One thousand five hundred couples
One thousand five hundred mattresses
One thousand five hundred bed sheets
One thousand five hundred cooking pots
How generous
The thirty-year-old unemployed graduate and the twenty-year-old apprentice
The forty-three-year-old broke man and the seventeen-year-old minor
The fifty-year-old lonely and broke widower and the thirty-year-old poor widow
The not less than sixty-year-old man with two wives at home and the twenty-one-year-old unemployed girl
How generous
One thousand five hundred HIV tests
One thousand five hundred counselling sessions
One thousand five hundred bags of rice
One thousand five hundred gallons of cooking oil
How generous
All on the taxpayers’ dime
Opinions are split
‘It is a waste of money. Are there no other priorities?’
‘It is a good thing. It will save young people from fornication’
‘Religion allows more than one wife. It is a good thing to offer help to those who want to marry more to reduce the number of excess women on the streets’
‘This is institutionalised paedophilia’
‘Marriage is not a poverty alleviation program’
‘The people want programs like this. They are asking for it’
‘If you are broke, you have no business looking for a wife’
‘What happens when the rice and oil finishes?’
‘It is nothing new. Everyone must marry’
One hundred thousand Naira for the groom
One hundred thousand Naira for the bride
How generous
Opinions are free
They cost nothing
Everyone is entitled to an opinion
Unfortunately, they are not entitled to their own facts
Nigeria has 133 million people, 63% of the population, living in multi-dimensional poverty – fact
Nigeria has approximately eighteen million children out of school – fact
Nigeria sill has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world – fact
Education of girls in Nigeria is endangered due to kidnappings and insurgency – fact
One thousand five hundred broke couples coupled by the State, might (conservatively) produce up to five thousand children over the next ten years – fact
One thousand five hundred broke couples coupled by the State will strain healthcare facilities – fact
One thousand five hundred broke couples coupled by the State will stretch education services – fact
The projected thousands of children from this act of generosity might end up on the margins of society if care is not taken – fact
The poor are entitled to dignity
The poor deserve respect
The poor are human beings too
Governments have a lot of options
Education
Job creation
Skills acquisition
Women’s empowerment
Digital literacy
Financial literacy
Low-interest loans
Small business support
Structured cash-transfers
Support for targeted cooperatives
Agricultural programs
General infrastructure
There are many things that can be tried, piloted or combined
The budgets for mass weddings could have addressed some of the above
How do we jump straight to paying for one thousand five hundred beds
A literal breeding ground for generational poverty
Religion, culture and tradition are important drivers
It is however no excuse to keep people from becoming more
Mass weddings have been around for a while
Many people ask for them and expect governments to respond
Governments are always keen to jump on populist bandwagons
They will get their reward at the polling booths
The objections to this practice come from a bigger picture
It is about the survival of a country
It is about what happens tomorrow
There are many things we need to move ahead
To be competitive with other nations
To be part of a world that keeps getting harder on all fronts
Three thousand pillows for broke heads to sleep on will not get us there
We need the next generation to do well
Our survival depends on it
Hopefully, they will be Lawyers, Doctors, Scientists, Engineers, Teachers, Nurses
Not another generation who will require free beds, rice and cooking pots
How generous of them
When some sons marry, they get free houses
When certain daughters marry, they get free cars
Guess what these children all have in common?
They are educated
They are connected
They are set for life
They have a thousand five hundred reasons never to be poor
How generous
That they would think of those who don’t have and decide to help out
With one thousand five hundred beds and mattresses
A clear strategy to keep them dependent and pliant forever
Then the next generation hits the streets
How truly generous
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender Specialist, Leadership Coach, Policy Advocate and Writer. She is the Founder of Abovewhispers.com, an online community for women. She can be reached at BAF@abovewhispers.com