Mass wedding

I write this as a concerned citizen of Kano who genuinely wants your administration and our state to succeed.

First, I must acknowledge the progress your administration has made. The visible investment in road construction, rehabilitation and urban infrastructure across Kano deserves recognition. Your government has also intervened in education, healthcare, agriculture, and other sectors. These efforts should be sustained regardless of political differences.

However, Your Excellency, I believe Kano can do even more.

The recently concluded mass wedding involving 1,500 couples, reportedly gulping the state more than ₦1.5 billion, has made me reflect on our priorities. 

I am a Muslim, and I respect marriage and the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW). I therefore do not oppose helping genuinely vulnerable people to marry.

My concern is sustainability and priority.

Marriage does not end at the wedding. After the ceremony come food, rent, healthcare, children’s education and other responsibilities. If someone lacks the economic capacity to establish a household, helping him marry does not necessarily solve the problem that made marriage difficult.

We should not only help people get married; we should help them build families that can stand on their own.

This is why I respectfully urge your administration to place greater emphasis on the following:

Education: Kano’s children are our greatest investment. We need stronger public schools, better teacher development, learning materials, technical education, girls’ education and serious programmes to return out-of-school children to classrooms. Questions have already been raised about the relatively small allocation to some out-of-school-girl programmes compared with the mass-wedding expenditure.

Youth employment and skills: Our young people need sustainable opportunities, not only temporary grants. Vocational training, agriculture, ICT, manufacturing, apprenticeships, and affordable business financing can help young people earn and eventually support their own families.

Healthcare and water: Functional primary healthcare, maternal care, essential medicines, clean water and sanitation must reach ordinary citizens, particularly in rural communities.

Agriculture: Kano has enormous agricultural potential. The government should strengthen irrigation, storage, processing and market access so that farming becomes a profitable industry and a source of employment.

There is also the important issue of monitoring government assistance.

I recently saw a large number of mattresses being distributed under the mass-wedding programme, which raised questions for me about what happens to them after distribution. I cannot confirm whether what I observed involved legitimate transfer, resale or something else, and I do not wish to accuse anyone without evidence.

But it highlights an important question:

What mechanism monitors government assistance after it reaches beneficiaries?

I respectfully suggest post-distribution verification, proper documentation and follow-up assessments. The government should know who received assistance, whether they received the full allocation, and whether the intervention actually improved their lives.

Public money deserves public accountability.

Your Excellency, you have shown that your government can build roads.

Please build people too.

You have shown that government can support marriages.

Please build the economic foundation upon which those marriages can stand.

Let us measure Kano’s progress not only by kilometres of roads constructed, but by how many children are in school, how many young people have sustainable jobs, how many families escape poverty, and how many empowerment beneficiaries remain economically active years later.

I do not want a Kano where people continually wait for government assistance.

I want a prosperous Kano where the government creates the opportunities that allow people to become self-reliant.

That is the Kano many of us want.

Umar Abdullahi Huguma writes from Kano State and can be reached at umarhuguma2023@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam

A civil society organization, War Against Injustice (WAI), has urged the Kano State government to prioritize essential sectors such as education, healthcare, and job creation instead of allocating N2.5 billion for quarterly mass weddings in 2025.

In a statement on Monday, WAI’s Executive Director, Comr. Umar Ibrahim Umar, expressed concern over the government’s decision, describing it as a misplacement of priorities at a time when the state is struggling with unemployment, poor infrastructure, and rising social challenges.

The group emphasized the need for strategic investments in job creation to curb youth unemployment, which has contributed to the rise in street crimes such as phone snatching and violent clashes.

It suggested that supporting small-scale industries in areas like Bompai, Challawa, and Sharada would stimulate economic growth and provide sustainable job opportunities.

WAI also highlighted the state of education in Kano, citing a report by UNICEF that only 9.6% of primary school pupils have reading proficiency, while 11.2% possess basic numeracy skills.

Despite the government’s renovation efforts, many schools remain in poor condition, requiring urgent intervention.

Similarly, the organization pointed to the challenges facing the healthcare sector, where many primary health care centers lack adequate facilities, equipment, and personnel.

It called for immediate action to improve medical services across the state. The statement stressed that channeling funds into productive sectors such as agriculture could help lift citizens out of poverty, addressing the root causes of social instability and marital challenges.

“We urge the Kano State government to reconsider the allocation of N2.5 billion for mass weddings and instead focus on investments that will directly improve the lives of its people,” the statement read.

WAI further called on the government to promote good governance by making decisions that align with the pressing needs of the people, emphasizing that economic stability would enable citizens to build strong families and communities.

By El-Yassar Ahmad

Kano State’s recent ₦2.5 billion expenditure on a mass wedding initiative has sparked widespread criticism for being a poor use of public funds. At a time when the state faces significant challenges in sectors such as power supply, education, healthcare, and transportation, many believe this substantial sum could have been better invested in addressing these critical needs.

While states like Lagos prioritise infrastructure and sustainable growth—evidenced by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s ₦3.5 billion investment in power generation—Kano’s leadership is drawing attention to what is seen as frivolous taxpayer spending. 

Many people, especially on social media, argue that such spending represents a missed opportunity to improve the lives of Kano’s citizens through long-term, impactful development.

This underscores a concerning trend of mismanagement and a lack of transparency that hinders progress in the state. Public resources ought to be invested in projects that meet the fundamental needs of the populace—healthcare, education, and essential services—rather than wasted on short-term initiatives that provide minimal enduring benefit.

It is high time for Kano’s leadership to reassess its priorities and ensure that public funds are used responsibly for the betterment of its citizens. Only through strategic investment in infrastructure and services can the state attain meaningful progress and enhance the quality of life for its people.

By Uzair Adam

The Kano State government has allocated N2.5 billion for conducting quarterly mass weddings across the 44 local government areas of the state in 2025.

The Commissioner for Planning and Budget, Musa Shanono, disclosed this while presenting a breakdown of the state’s 2025 budget, recently passed into law by the State House of Assembly.

Shanono stated that the initiative aims to promote social welfare, uphold human rights, and improve the living standards of residents.

He noted that the government has earmarked N91.32 billion for governance and service delivery programs, including the mass wedding initiative.

In 2023, the state conducted a mass wedding for 1,800 couples, including widows, divorcees, and spinsters, at a cost of over N800 million.

Beyond the mass weddings, the commissioner outlined other allocations in the budget, including N1 billion for Ramadan feeding, N955 million for a manpower statistics survey, general household survey, and out-of-school children statistics, and N1.049 billion for purchasing a printing machine, rehabilitating the general water system, and procuring library equipment for the Government Printing Press.

Additionally, N267.6 million has been budgeted for infrastructure provision, printing an Islamic calendar, and supporting Islamic Da’wah programs and new converts.

Another N589 million has been set aside for security research, empowerment initiatives, and special interventions for street beggars.

The budget also includes N200 million for procuring office furniture, maintaining the Accountant-General’s office, and developing public financial management software and reform activities.

Shanono further stated that the total size of the approved 2025 budget stands at N719.76 billion, marking a 31% increase from the N549.16 billion initially proposed by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.

The budget includes N262.67 billion for recurrent expenditure and N457.08 billion for capital projects, representing a 65% increase compared to 2024.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, to retract her litigation and petition to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) concerning the planned marriage of 100 orphaned girls in Niger State.

Malam Hassan Sani Indabawa, Chairman of the Kano State Chapter of MURIC, made this appeal on Thursday night in a statement, urging Nigerians to respect one another’s culture and traditions.

Indabawa noted that the marriage arrangement, sponsored by the Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Hon Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji, is scheduled for May 24, 2024.

On Monday, the minister announced that she had approached a court to halt the speaker’s plan to marry off 100 prospective brides and had also petitioned the IGP regarding Sarkin-Daji’s intentions.

“We find the harsh and hasty decision taken by the Honourable Minister for Women Affairs over a matter that is entirely beyond the scope of her ministry. The minister’s attempt at media demonisation of marrying off 100 poor and orphaned girls, who were largely traumatised from losing both parents to brutal banditry and insurgency, shows her ignorance of the culture and traditions of the Muslim North. This elaborate media blitz was deliberately done to sway public opinion against the marriage institution and vilify Sarkin-Daji, who demonstrated genuine concern for his constituents’ needs,” Indabawa said.

He recalled that the speaker had explained his intention to support orphaned girls, especially victims of banditry attacks, following an appeal by religious and traditional leaders from his constituency.

Hon. Sarkin-Daji expressed surprise at the minister’s attempt to tarnish his reputation without conducting a background check or consulting him to hear his side of the story.

Indabawa also criticized the minister for her controversial public statements since her appointment, including a recent TV appearance where she suggested that children could be involved in producing toothpicks and sanitary pads, thereby promoting child labor, which her position should condemn.

“We, at MURIC, therefore, categorically and unequivocally call on Minister Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye to immediately withdraw the legal case and the petition she filed with the IGP to avoid imminent embarrassment because, in this matter, no law has been breached and no coercion was established,” Indabawa noted.

By Sabiu Abdullahi 

In response to evolving societal norms and economic challenges, fifty couples recently embarked on a shared matrimonial journey at a prominent Kabul wedding hall.

The atmosphere at the City Star wedding hall near the airport was somewhat sombre, reflecting the curtailed festivities enforced since the return of the Taliban in August 2021.

With dancing and music now considered un-Islamic, weddings have transitioned into more subdued affairs. 

Roohullah Rezayi, an 18-year-old groom, shed light on the financial strain that led him and his peers to opt for this collective celebration.

Hailing from the Hazara Shiite minority and earning a meagre income from odd jobs, Rezayi revealed that a conventional wedding would have cost between 200,000 to 250,000 Afghanis ($2,800 to $3,600).

In contrast, the joint ceremony significantly reduced expenses to a range of 10,000 to 15,000 Afghanis. 

The Selab Foundation’s intervention proved crucial, offering each couple a substantial donation of $1,600.

Beyond monetary support, the newlyweds received practical essentials, including toothpaste, shampoo, and moisturiser, as well as household appliances, carpets, and blankets, to help them embark on their married life. 

Despite the male-only attendance and the absence of women until after lunch, the event garnered considerable interest, drawing attention to the changing dynamics of weddings in Afghanistan.

The large, chilly hall echoed with Quranic recitations and a speech from an official representing the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. 

This joint wedding, born out of necessity and adaptation, provides a glimpse into a pragmatic approach to matrimony amidst challenging circumstances.

The Selab Foundation’s initiative attracted an overwhelming 600 applicants, underscoring the need for alternative, cost-effective options in a society navigating shifts in cultural practices.