Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has stirred fresh controversy with his stance that only virgins are entitled to a bride price, describing any demand for bride price from non-virgins as extortion.
Omokri made this known in a lengthy post on Sunday via his official X handle, where he dissected the cultural and biblical understanding of dowry and bride price, insisting the two are often confused in African society.
“There is a huge difference between a dowry and a bride price,” he wrote. “A dowry is the money and property given to a woman by her parents on her wedding day, which she takes into her marriage. A bride price, however, is what a man pays the family of a virgin he wishes to marry.”
Quoting from Exodus 22:17, Omokri argued that bride price has its roots in both African tradition and Jewish law and historically applies only to virgins. “If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins,” he cited.
He went further to reference the Lukumi Yoruba tradition, where a marriage could be annulled if the bride’s virginity is not confirmed after the wedding night. “In that culture, if the white cloth (aso funfun) used during consummation does not confirm virginity, the bride price is returned,” he added.
Omokri condemned the monetization of marriage, particularly in instances where the woman is no longer a virgin. “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 stated.
Backing his claims with biblical references, Omokri asserted that the word “bride” is never used in Scripture for a non-virgin. “For instance, Isaiah 62:5 says, ‘As a young man marries a virgin, so your sons shall marry you.’ Song of Solomon 4:12 says, ‘A locked up garden is my sister, my bride; a locked up spring, a sealed fountain.’ These verses show that bridehood is synonymous with virginity,” he said.
He also pointed out that although David paid a bride price for Michal, King Saul’s daughter, he did not pay one for Abigail, who was previously married. “By African tradition and Scriptural law, 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 argued.
Omokri concluded with a critique of the popular white wedding tradition, calling it un-African and misunderstood. “It is a European custom where the bride’s father foots the bill, not the groom. Yet here, many exploit it for financial gain. Industrial Money Obtainers, I hope you have heard?” he quipped.
