By Gabriel Omonhinmin
His Royal Majesty Abdul Rasheed Adewale Akanbi (Telu 1) the Oluwo of Iwo Kingdom in Osun State, at the weekend formally took Firdaus Abdullahi, a Kano Princess as his new wife in a colorful Islamic ceremony known as Nikah in the ancient city.
The groom as earlier reported by Palace Watch, was not physically present at the ceremony in Kano. He was represented at the Nikah by one of his chiefs, Alhaji Ismail Kudaisi, the Babalaje of Iwoland, who headed the monarch’s delegation.
Nikah is a simple Islamic marriage ceremony at which the bride does not have to be present so long as she sends two witnesses. Normally, the ceremony consists of reading from the Holy Quar’an and the exchange of vows in front of witnesses for both partners.
That was exactly the case in Kano on Saturday as the bride was said to be in the inner recess of the former Madakin Kano residence when the marriage was being conducted. At the ceremony, Mahmoud Sani, a relative of the bride, and Farouk Sani-Yola, her elder brother, alongside other family members, were present. The two principal witnesses for the bride at the occasion were Mahmound Sani and one other person whose name was not mentioned.
Mahmound Sani stood as the bride’s trustee or witness. Kudaisi was Oba Akanbi’s trustee or witness. It was after Kudaisi announced the payment of #1 million as the bride price that both witnesses at the Nikah gave their consent for the marriage to be conducted.
The wedding took place at the residence of the bride’s father in Yola Quarters of Kano. The bride is one of the daughters of Abdullahi Sarki, who was the Madakin Kano before his demise in 2008. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was represented at the ceremony by Babafemi Ojudu, a former Senator for Ekiti Central.
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Ojudu is also President Muhammadu Buhari’s representative at the Vice President’s office in Abuja. Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado-Bayero’s representative was among dignitaries that witnessed the ceremony. One of the Kano residents who witnessed the Nikah, Mallam Abubakar Isah, told The Trumpet: “I’m indeed very pleased with this development. For a Kano Princess to be married to another King in faraway Osun State, in Western Nigeria, is a big statement. It shows, the extent and level of our national integration as a country.
It again shows that Islam is a unifier of all tribes all over the world. As Firdaus departs Kano for her husband’s palace and kingdom, we pray that Allah who brought about this very day, guide and protect her and make her fruitful. “We the Kano people have no doubt that she will be submissive and become a good and respected wife to her husband, H.R.M. Abdul-Rahseed Adewale Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwo land.
Because Princess Firdaus, like all other children raised in the Emir of Kano’s inner chambers, is knowledgeable about the Holy Qu’ran, the book that guides all Muslims wherever they go.” The 27-year-old Princess Firdaus Abdullahi now Queen Adewale Akanbi (Telu 1) has a diploma in Catering from Kano State School of Management Studies.
