KANO: Council of Ulamas reprimand Gov. Ganduje for banning street begging

The Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje has received heavy knocks from the Council of Ulamas, following the decision by the state government to ban street begging in the state.

Reacting to the decision by the state government while speaking with newsmen on Wednesday, Ibrahim Khalil, who is the Chairman of the Council considered to be the “guardians, transmitters and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam, including Islamic doctrine and law”, said that before street begging can be banned, necessary steps towards curtailing the practice needs to be put in place.

Speaking further with newsmen, Khalil said that the Kano State government led by Abdullahi Ganduje was ”not serious about the ban as are only trying to appease their masters abroad.”

He said; “Our opinion is on three to five issues, firstly, if we view the history of banning street begging since the time of Sir Ahmadu Bello, when they were making efforts to ban street begging but were opposed by the Ulama because they saw it as a way of keeping people away from Quranic or religious studies.

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“Even the government that says it has barred begging is not serious about it. It will ban it and after a while it will return. Just like the Hausa saying that ‘The king’s instruction lasts only seven days.

“The right steps have not been followed and begging cannot stop because the correct measures have not been put in place.

“The right steps to follow in banning street begging include firstly, the Quranic clerics involved have to be identified. Because there are street beggars who are Quranic students, there are beggars who are sent by their parents from the rural areas to come and be begging in the urban areas, there is also begging engaged in by some physically challenged individuals,” Khalil added.

Ganduje had said in a statement on Tuesday that the decision to ban street begging was to force young children in the state to embrace the government’s free education programme.

The governor announced this during the launching of Basic Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) and Distribution of employment letter to 7,500 volunteer teachers at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano.

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