The Nigerian Senator championing constitutional recognition of early marriage is unfazed by the furore that has greeted his campaign. In a defence of his campaign, Senator Ahmad Sani Yarima descended heavily on his critics, declaring them busy bodies and enemies of Islam.

The man who as Governor of the North-East state of Zamfara amputated a cow thief to launch the implementation of the Sharia Islamic law also made it clear that he can give out his daughter(s) “in marriage at the age of 9 or 13,” adding: “I tell you most honestly, I can give her out at the age of 6 if I want to and it’s not your business.” Below is the text of the statement as published on the Facebook Page of former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode, one of the staunchest critics of the move to legalise child marriage in Africa’s most populous nation:

Nigeria has many uncountable problems and none of them is early marriage. As a matter of fact early marriage the solution to about half of our problems. For those who wonder if I can give my daughter(s) out in marriage at the age of 9 or 13, I tell you most honestly, I can give her out at the age of 6 if I want to and it’s not your business. This is because I am a Muslim and I follow the example of the best of mankind, Muhammad ﺻَﻠَّﻰ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪُ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻪِ ﻭَﺳَﻠَّﻢَ .

In Islam, marriage is not only about sex, it is about family and helping one another in achieving their goals, which is the attainment of Paradise.

In Islam, a girl can be given out in marriage as early as 6 years old, but consummation of the marriage can only be done when the girl becomes physically mature and she gives her consent to it because unlike English law, it is not permissible for a man to rape his wife in Shari’ah Law.

So what can anybody tell me?
~ I live in a city where young girls at the age of 12 have already became serial fornicators and cannot count the number of man they’ve had sex with.
~ I live in a City where primary school children disvirgin themselves behind toilets on Valentine day.
~ I live in a city where young girls flood the street at night looking for men that would give them N500 to have sex with them.
~ I live in a city where parents send their daughters out overseas to prostitute and send dollars down.
~ I live in a City where Government officials pick undergraduates from University car parks with Coastal Buses to wild sex parties.
~ I live in a city where abortion is so common that even a Chemist shore owner can perform abortion with just N2,500.

These are your daughters, and this should worry you and not Yerima’s private matters. So ask me again why I support early marriage and I will slap the Jinn out of your head.

•Photo shows unapologetic Senator Yarima.