Miss Nigeria: Reactions as Hisbah Threatens to Arrest Winner’s Parents

Reactions have trailed the decision of Kano State Hisbah Police to arrest and interrogate the parents of Miss Nigeria winner Shatu Garko for allowing their daughter to participate in the Miss Nigeria beauty pageant for 2021, describing it as contrary to Islamic beliefs.

18-year-old Ms Garko, of Kano, emerged as the 44th Miss Nigeria, the first hijab adorning Muslims to win the beauty pageant.
Reacting to Miss Garko’s victory in the beauty pageant in an interview with BBC Pidgin, Kano State Hibah commander Haruna Ibn Sina said participating in a pageant is “forbidden” for Muslims from Kano, a northern Nigerian state with strict Sharia practices.

In contest to the proposed arrest, former Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani stated that Ms Garko never crossed any line of the cultural beliefs of the North. “Ms Shatu Garko contested the Miss Nigeria pageant decently dressed. She has not crossed the line of our cultural standards here in the North. There are the daughters of the rich and the powerful that have done that with impunity. I appeal to the Hisbah religious authorities to let her be.”

Columnist Gimba Kakanda lamented that Hisbah continuously put Muslims and Northerners to ridicule as the invite or arrest is unnecessary. “I just feel Hisbah enjoy having Muslims, especially northerners, subjected to ridicule. Inviting Shatu Garko’s parents is absolutely unnecessary, no matter their intention. There are critical issues affecting the Muslim society, and none is a teenager partaking in Miss Nigeria.”

Even though Miss Garko participated in a hijab, Mr Ibn Sina condemned the whole exercise stating that it was against Quranic instructions and revealed that they had confirmed that Ms Garko’s parents are living in Kano and so, will be invited for questioning.