Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano
As part of the effort to ease hardship in the country, Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has launched the distribution of free meals to 10,000 fasting Muslims in Kano State.
A statement signed by an official of the Dangote Foundation in Kano, Ms. Samira Sanusi, said that the gesture was aimed at alleviating the suffering of poor Muslims during the Ramadan period.
Sanusi said that the foundation has flagged the distribution of one million bags of rice worth over N13 billion across the 36 states of the federation and Abuja to alleviate hunger in the country.
“This is in addition to the distribution of 20,000 loaves of bread daily to Kano residents and 15,000 daily to Lagos residents, a feeding gesture that started and sustained since 2020 during the COVID 19.
“The Ramadan free meals included jollof rice, white rice and stew, jollof spaghetti, yam, beans with chicken and beef, packed with a bottle of water and drink for each person,” she said.
Sanusi pointed out that the packaged meals are distributed at Juma’at mosques, streets, prisons, orphanages, remand homes, and other places in Kano city and its environs.
One of the beneficiaries, Ms. Inna Tukur, expressed delight that the Aliko Dangote Foundation has come to her aid.
Tukur said: “In this hardship, when we find it difficult to eat even two times a day, but out of the blue moon, somebody presented this delicious food to me, it is highly incredible.
“I have nothing to say but to say a big thank you to you and Aliko Dangote. I pray to God to bless you more and more.”
Another beneficiary, who spoke with journalists, Mr. Musa Maikatako, said that the free meal would ameliorate the suffering of a lot of people who might break their fast with only water, considering the economic hardships faced by Nigerians.
The program would feed 10,000 Kano residents daily with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
