Beneficiaries of Kano mass weddings speak 17 months after

No fewer than 1,800 couples, whose marriages were sponsored by the Kano State Government in October 2023, would have spent 17 months as husband and wife by the end of May and many people would be wondering how they have been faring after the elaborate ceremony signalling an end to their hitherto bachelor/spinsterhood or divorcee […]

No fewer than 1,800 couples, whose marriages were sponsored by the Kano State Government in October 2023, would have spent 17 months as husband and wife by the end of May and many people would be wondering how they have been faring after the elaborate ceremony signalling an end to their hitherto bachelor/spinsterhood or divorcee status and the beginning of a new life.

Lawan Abdullahi tied the knot with Rukayya Khalid Ibrahim during the state-sponsored mass wedding in Kano, and since then, Abdullahi has not looked back, saying he is living happily with his wife.

The bride was given N20,000 as seed capital in addition to furniture, food items, clothing materials and the bridal price to ease the burden on the husband.

Abdullahi said the marriage is blessed with a baby boy whom he named Kamaludden after the Kumbotso LG chairman for his role in arranging the sponsored marriage.

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Abdullahi and his wife live at Mariri in Kumbotso LGA, where he works as an estate/land agent, while Rukayya, empowered with the seed capital, sells palm and cooking oil.

For Abdullahi, the mass wedding initiative is helpful, as it has taken care of the wedding expenses that should have been on him or any would-be husband, despite his socioeconomic situation as a low-income earner.

“I have been living happily with my wife since our participation in the mass wedding. Even though between now and when we were married, there was no financial support from the government, she is doing well in her palm oil and cooking oil business. I buy from her weekly or monthly for our use in the house, and the business is growing as she is now selling in 25-litre jerrycans. This government is our own, and we must support its programmes geared towards uplifting the common man,” Abdullahi said.

Salmanu Yusuf Karaye, a vulcaniser who plies his trade along Gyadi-Gyadi Court Road, is another beneficiary of the mass wedding, but his wife stays in faraway Karaye, where he occasionally visits.

Salmanu is currently spending some quality time with his pregnant wife and has made arrangements for someone to look after his vulcanising business in his absence.

Narrating how the couple joined the Kano mass wedding, Salmanu said they were dating and planning marriage, but financial problems remained an obstacle since he was hustling in Kano while his would-be bride was staying in the village. When Hisbah officials learned of his intention to marry, they invited the two to join the mass wedding.

According to him, the government provided room furniture, clothes, and food items, as well as paid the dowry of ₦20,000. His wife was also given an additional ₦20,000 to start a business.

“Alhamdu lillahi, the wedding expenses were all paid by the state government, but we were not match-made. We were planning to marry, but finances were not forthcoming, and so we were contacted and made to join the mass wedding.

“I work as a vulcaniser in Kano and from time to time come to see my family at the village. Sometimes, I send her money, and when the rainy season comes, I spend much time here attending to my farm.

“So, generally, I would say we are not doing very badly after the wedding. My prayer is that whatever the government plans to do with good intentions, may it succeed,” he concluded.

Another beneficiary of the mass wedding, Maimuna Wise, who got married to Rabiu Usman, said they are doing fairly well in their about one year and a half of married life.

She said the couple was blessed with a baby girl named Aisha Rabiu, nicknamed Mama, but who died about a month ago.

Wise is selling groundnut oil at home from the N50,000 empowerment given to her during the wedding, and uses the proceeds of the business to support the family.

She acknowledged that the Hisbah commander in Kano Municipal, Malam Hamidan, visited them only once to see how they were faring.

Wise, who doubles as the NNPP women leader in Kano Municipal Local Government, advised the government to set up a committee that should be interfacing with the beneficiaries of the mass wedding to keep it abreast with developments and challenges the couples face.

“I am Maimuna Wise, married to Rabiu Usman. We are grateful to God for his mercies on us. We have been managing life since our marriage 17 months ago. My husband is a labourer, and on my part, I am selling groundnut oil to support ourselves. But there has not been any assistance from the government since our marriage, apart from the empowerment given to us.

“God in His infinite mercies has been sustaining our lives. We had a daughter, Aisha. We called her Mama, but she passed away recently. May He grant her eternal rest,” the housewife said.

Sani Yau married Badia Ibrahim Haruna from Dala LG under the state mass wedding programme. Yau simply said they are content with the little they have to sustain their life.

A Hisbah commander in Kumbotso LGA, Haruna Jaoji, said his office has not received any serious complaints from the couples who benefited from the initiative, even though some were not willing to speak to the media. He said he was not aware of any case of divorce since the mass weddings.

The Kano State Hisbah Board had expended over N800 million in the purchase of furniture, curtains, clothes, food items, a series of premarital tests, including HIV, hepatitis, and genotype, among others.

Hisbah Deputy Commander-General, Sheikh Dr Mujahid Aminuddeen Abubakar, when contacted, said the board carries out periodic checks on the couples to see how they are faring and would not go further on that.

However, Deputy Commander-General (Women) DCG Khadijah Sagir, speaking through Rabi Bello, said a department led by Ali Wada is tasked with the responsibility of running a monitoring mechanism to keep a constant eye on the beneficiaries with a view to improving subsequent marriage arrangements as well as addressing any inadequacies in the initiative.

“We pay occasional visits to their homes and enquire about the empowerment given to them. They always share their experiences and how they are faring. Some are rearing animals like goats, which keep reproducing and therefore bring income. Those living outside the city are doing fine, I must say, because most are doing self-sustaining businesses in the villages,” the DCG explained.

In August 2023, the Hisbah Commander-General, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, announced that the state government had earmarked the sum of over N800 million to procure furniture, bedding, food items and other materials for the mass wedding slated for October the same year.

He explained that each bride would be given ₦20,000 to start a business, noting that wealthy individuals and philanthropists had also pledged to contribute towards the success of the programme.

Daurawa said the Hisbah board followed strict criteria for the selection of the beneficiaries, and anyone found abusing the initiative or divorcing their wife would be compelled to refund all the items given by the state government.

The state government had set aside N2.5 billion for the mass wedding in the 2025 budget, generating widespread criticism, with many viewing the amount as humongous in the midst of biting economic difficulties and soaring inflation.

The mass wedding was introduced by the Kwankwaso administration during his second tenure in 2011 as part of efforts to guard against prostitution and immoral behaviours among young men and women, particularly girls whose parents lacked the financial means to marry them off.

Kwankwaso’s successor, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, continued with the programme, marrying off 1,520 divorcees in 2017 before the government abandoned the initiative.

The NNPP administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf reintroduced the mass wedding by conducting the wedding of 1,800 couples in the state at the cost of N854 million in 2023.