EXTRA: I have 27 children — and counting, says Kano rep

One, two, three, four, up to 27. That is the number of children Alhassan Ado Daguwa, majority leader of the house of representatives, currently has.

Can you beat that?

That is not all; the lawmaker who represents Doguwa/Tudun Wada federal constituency of Kano state, says he hopes to have more.

During the house plenary session on Wednesday, he showed off his four wives whom he said had come with him for the day’s business.

He was being sworn in as the majority leader, and said he would like to present the four wives to the lawmakers.

“Mr. Speaker, I would like to let you know that with me today here, are my four respected wives,” he said, before requesting all four to stand up to the cheering of his colleagues.

“Mr Speaker, these four wives you have seen have produced 27 kids for me, and I am still counting. I am still counting.”

Responding, Femi Gbajabiamila, the speaker, jokingly asked him to “continue”, saying “the more, the merrier”.

The speaker said: “I must bring to the knowledge of this house a little anecdote, what you told me, sometime ago. You told me, don’t beg me, you told me it was getting late around 7 o’clock, and there were many children playing in front of your house in Kano.

“You got worried and you went out, you told the children, “common, what are you still doing outside by this time of the day. You people should go to your homes.

“And one of them said to you, “haba, baba, this is my house.”  So he was one of those 27 children. But I guess, the more, the merrier. You get my point; continue.”

Doguwa’s comments comes a few days after Muhammad Sanusi II, emir of Kano, said the predominant culture of marrying more than one wife by Nigerians in the north is the major cause of poverty in the region.

“There are people who cannot afford to feed one wife but are ready to marry three wives and have more children than they can feed, talk less of paying for their school fees,” he had said.