Wedding Dress Disappears, Bride Price Stolen At Fatiha In Kano
Residents of Fagge Quarters in Tarauni local government area of Kano State are yet to recover from the turn of events when a groom lost his wedding dress and bride price less than 24 hours to his wedding.
The groom who requested anonymity lost the set of dresses which he kept in a secured place.
The incident which occurred last Saturday left the groom and his family devastated owing to the fact that he worked hard to save money and buy the missing.
“Now what am I going to wear for this once-in-a-life time occasion? he asked.
The victim has reported the matter to the police in Tarauni, who have commenced investigation into it.
Worse still, the bride price was stolen at the wedding venue. There was confusion when it was discovered that the bride price had been stolen.
It takes the intervention of elders at the occasion to calm the situation and later agree that the weeding fatiha pro-ceeds with the promise of paying the bride price later, in what is called ‘Ajalan’.
One Abdussalam who witnessed the incident said it was very embarrassing and called people to always be careful with such sensitive money. He also called on people to have the fear of Allah and stop doing things that portray Kano State in bad light.
Also commenting, a youth, simply called ‘Yan Bita’ said he was shocked by the two unfortunate incidents, saying that if had the money he would have bought another set of dresses for the groom and make up the stolen bride price.
Northern Governors Forum (NGF), Northern Elders’ Forum (NEC), Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and northern youths yesterday paid glowing tributes to elder statesman Dr. Paul Wantaregh Unongo, who died on Tuesday.
They said the deceased in his lifetime never failed to speak out on national issues and advance solutions to resolving them.
The chairman of the NGF and Governor of Plateau State Simon Lalong said Unongo was an achiever who served Nige-ria with passion and patriotism.
Lalong in a statement issued in Jos by his director of press and public affairs Dr. Simon Makut Macham described Unongo as a thorough intellectual and notable politician.
He said the deceased played a great role in the democratic journey of Nigeria and will be remembered as one who stood for justice, equity and fairness.
As Minister for Steel Development in the Second Republic and pioneer secretarygeneral of the Nigerian People’s Par-ty (NPP), Lalong said Unongo demonstrated capacity and ability to work with Nigerians from all walks of life and differ-ent parts of the country towards building a greater nation.
On its part, NEF has expressed sadness over the death of the elder statesman, describing his death as a huge loss to the North and Nigeria.
This is contained in a statement by the convener of NEF, Professor Ango Abdullahi and made available to LEADERSHIP in Abuja, yesterday.
According to the statement, Unongo, a former convener of NEF who had also deputised for Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Sule, Danmasanin Kano, died on Tuesday, 29th November, 2022 in Jos, following a prolonged illness. He was 87.
NEF said Unongo’s life was a study in patriotism and activism, adding that he was a vanguard of the Zikist Movement, and rose through the political ladders of pre-independence and postindependence challenges and opportunities with distinction, shaped by a searing intelligence and a character that was rare.
Also, ACF and the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) expressed sadness over the death of the deputy chairman of NEF and commiserated with the family, the entire people of Benue State, the North and the country at large.
A statement issued by the secretary-general of the forum Murtala Aliyu described Unongo as a patriotic Nigerian and a passionate northerner, who dedicated his entire life to the service of his people and humanity, adding that he lived an interesting and fulfilling journey in life.
“A member of the 1994
Constitutional Conference, the late Unongo, chaired the States’ Creation Committee. A founding member of many political associations in Nigeria, Dr Wantaregh Paul Onongo, with the likes of Dr. Tunji Otegbeyi, the late Solomon Daushep Lar, Chief Femi Okunno, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi and another role model, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, they formed the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP) and was its pioneer secretarygeneral”.
ACF said the Onongo was a critical key in the formation of a National Government, spearheaded by the then alliance of two political parties, the defunct NPN and NPP that took power from the military and headed by the late President Shehu Shagari in 1979.
The CNG in its statement issued by the spokesperson Abdulazeez Suleiman described the elder statesman’s death as a big loss to northern Nigeria.
“The CNG notes that the death of Chief Unongo, a former convener of the Northern Elders Forum on Tuesday, 29th November, 2022 is another monumental loss to Nigeria and the North after that of Amb Yusuf Maitama Sule, Danmas-anin Kano.
“The Wantaregh who died at age 87 in Jos, following a prolonged illness, was indeed a great statesman whose leader-ship, statesmanship and commitment to the protection of the northern values and promotion of national unity was unmatched,” he said.