House of Representatives Leader Hassan Ado Doguwa has threatened a woman columnist, Fatima Abubakar, for criticising him that he brought his four wives to the floor of the House during his inauguration.
The lawmaker expressed anger at such criticisms, saying what he did was in line with his religious practice and that he was proud to have four wives.
He said: “I’m not only disappointed, I’m disenchanted by the kind of reactions I received, especially on social media, when, on the day of my swearing-in, I brought my four wives with me to the floor of the House of Representatives. I told the House that these women are here to respect the institution of the House of Representatives.
“These are my legitimate wives; everybody knows them, starting from Abuja down to my village. I’m a Muslim; not only a Muslim, but a proud practising Muslim.
The most fundamental pillar of every faithful person in Islam is that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) should be your watchword, the Prophet should be your role model in actions and in thoughts.
So, as a proud Muslim, marrying four wives is in all ramifications copying the practice of Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
“I’m allowed by my religion to marry four wives, produce and reproduce.
“So, if there’s anything that can now be subject of ridicule, subject of reactions, write-ups on pages of papers, and unfortunately, sometimes by Muslims.
“I have to be very particular about a lady called Fatima Abubakar, who wrote an analysis on the back page of Daily Trust. The paper is seen as a northern paper. The writer is presumably a Muslim.
“Fatima Abubakar wrote a column, making references to my name, attacking my personality, attacking my family. If she’s really a Muslim, I should not be a subject of ridicule simply because I took the challenge of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
“What I did on the floor of the House, for me, was an act of pride. For my four wives, it was an act of pride, and all of them went home very happy. It’s because I have control over them.
“I’m not a soldier; I’m a democrat. For me to bring together my four wives to the floor of the House and they all played along with me in peace, that confirmed that I’m a reliable husband.
“I want to say with all sense of sincerity and seriousness that as long as I’m a free Nigerian, if anybody dares to write about me in this kind of a ridiculous manner, either about my family or my person, I’m telling you I’ll take it up. I must take it up. I’ll not take this lightly, and I want you to take this public.
“This is unfortunate. Fatima, who wrote about me in Daily Trust …has no business with my family. None of my wives was embarrassed; none of my children was embarrassed.
As a good Muslim that I am, I tell you that I’m proud of my family. I’m proud of marrying four wives; I’m proud these four wives are not even imported.
“We have a lot of people here who call themselves VIPs and who went out to import wives. My wives are indigenous wives; not only are they indigenous, they are my village people. All four of them are from Doguwa Local Government Area.”
By Tony Akowe