Per the wedding tax imposed by the Chief of the Kera village Ado Sa’id, grooms are obliged to pay 137,000 naira ($377, £294) before they are granted the green light to proceed with their intended marriage to any woman of his jurisdiction.
According to reports, before the imposition of the controversial wedding tax, grooms were required to provide furniture and kitchenware to the bride’s family when they get married.
However, the new regime is making it difficult for young men to marry women from Kera in the village as the tax is likely to shoot up the cost of weddings abnormally.
It is further reported that since the imposition of the draconian wedding tax about four months ago, there has not been a single marriage held in the village but residents have been moving outside the catchment area to get married in order to escape the tax.
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One Sani Kera, a resident of the village is reported as lamenting that all his five children have been left with no option but to suspend their marriages as they cannot afford the heavy wedding tax.
Some parents hold the view that the tax is burdensome, saying the previous tradition gave room for grooms to provide furniture and kitchenware to the brides’ families at their own convenience. They argue that the chief did not consult them prior to the formulation and imposition of the wedding tax.
But chief Ado Sa’id told the BBC that the wedding tax rather is cheaper and should not prevent any serious-minded groom from marrying.