250 Children: No Parent Has Come To Claim; Nigerian Govt Cries Out
The Commander-General, Kano State Hisbah Board, Aminu Daurawa, has lamented that no parent has approached the board or any state institution to claim the paternity of 250 children rescued from the streets.
In his recent video, the prominent Islamic Scholar narrated how Hisbah officers picked up no fewer than 230 children walking aimlessly in major streets of Kano metropolis.
He said majority of the picked children are not up to 15 years of age.
He noted that the children were born and brought up in public places like railway station, under flyover, markets and motor parks.
The Hisbah boss said: “Whoever saw what happened some weeks ago of the 230 children picked up all which are not up to 15 years.
“This is just the first instance. We have traced and understand that there are about 5000 of such children. We only catch the 230 children because that is the number the place we have to house them can only contain.
“The governor has made the necessary preparations before agreeing to pick up the children. We pick the children in different places such as railway lines, under bridges, markets and motor parks.
“Four of the children were confirmed dead due to heat, cold weather, sickness and other related illnesses. When we got to the location of where to pick the children around 1am- 3am which by that time every child was supposed to be at home with their parents.
“Before the operation we meet with the leadership of the places the children use to inform them of our intentions.
We also pick some in a football show house where they pay to watch football and who paid automatically has paid to have a place to sleep. Some are born and brought up in railway stations.”
In his response, a former presidential aide and chieftain of ruling All Provressive Congress(APC) Bashir Ahmad described the developments as heart breaking.
He said: “So I watched that deeply moving video of Sheikh Aminu Daurawa, where he narrated a heartbreaking story about the recent Hisbah operation in Kano, which rescued over 250 children from the streets who were abandoned by their parents.
“As Sheikh Daurawa mentioned, even though the children gathered in one place for some days, receiving medical treatment, but none of the parents have come forward to reclaim their children.
“We have to commend the Kano State Government for initiating such a commendable effort, and it is a hope that the initiative will serves as an eye-opener and create an avenue for such critical discussions on this menace.
“While it is true that the government alone cannot address all issues, but it has the power to rally the support of capable individuals and organisations to tackle this challenge collectively and put an end to it once and for all.”
