of ill-fated marriages. He is carefully, and with the help of the spiritualist looking out for a damsel, young but not unlucky. So, the cycle continues, and not only with Danladi Danjuma but with many other pedophiles who satisfy their lustful desires with children.