If Egypt could have disallowed child abuse on the pretext of Islamic marriage, then what business is it of Nigeria to have condoned such a criminal act? We cannot be more Arabic than the Arabs.

As Nigeria prepares for the next presidential election in 2011, are we confident that the People's Democratic Party (PDP) led government can produce free and fair elections? Since the 2003 and 2007 elections were clearly a charade, can we infer that the power brokers and god fathers of the ruling PDP, already know who the next president will be?

While there is a complacency to view Sani Yerima’s outrageous act as just one demonstration of child marriage, it becomes more worrisome considering the enormous damages associated with such practices. Child marriage is a sore topic that still highlights the perennial state of under-development of the African continent.