The wedding ceremony, which was presided over by the deputy chief Imam of the mosque, saw a representative of the bride’s family receive the customary bride price payment of 12 gold coins, valued at $900, from a representative of the groom’s family.
During the lavish reception, President Buhari hosted hundreds of guests, including Guinea’s President, Alpha Conde, at the banquet hall of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.
Anticipating a possible backlash over what may be considered a brazen display of affluence by the Nigerian public already groaning under the strain of a crippling recession, President Buhari’s media spokesman, Garba Shehu, declared on Twitter that the wedding would be organized at no cost to the general public.
Much as the family wants to make their daughter happy they, however, will not make it a royal wedding.
In a rare twist, the President asked to be given the bill for the food at the banquet. Government, he said, has no business paying for that.
The Kunshi was followed by the Kamu, which means “the catching,” a Hausa/Fulani ceremony where the groom’s family seeks permission to see the bride, who is then formally introduced to her in-laws.
Here the bride’s family typically make their new in-laws sweat it out a bit before they are finally allowed to take a peek at the bride.
