Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has reignited debate around African marital customs, asserting that only virgin women should qualify for bride price payments.
In a comprehensive post on his verified X account on Sunday, Omokri explained the critical distinction between dowry and bride price — concepts he says are often misunderstood and wrongly interchanged by Africans.
“There is a huge difference between a dowry and a bride price,” Omokri wrote. “However, in this part of the world (Sub-Saharan Africa), we often use the terms interchangeably — but they are not the same.”
He explained that a dowry traditionally consists of wealth or property provided by the bride’s family, which becomes shared property in her marriage. “Dowry is the money and property given to a female child on her wedding day by her parents, which she takes to her husband’s home,” he added. “It becomes the joint property of both the husband and the wife.”
According to Omokri, bride price is reserved strictly for virgins, a standard he claims is upheld both in African traditions and biblical teachings. He referenced Exodus 22:17 and the Lukumi Yoruba tradition as evidence that virginity is a prerequisite for a legitimate bride price transaction.
“A bride price, on the other hand, is different… it is the money or property given by a man to the family of a virgin woman to marry her,” he wrote. “If the bride’s virginity is not confirmed on the white cloth (aso funfun)… the marriage is not considered valid, and the bride price is returned.”
Criticizing what he described as the commodification of marriage, Omokri condemned excessive financial demands for non-virgin brides. “The excessive demand for money and property by some Sub-Saharan African ethnicities for a woman who is not a virgin is neither legally nor technically a bride price — it is extortion,” he emphasized.
He further argued that the Bible does not associate the term “bride” with women who are not virgins, citing verses from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Song of Solomon. “These verses show that bridehood is synonymous with virginity,” he said.
Citing King David’s marriage history, Omokri pointed out that while David paid bride price for Michal, no such payment was recorded for Abigail, thus underscoring his belief that only virgins qualify for the custom.
“If we in Africa do not return to these time-honoured traditions… we will remain at the bottom rung of global development,” Omokri warned, linking moral decline to societal failure.
He also took issue with modern wedding practices, dismissing white weddings as non-African and misinterpreted even in Christian settings. “It is traditionally the bride’s father who foots the bill,” he noted. “Industrial Money Obtainers, I hope you have heard?”
okay.ng reports that Omokri’s comments have stirred heated reactions online, with supporters praising his clarity on cultural norms and critics accusing him of moral absolutism.
