Baffa Bichi, Secretary to the Kano State Government, has explained why Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf’s administration demolished the government house roundabout monument.

There has been outrage across the state, following the demolition of the roundabout, built by the immediate past government of former Governor Abdulahi Ganduje to honor Kano’s Golden Jubilee.

In response to the criticism, the governor, via his Chief Press Secretary, Sanusi Dawakin Tofa, had initially stated that the structure was poor and could collapse within a year.

However, speaking on Freedom Radio Kano on Wednesday, the SSG alleged that the roundabout also carried a huge Christian cross, which he claimed was against Islamic theology.

Mr Bichi went on to say that the edifice was also impeding vehicles’ views of all routes that ran through it.

“The roundabout is obstructing the view of motorists, and secondly, if you use a drone camera, you will see that the roundabout has large design of a cross on top of it.

“And over 9.99 or 100 percent of Kano indigenes are Muslims. So you can’t have a structure with a large inscription of the cross on it. It’s against Islamic values,” said Mr Bichi. 

“Our clerics told us that whenever our beloved Prophet Muhammad saw anything, no matter how little, with a sign of cross on it, he would ensure that such a thing is destroyed.

“So any picture of Kano you snap, you would see a large sign of the cross on it, even the Muhammadu Buhari underpass in Hotoro has a similar design, and I can assure you that plans are underway to make sure those symbols are removed from the bridge,” he added. 

Regarding other structures being demolished across the state, Mr Bichi went on to reiterate that they were illegally acquired by officials from the previous administration.

He insisted that the government would only pay compensation to persons who presented valid evidence of ownership paperwork.

“Anyone who is defending the encroachment of public institutions like hospitals, schools and Eid grounds is sick and needs medical attention.

“If you encroached on government land and the government collected it back, there is no way you could claim any compensation.

“All these structures we are demolishing were illegally acquired and shared among officials of the outgone administration.

“So, anyone demanding compensation should go and meet the person that sold the properties to them, because the monies were never remitted into the government account.

“If government collects your property to build infrastructure for the masses, it is obligatory that such individuals would be compensated but that’s not the case here,” Mr Bichi stressed.