• Emir Sanusi II asserts that Nigerian law protects women and children against abuse.
• He links child marriage and domestic violence to poverty, poor infrastructure, and lack of government services.
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• Urges Nigerians to distinguish between harmful practices and genuine culture, calling for social and legal reforms.
The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, on Wednesday publicly condemned violence against women and child marriage, stating that cultural norms cannot justify abuse.
In an interview with Channels Television, Sanusi stressed that every Nigerian is entitled to legal protection, saying: “You cannot beat a woman because your culture says you can beat her. She’s a Nigerian citizen entitled to protection.”
The former Central Bank governor argued that abuse often attributed to culture is actually rooted in unequal power relations, poverty, and inadequate government services. He noted that women, children, the poor, and persons with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to exploitation.
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Addressing child marriage in rural communities, Sanusi highlighted structural challenges that leave families with difficult choices. Many girls finish primary school around age 11 with no access to secondary education, skill centres, or safe environments, which can lead families to marry off young daughters.
“Between 11 and 18, what arrangements have you made for her?” he asked, emphasising that unsafe roads, distant schools, and the absence of local services exacerbate the problem. “It’s easy to blame culture, but the government has not provided the schools.”
Sanusi stressed that harmful practices often labelled as cultural are in fact deliberate abuses of authority, describing them as a “culture of oppression” that must be challenged to protect Nigeria’s most vulnerable citizens.
He added that the nation to uphold clear moral and legal standards, reiterating that violence against women and children is unacceptable, regardless of cultural justification.