The Kano State government has allocated N2.5 billion for mass weddings in its 2025 budget, even as it struggles to address the escalating crisis of street and out-of-school children.
State Commissioner for Planning and Budget, Musa Shanono, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Kano on the breakdown of the 2025 budgetary allocations in the state.
The State has recently said that over 5,000 children have been evacuated from the streets of Kano metropolis in a recent crackdown led by the Hisbah.
Street Children Evacuation and Rehabilitation
The evacuation operation, launched at the end of 2024, targets minors under 15 found loitering in markets, under bridges, and across public spaces. Sheikh Aminu Daurawa, Chairman of the Kano State Hisbah Board, warned that neglecting these children could fuel future social and security challenges. “Leaving them on the streets is a time bomb,” he stated.
A temporary center has been established to assess the evacuated children, with plans to reunite them with families or provide state-sponsored support.
According to BBC Hausa, interventions will include enrolling some in formal schools and offering vocational training to others. Daurawa emphasized that parents who abandon their responsibilities face prosecution: “Those with the means to care for their children but allow them to roam will be taken to court.”
Kano, with highest population in Nigeria, is among the states with high rates of out-of-school children. Despite adopting the Child Rights Act, child labor and street begging—often masked as religious education through almajiri systems remain common.
The Hisbah Board’s initiative aligns with a N955 million budget allocation for surveys on out-of-school children and manpower statistics, aiming to streamline data-driven interventions.
Mass Weddings and Social Welfare Programs
Meanwhile, the state’s N2.5 billion mass wedding project will see quarterly ceremonies across all 44 local government areas in 2025.
The State has in 2023 married off 1,800 widows, divorcees, and spinsters at a cost of N800 million across the state.
Shanono, while justifying the allocation, argues that it promotes “responsibility, openness, and human rights” while improving living standards.
Kano’s budget, totaling N719.7 billion, also includes N1 billion for Ramadan feeding, N589 million for security research and empowerment development and street begging interventions, and N267 million for Islamic Da’wah programs and new converts’ welfare.
Broader Budget Priorities
Shanono highlighted that governance and service delivery sectors received N91.32 billion, with allocations for water system repairs, library equipment, and security research. Recurrent expenditure stands at N262.6 billion, while capital projects account for N457 billion—a 65% rise from 2024.
The paradox of the mass wedding, child evacuation
Critics question the state’s ability to balance costly weddings with systemic issues like child welfare. The Hisbah’s evacuation campaign underscores these tensions, as Kano battles cultural and religious practices that perpetuate street begging.
Daurawa reiterated the government’s resolve: “For orphans or conflict-displaced children, we will ensure education and skills training to secure their futures.”
The mass wedding programme, though popular, often sparked debates on not just sustainability but its ability to produce children that may end up on the streets.
WIKITIMES
