Former Presidential Aide Reno Omokri Says Bride Price Reserved for Virgins, Labels Others “Extortion”
NIGERIA – Reno Omokri, a Nigerian author and former presidential aide, has reignited debate over African marriage traditions, asserting that bride price should only be paid for virgin women.
In a post shared via his verified X account on Sunday, Omokri argued that payments requested for non-virgins are culturally inaccurate and scripturally indefensible.
He criticized the widespread confusion between “dowry” and “bride price” across Sub-Saharan Africa, urging a return to original definitions.
“A dowry is the money and property given to a female child by her parents on her wedding day… It becomes the joint property of both the husband and the wife,” he wrote, citing Genesis 2:18 to support that a wife should be a helper, not a burden.
Contrasting this with bride price, he explained its roots in African and Jewish law: “A bride price is the money or property given by a man to the family of a virgin woman to marry her,” he stated, backing his claim with Exodus 22:17.
He referenced Yoruba customs—specifically the white cloth tradition (aso funfun) to illustrate how virginity confirmation remains central in some communities.
Punch reports that Omokri condemned demands for large sums of money in cases where the bride is not a virgin.
“The excessive demand for money and property is neither legally nor technically a bride price — it is extortion,” he emphasized.
Omokri supported his position with scripture, citing Isaiah 62:5 and Jeremiah 2:32 as evidence that virginity and bridehood are synonymous.
He also quoted Song of Solomon 4:12: “A locked up garden is my sister, my bride, a locked up spring, a sealed fountain,” underscoring the sanctity of virginity within biblical marriage.
He drew comparisons from 1 Samuel, noting that King David paid bride price for Michal (1 Samuel 18:20–27) but not for Abigail (1 Samuel 25:40–42).
“A man may marry a woman who is not a virgin but such a woman is not a bride, and no bride price should be paid for her,” he wrote.
Omokri warned that ignoring cultural and religious norms contributes to societal decline.
“If we in Africa do not return to these time-honoured traditions… we will remain at the bottom rung of global development,” he said, citing rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases and broken families.
He closed by rejecting white weddings as un-African, calling them misrepresented European traditions.
“The White wedding is not African culture, and it is not a Christian wedding. In Europe it is traditionally the bride’s father who foots the bill. Industrial Money Obtainers, I hope you have heard?”
