The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi Il, said arrangements have been concluded to present the proposed Muslim Family Bill to Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje for onward presentation to the State House of Assembly for legislative action. The emir, who confirmed this yesterday at a round table discussion organised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria in Kano, said the bill was conceptualized to address the challenges of child spacing, family planning and domestic violence among others. The monarch said having realized that the idea might not be realized if solely pursued by himself, he decided to set up a committee of lawyers and scholars to put together the proposed document. He said even though he got only 80 percent of what he wanted in the bill, if passed into law, it would address a number of socio-economic problems bedeviling the state. Emir Sanusi hoped that the governor would be able to lobby the state lawmakers to ensure passage of the bill, adding that the President of Niger Republic had approached him (the Emir) that he would be patiently waiting for the passage of the bill into law to enable the country to adopt it. The monarch has predicted that if the present fast growing poverty in the country is not checked, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo will shoulder 40 percent of the people living in extreme poverty across the globe by the year 2050.
The emir said by the year 2050, Africa continent will have 86 percent of people living with extreme poverty in the world and Nigeria would get half of the population as well as maintain her top ranking as the world poverty capital. He linked his position with the overwhelming fast-growing population in the country where an average of a poor woman bears eight children to a poor man with four wives and ended up raising 32 children in poverty, hence contributing to the 77 per cent of poor people in Kano State. The monarch, who also berated payment of fuel subsidy to the detriment of other social amenities, lamented that the leaders must have the goodwill and proffer better long term solution to remedy the situation. Emir Sanusi also warned politicians to stop thinking about the next four years’ election, adding that they should initiate robust strategies towards securing the future of the younger generation.
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