The lawmaker representing Tarauni Federal Constituency in Kano State, Muktar Yarima, is facing backlash from his constituents for distributing sorghum and millet as Ramadan palliatives.
Residents took to social media to express their frustration, posting images of the grains and mocking the lawmaker, saying they are not livestock that feed on sorghum.
In a short video, commentator Abba Wrecca showed security guards flogging beneficiaries to force them into queues under the sun.
“These are the sorghum and millet that the member representing Tarauni, an in-law to Rabiu Kwankwaso, is distributing to his constituents. He is now a celebrity, with people taking selfies with him, while some beneficiaries relax under air conditioning at the distribution site,” Wrecca wrote in a Facebook post.
Another video featured residents ridiculing the palliatives, pointing out that lawmakers elsewhere provided motorcycles, plots of land, and other valuable items, while Tarauni’s representative handed out millet and sorghum.
“I swear to God, my mother will not eat this during Ramadan,” one constituent declared.
Umar Mai Rice, another commentator, suggested the lawmaker chose sorghum because he grew up eating it.
“Oh my God, we are not horses. Even horses have stopped eating sorghum,” Dayyib Usman wrote.
Another protester, Zakareeyah Xavi, lamented, “He has disgraced the people of Tarauni Federal Constituency. Tell him he represents the people, not horses.”
Some recipients reportedly abandoned the grains at the distribution center in Tarauni local council.
However, supporters of the lawmaker defended him, arguing that he also distributed rice and beans.