The challenges of Ramadan free feeding in Kano
By Mustapha Isah Kwaru
Ramadan is a holy month to all Muslims across the world. It is the month in which the Holy Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Muslims are enjoined, not only to fast in the month, but also increase their spiritual activities such as devotion in worship and good deeds. The feeding of the needy and indigent during this holy month form the greater part of Muslim activities as well as late night spiritual vigil seeking the forgiveness and blessings of Allah.
Last year the administration of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau introduced the Ramadan free feeding in the state capital to assist the needy and indigent obtain food for breaking their fast. Though the program began on a shaky ground with the distribution centres turning into battlegrounds for beggars and miscreants, but it seem this year some improvements have been made to achieve the desired objectives.
Apparently realizing the harsh economic problems facing the populace and the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the administration of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau has now expanded the program to the 44 local government areas where various categories of cooked food is being distributed to the people.
As part of the strategy for successful and hitch-free implementation of the exercise this year, distribution centres were designated within the Kano metropolis and each centre is being monitored by the Shari’ah Implementation Vanguard (Hisbah Group) led by the commander of that area.
A committee has also been set up by the government under the chairmanship of the commissioner for budget and economic planning, Alhaji Nour Sani Hanga. This committee is saddled with responsibility of selecting trust worthy women who will cook qualitative food, release funds for that purpose as well as ensure that those recruited to cook the food do not defy the contract agreements, especially cooking sub-standard food. The committee is also mandated to ensure that food arrive the distribution centres early so that every one will get his share before the time of breaking the fast.
Another reason given for introducing the Ramadan free feeding is to halt, the activities of street beggars, who also go round from one house to the other in order to get what to eat from their Muslim brothers. Some of the street beggars encountered by Kano Trust argued that what they needed is not only food but also some amount of money to solve other daily needs, stressing that begging is an alternative option to cushion their sufferings.
Malam Sani Gali, an unemployed youth in Kano told Kano Trust that: “I don’t see the rationale for this Ramadan breakfast because that is not the strategy the government should adopt in reducing the sufferings of the people, many of us are unemployed that subjected us to poverty and hunger. So the money doled out for the program has to be diverted for creating job opportunities
But for Idi Hassan, 15-year old beggar, he doesn’t “have any source of livelihood, and the issue of Ramadan feeding is actually above my power, because the procedure of collecting it is ill-organised, if you are not powerful, sorry for you since powerful people dominated the collection of the food, no proper arrangement for an organised queue where by people will be called separately to get their shares.”
But for a 54-year old woman beggar, who gave her name as Hajara DanBala, alleged proper arrangement has not been made for women to collect their shares separately. According to her, “it is a shame that women have not been adequately treated because how can you expect us to struggle with our men counterparts in collecting the Ramadan feeding? You see, I am an old woman and have no power to jostle with men in collecting the food, which is not organised. I wish appropriate arrangement were made where women will make a queue and will be called upon to collect the food, but unfortunately we are rushing with men to get it.
Secondly our major problem is money not food, this is why majority of us cannot afford to stay away from begging and go for Ramadan feeding. The money being realized from the begging will even buy better food than that of Ramadan feeding. Similarly I will use the remaining money for my other needs.”
Kano Trust visited Goron-Dutse distribution centre and it was observed that appropriate arrangement was put in place for rapid and peaceful distribution of the food. The package, which is being distributed in cellophane bags for subsequent distribution contains rice, fried meat, zobo drink, kunun tsamiya and other Hausa traditional food. The centre was peaceful as there was no act of disorder and majority of those collecting the food are children of between 10 to 14 years.
Muhammed Auwal Hassan is the supervisor of the distribution of food in Goron-Dutse zone and from this area; the food is taken to about six centres for distribution.
He stated that no fewer than seven vehicles loaded with the food depart to other centres daily, stating that about 3, 000 packages are being distributed to the six centres, Malam Auwal, who said the Hisbah committee unmasked timely strategy to curb any breakdown of law and order while distributing the food, and that is why the exercise is being conducted peacefully. Asked on some of the problems they are confronting, the supervisor stated that it is the insincere attitude some of the women contractors who cook the food on how they are not bringing it early while others don’t even bring fresh food.
“Can you imagine that the contract agreement reached with them was that food should be ready at the distribution centres latest by 2pm for early distribution. However, some of the contractors bring their supplies after 4:00 pm when people had waited for al hours. Some of them will be bring cooked food that had been cooked one or two days earlier,” he lamented.
Malam Auwalu also alleged that other contractors bring the food below the agreed number of plates. He gave an instance of a woman who was expected to bring 500 plates of rice but ended up bringing only 300.
Commenting on the action they adopted to tackle cases of substandard food, the supervisor remarked that, “we usually rejected the food and report the matter to appropriate authority, but still this remained unabated.
Malam Auwalu also said most of the women are inexperienced and incompetent to handle the contract and alleged that they are being favoured to do the job.
He therefore alerted government and the committee monitoring the feeding exercise to employ timely and appropriate measures aimed to ensuring that only qualified women receive the contract.
At Dorayi distribution centre, Malam Ali Sidi, who is the supervisor in charge of the area, stated that the Hisbah people found it difficult to control the large number of crowd seeking the feeding. He said since the distribution is done in an open place people failed to join queues for easy and rapid collection saying this has restricted the disabled persons from getting the items, since they could not struggle and compete with other people on the quality and standard of the food, the superviser noted that it is actually 80 percent excellent, just as he urged the contractors to maintain the status. Speaking on the position of Islam on Ramadan feeding, an Islamic scholar, Malam Qasiyyuni Sheik Nasiru Kabara, faulted the entire procedure of the exercise. According to him although the feeding of Muslims not only in the Ramadan period is a Devine order from Almighty God and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) but also maintained that series of erros and flaws pervaded the idea.
The Islamic cleric argued that instead of embarking on Ramadan feeding in order to achieve a political interest under the guise of Shari’ah implementation, government should utilise such funds for the eradication of various plights that engulfed people of the state.
Malam Qasiyyuni observed that the best thing government could do is to put aside appropriate modalities for total eradication of the inflation of food items adding that the Ramadan feeding is temporary that will last for only one month. He pointed out that the state is being confronted by problems ranging from water scarcity, deplorable condition of roads inadequate hospitals’ equipment among others, saying government should quell these predicaments than to divert the attention of people to the Ramadan feeding.
Contacted for comments, the chairman of the Ramadan feeding committee, who is also the commissioner for budget and economic planning, Alhaji Nour Sani Hanga, stated that the committee is spending the sum of over N2 million for the provision of Ramadan breakfast for 20, 000 people adding that appropriate arrangements were made for peaceful and rapid distribution of the food. He pointed out that this year government has not planned separate distribution of food to rehabilitation centres considering that adequate care has been unveiled that overhauled their general welfare both before and within Ramadan period.
Alhaji Sani dismissed the allegations that women contractors are bringing substandard food, saying the committee has not received petition on the issue. He insisted that supervisory team of women who specialise in cookery and nutrition are assigned to screen and taste the food in order to ascertain its quality and standard, challenging whoever has solid evidence on such claims to present it to the committee.
The Ramadan breakfast committee chairman also described as baseless the claims that members of the Hisbah hijack the food to favour their relatives, saying the committee members are always present at distribution zones to ensure justice and fairness.
The budget and economic planning commissioner went ahead to defend government resolution for the introduction of the program, even as he cited the verse of Holy Qur’an and hadith of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which urges all to promote and encourage feeding of Muslims not only in the holy month of Ramadan. He noted that those criticising such policy are just expressing their personal interest. He pointed out that the funds voted for several developmental projects that will revamp the general welfare of the people is far more than the one spent on Ramadan breakfast, adding that there is no rationale for somebody to ask government to divert the money used in the program for executing projects.
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