Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, has accused Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, of not doing enough for the poor before resorting to clearing them from the streets and his palace.
His action is a rare reprimand as the Emir’s relationship with the governor is seen to be so strong for an early altercation.
The monarch made the comment when the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Binta Tijjani Jibril, paid him a courtesy call in his palace yesterday.
Sanusi said: “We have no budget at the Emirate Council (for the needy). What they (government) spends on roads, buildings and other infrastructure triples what is spent on indigent people. It’s appropriate to look at this in our budget. What do we have for education and welfare of the underprivileged? If a process is established for them to get help or subsidy to enable them get education or trade, that’s the solution.
“But if a person is in dire need, truly, he will have to seek help. One doesn’t like begging honestly, he is compelled to do so,” he said.
The Emir stressed that the government has tried severally to round up beggars who went to his palace to seek succour from excruciating poverty.
However, he said, the government cannot deter him from his philanthropy since the money is not coming from the coffers of the Kano State government.
“Any time they say they sent people from the Government House to ban women coming to get food here (palace)…this is not government money, it’s my money and they come to me. If I didn’t stop them from stopping the women, they would have chased them off by now”.
Since Alhaji Sanusi ascended the throne last year, indigent women have been trooping to the palace for humanitarian assistance.
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