By Jennifer Ugwueke
Barring any unforeseen development, the Kano State Government in conjunction with the State’s Council of Ulama will soon enact a law prohibiting women, irrespective of their religious affiliation, from driving vehicles In the State.
This is a fall out of a highly secretive meeting held at Sharia Commission during the Sallah break between the Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Dr. Mohammed Tahir ( Baba Impossible) with the team of the State’s Ulamas led by Sheikh Abdulwahab Abdallah BUK.
Dr Aliyu Umar Al-Furqaan, Prof Salisu Shehu and a host of others who spoke during the meeting lend their support for the enactment of the law.
Already the draft bill is undergoing final fine-tuning at the state Ministry of Justice and any time from now, it would be presented to the state House of Assembly for ratification and eventual enactment into law.
Feelers from the meeting said the resolutions were adopted after thorough submissions by Sheikh Abdallah Usman Umar Gadon Kaya who vociferously canvassed for the total ban, as according to him, “allowing women to drive in the state represents the darkest moments in our lives as Muslims.”
In his submission, Dr Sani Umar Rijiyar Lemo posited that Kano State should borrow a leaf from Saudi Arabia, which, according to him, “is a society governed by Islamic sharia laws.”
In his remarks, Sheikh Abdallah Pakistan opined that there is no better time to enact such a law than now because the state is undergoing Islamic revivalism under Governor Ganduje.
Earlier, the state’s commissioner for Religious Affairs, Baba Impossible, assured the gathering of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje’s commitment to sanitising Kano from all social vices.
He added that: ” as a Servant of Islam, Governor Ganduje would do everything to ensure Kano is set on the path of sanity, moral rectitude as enshrined by Islam.”
Both Dr Aliyu Umar Al-Furqaan, Prof Salisu Shehu and a host of others who spoke during the meeting lend their support for the enactment of the law.
The Commander-General of Hisbah Commission, Ustaz Harun Mohammad Ibn Sina said if the bill finally became law, Hisbah would effectively and efficiently enforce it to the letter and punish any offender irrespective of whoever is involved.
The proposed bill, if eventually signed into law, would effectively bar all females, irrespective of their faith, from driving any type of automobile in the state.
Those who attended the meeting include Sheikh Abdallah Usman Umar Gadon Kaya, Sheikh Abdallah Pakistan, Sheikh Abdulwahab Abdallah BUK, Sheikh Sani Umar Rijiyar Lemo, Professor Salisu Shehu, Dr Aliyu Umar Al-Furqaan among others.