Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has sparked widespread debate online following his recent remarks suggesting that only virgins should be regarded as true brides, and that demanding bride price for non-virgins is, in his words, a form of “extortion.”
Omokri made this controversial assertion in a lengthy post shared on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Sunday, where he offered an elaborate explanation of cultural, biblical, and historical perspectives surrounding the concept of bride price and dowry in African and global traditions.
In his post, Omokri criticized the conflation of the terms “dowry” and “bride price” by many Africans, stating that despite their distinct meanings and cultural roots, both are wrongly used interchangeably in Sub-Saharan societies.
He began by clarifying the meaning of each term, saying…
“The Difference Between Dowry and Bride Price and Bride and Wife
There is a huge difference between a dowry and a bride price. But in this part of the world (Sub-Saharan Africa), we use them interchangeably. But they are not interchangeable.
A dowry is the money and property given to a female child on her wedding day, by her parents, to take to her husband’s home to become the joint property of both her and her husband.
It is practised in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
This is in line with the Biblical injunction that a wife is a helper to her husband, not a burden – Genesis 2:18.”
He contrasted this with the African and Jewish concept of a bride price, stating:
“A bride price, however, is different. In African culture, and Jewish traditions and law, it is the property or money demanded by a bride’s family to give her away in marriage to her intended husband, on the grounds that she is a virgin. Please see Exodus 22:17, and the aso asa Ibale custom of the Lukumi Yoruba.”
Quoting Exodus 22:17, he wrote:
“If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.”
Omokri also cited traditional Yoruba customs, stating that according to the Lukumi Yoruba, if the bride’s virginity is not confirmed by a stained white cloth (aso funfun) after consummation, the marriage is not valid, and the bride price must be refunded.
He strongly criticized what he called the “exorbitant demand for property and money” by some ethnic groups in Africa in cases where the woman is not a virgin. According to Omokri, such practices are neither biblically nor culturally justifiable and should be labeled as nothing more than extortion.
“The exorbitant demand for property and money by some Sub-Saharan African ethnicities, who I will not identify, for a woman who is not a virgin is not legally and technically a bride price. It is extortion!” he wrote.
He added that even in Scripture, the term “bride” is never used for a woman who is not a virgin. To support his claim, Omokri quoted Isaiah 62:5:
“For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons shall marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you.”
He further referenced Jeremiah 2:32 and pointed to biblical examples such as David, who paid bride price for King Saul’s daughter (1 Samuel 18:20-27), but not for Abigail (1 Samuel 25:40-42), as a sign that the tradition applied only in specific contexts.
Omokri warned that abandoning such cultural values is contributing to what he describes as “moral decadence” in African societies. He blamed the rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases and the erosion of family values on the lack of cultural and spiritual discipline regarding sex and marriage.
“If we in Africa do not return to these traditions and continue the moral decadence in our society, where sex and sensuality are not curtailed, we will continue to be the dregs of the world,” he wrote.
He also criticized the prevalence of White weddings in African societies, pointing out that such ceremonies are not rooted in either African or Christian traditions. Rather, he noted, they are simply European cultural practices that have been adopted — often inaccurately — across the continent.
“Finally, a White wedding is not our culture in Africa, and it is not a Christian wedding. It is purely a European traditional wedding,” he said. “In Europe, from where we got the practice, it is NOT the man or his family that pays for a White wedding. Customarily, it is the bride’s father who foots the bill.”
Concluding his remarks with a jab at families who demand large sums from suitors, Omokri wrote:
“Industrial Money Obtainers, I hope you’ve heard?”
See post below …
