A viral photo which captured Aliyu Sabiu, Katsina State House of Assembly speaker, reportedly snubbing the handshake of a woman, has sparked online reactions.
Some commenters are defending him, while some are slamming him over the act
In the photo which Na-Allah Mohammed Zagga shared on Facebook, the 34-year-old politician who is said to be the youngest House of Assembly speaker, smiled as he allegedly refused to return the woman’s handshake.
Na-Allah Mohammed Zagga who slammed those celebrating the speaker for the snub due to his religious devotion, wrote;
You’re crazy with joy that the Speaker of the Katsina State House of Assembly spurned a handshake from a woman and you are all over the place celebrating his piety or religious devotion.
Is good governance measured by these political publicity stunts? Politicians are con artists who can skilfully use religion for a political advantage.
The clerics would praise them for these publicity stunts, but they won’t criticise them for poor performance.
The other day, Governor Yari of Zamfara State claimed that the outbreak of meningitis was a punishment from God because of the people’s fornication. Instead of outrage, the clerics validated his logic.
Yari would also have been praised for refusing to shake hands with a member of the opposite gender, but he won’t be criticized for not responding to medical emergency or providing basic services for which he was elected.
Indeed, Karl Marx was right that religion is the opium of the masses. That is why it isn’t surprising how politicians manipulate religion to arrest our intelligence.
On a sneak peek of his background in a 2017 interview, the speaker of the Katsina State House of Assembly said;
My name is Aliyu Sabiu Ibrahim. I was born in Muduru village, Mani Local Government Area of Katsina State on January 5, 1983. I had my primary education at Muduru Model Primary School from 1988 to 1994 and then proceeded to the Usman Dangogo College of Arabic and Islamic studies, popularly called Arabic Teacher’s College. I learnt English and Arabic Languages and interestingly I memorized the whole Quran in SS1. I participated in the Quranic Competition representing Katsina and Nigeria.
