Again, Kano Gives Out 1,111 Persons In a Mass Wedding

The Kano State Hisbah Board yesterday gave out 1,111 persons in marriage after disqualifying 35 other persons from the mass wedding for several reasons, ranging from pre-marital pregnancy and even being carriers of the HIV/AIDS virus.

The state Commandant General of the Hisbah Board, Sheik Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, said the agency had masterminded the mass wedding of 2,000 couples in four batches, adding that the agency would continue screening intending couples seeking to get married.

He said there is a fine of N50,000 for any groom who divorces his wife without genuine reasons, adding that “it is part of the agreement reached with all the couples so as to reduce rising cases of divorce in the state.”
Daurawa expressed satisfaction with the success so far recorded by the state Hisbah Board, while also congratulating the couples on their marriages.

The commandant general counselled the couples to be obedient and live peacefully with one another, warning that any unnecessary complaint would not be tolerated by the agency.
“Poverty is the major setback that stops people from getting married when they want to, since they do not have the resources to foot the bill of weddings,” he said.

He blamed the high incidence of divorce on the attitude of both sexes.
The various couples who were dressed in white gowns fitted with red caps stormed the Kano central mosque. Their sheer huge number added colour and cheer to the atmosphere.

The wedding fatiha was conducted by the Chief Imam of Kano, Professor Sani Zaharadeen, and the ceremony attracted a large delegation of top government officials led by the state’s Deputy Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

According to the state government, the decision to sponsor the mass wedding was targeted at reducing the number of idle youths in the state, many of whom are of marriageable age, but lack the resources to foot the bills of weddings.

Their inability to get married, the state government argued, could result in security threats. The state was of the view that the propensity to turn to crime or other social vices will be reduced if they are married and have family responsibilities.

Last year, a similar mass wedding was organised for the same category of persons, and they were assisted with basic home furniture and some cash to kick-start their marital lives and possibly small-scale business.