Cleric seeks law to criminalise abandonment of family responsibilities

Dr Ridwan Jamiu, Chief of Imam of the Lekki Muslim Ummah (LEMU) Lagos, has called for the enactment of a law to prohibit men from abandoning their obligations to their families. He spoke at a quarterly da’wah workshop of LEMU in Lagos, where speakers decried the prevalence of broken homes, which they said was responsible […]

Dr Ridwan Jamiu, Chief of Imam of the Lekki Muslim Ummah (LEMU) Lagos, has called for the enactment of a law to prohibit men from abandoning their obligations to their families.

He spoke at a quarterly da’wah workshop of LEMU in Lagos, where speakers decried the prevalence of broken homes, which they said was responsible for the high rate of social ills in the Nigerian society.

Dr Jamiu said Nigeria’s prosperity, growth and national cohesion can be enhanced through strengthening the institution of marriage. 

He said, “Many social challenges we have today came as a result of family and marriage breakdowns. There can hardly be successful parenting without successful coupling.

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 “There is no such strong and robust law that would checkmate this kind of thing in the society because if you know it is a crime for you to abandon your family, definitely that would serve as a deterrent.”

Other speakers at the workshop are Prof Fatimah Abdulkareem; Imam Nojeem Jimoh; Dr Rasheedah Oke-Olaniyan and Shaykh (Dr) Munirdeen Salahudeen Ar-Rudaadi.

President of LEMU, Alhaji Abdulganiyu Labinjo, lamented that the society is full of men who, after marriage and birth of children, they disappeared leaving the responsibility of catering for the children to the women. 

“Many men today are aware of their authorities but not aware of the responsibilities that come with it,” he said. 

Prof. Fatimah AbdulKareem, in her lecture on finding a righteous spouse, said the prospective spouse must be matured enough and psychologically ready for the union. 

Imam Najim Jimoh said marriage is not just a social contract but a sacred contract which is “rewarding and beneficial.”

Dr. Rasheedah Olaniyan said “The implication of a broken home is not only to the marriage alone but to the society,” noting that patience, perseverance and understanding are some of the ingredients that make a marriage work.