By ABDULLAHI JALALUDDEEN; Editing by BASIRAT MEMUDU
The Kano State Government has conducted a mass wedding for 1,500 widows across the state, with Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf serving as guardian (Waliyyi) for a man whose family was killed in a terrorist attack.
The beneficiary, Haruna Bashir, whose wife and children were reportedly murdered by suspected terrorists in Chiranci area of Kano, was married to Nabila Kabiru Yunusa.
The bride’s representative was the Emir of Kano, His Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II, while the governor stood in as the groom’s guardian with a dowry of N200,000 paid for the marriage.
The mass wedding programme was simultaneously extended to beneficiaries across all the 44 Local Government Areas of the State.
Under the initiative, each bride received N200,000 from the state government as dowry and an additional financial support package to enable them start a small-scale business.
Speaking during the ceremony held at the Juma’at Mosque of the Emir’s Palace in Kano, the Commander-General of the Kano State Hisbah Board, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, said the state government had provided additional support to Haruna Bashir to help him rebuild his life following the tragic loss of his family.
According to Daurawa, the government sponsored Bashir to perform the Umrah pilgrimage, facilitated his participation in the Hajj pilgrimage and provided him with a house at Amana City in Kano.
He said the interventions were aimed at easing the emotional and psychological burden resulting from the tragedy.
Daurawa also advised the newly married couples to uphold the sanctity of marriage, live peacefully with one another and build stable families that would contribute positively to society.
One of the beneficiaries, Musbahu Abdullahi, expressed gratitude to the Kano State Government for organising the mass wedding, pledging to treat his wife with love, care and responsibility.
Special prayers were offered during the ceremony for lasting peace, stability and unity in Kano State and Nigeria as a whole.
The state government allocated about N300 million for the latest phase of the mass wedding programme, aimed at supporting widows and other eligible beneficiaries across the state.
