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Restoring the Glory That Was Always There: Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and the Historical Vision Behind Kano First

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5 months ago

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By Saminu Umar Ph.D | Senior Lecturer, Department of Information and Media Studies, Bayero University, Kano

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Kano does not need to be invented. That is a truth so fundamental, so historically self-evident, that it should not need to be stated at all, and yet the circumstances of recent decades have made its restatement not merely appropriate but urgent. There is a tendency, in the discourse of Nigerian development, to treat every governance initiative as a beginning, as though the society being governed had no prior history of achievement, no accumulated wisdom, no tested traditions of institutional excellence on which new efforts might be built. This tendency is not merely intellectually lazy, but it is, in the specific context of Kano, a form of historical injustice, a failure to reckon honestly with the civilizational inheritance that this state carries and that its people have never entirely abandoned, even through the long and painful decades in which their institutions were hollowed out, their values eroded, and their confidence systematically undermined by the combined weight of misgovernance, corruption, and the slow cultural dislocation that follows when a society loses trust in the institutions that are supposed to embody its highest aspirations.
Kano was, long before Nigeria existed as a political entity, one of the most sophisticated and enduring centers of civilization in West Africa. Its greatness was not the greatness of conquest or of externally imposed order. It was the greatness of organic development, of a society that built, over centuries, a coherent and self-sustaining civilization on foundations that were simultaneously material and moral. The trans-Saharan trade networks that made Kano a commercial hub of continental significance were sustained not merely by geography or by the availability of goods, but by a culture of commercial integrity, of trust between trading partners, of contractual reliability, and of the kind of reputational accountability that makes markets function across distances and between strangers. The Islamic scholarship that gave Kano its intellectual authority was not merely a religious tradition. It was a governance philosophy, one that placed knowledge, justice, accountability, and the subordination of personal interest to public duty at the center of what it meant to hold power. The traditional political institutions that maintained Kano’s social order were not instruments of oppression but, at their best, mechanisms of consultation, legitimacy, and the managed resolution of social conflict.
These were not accidental achievements. They were the products of deliberate cultivation, of generations of Kano’s people choosing, consciously and consistently, to organize their collective life around values that made both individual flourishing and communal solidarity possible. That is what a civilization is: not a collection of buildings or a record of territorial expansion, but a living tradition of values, practices, and institutions that enables a human community to achieve, across time, more than any individual generation could accomplish alone. Kano built such a civilization. And the question that every serious governor of Kano must eventually confront, whether they frame it in these terms or not, is whether they are adding to that civilization or subtracting from it.
It is against this civilizational backdrop that the Kano First Initiative under Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf must be understood, not as a new idea imported into Kano from outside, not as a political slogan invented to win elections and abandoned when the votes are counted, but as a deliberate act of historical retrieval, an attempt to reach back through the debris of recent decades and recover the foundations on which Kano’s genuine greatness was built. The initiative’s framework document states this explicitly and without embarrassment: Kano’s most persistent challenges are not solely infrastructural or economic in nature. They are fundamentally behavioral, normative, and narrative failures, accumulated over time and reinforced by weak value transmission, fragmented authority, and uncoordinated messaging. This is a diagnosis of remarkable historical honesty, and it is one that only a governor with a genuine understanding of what Kano has been and what it has lost could have authorized.
Governor Yusuf’s historical vision is not nostalgic in the sentimental sense of the word. He is not proposing a return to a romanticized past that never existed in the uncomplicated form that nostalgia requires. He is proposing something simultaneously more modest and more ambitious: the recovery of specific values, specific institutional principles, and specific civic traditions that demonstrably worked, that demonstrably sustained Kano’s coherence and productivity over centuries, and that demonstrably began to break down when they were displaced by the governing logic of extraction, patronage, and the systematic subordination of public interest to private accumulation. Islamic ethical governance, communal responsibility, the dignity of productive labor, respect for legitimate authority, the centrality of knowledge in public life, these are not abstract ideals. They are the operational principles of a civilization that actually functioned, and their recovery is not a romantic aspiration but a practical governance imperative.
The intellectual architecture through which this recovery is being pursued bears the clear fingerprints of the Honourable Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Comrade Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya, whose contribution to the Kano First Initiative has been, in every meaningful sense, the contribution of a man who understands both what Kano is and what it needs. The framework he has championed integrates three traditions that, taken together, give the initiative both its cultural legitimacy and its analytical credibility: the Islamic ethical governance tradition that historically underpinned Kano’s stability and justice, Kano’s own sociocultural heritage of communal solidarity and institutional accountability, and the modern behavioral change communication science that provides the methodological tools for translating values into measurable social outcomes. This integration is not accidental. It reflects a deep conviction, shared by both the governor and his commissioner, that genuine renewal cannot be achieved by importing foreign solutions but only by excavating and rebuilding on Kano’s own foundations.
The scale of what has been lost must be honestly acknowledged if the scale of what is being attempted is to be properly appreciated. Kano today carries wounds that decades of misgovernance have inflicted on its social fabric with a thoroughness that cannot be undone quickly or easily. Youth disaffection has reached levels that express themselves in drug abuse, street violence, and the nihilistic political thuggery that represents, at its core, the rage of young people who were promised a future and received instead a void. Institutional trust, once the bedrock of Kano’s civic life, has been so systematically eroded that the default posture of many citizens toward their government is not engagement but cynicism, not participation but withdrawal. The digital media ecosystem, which should be a tool of civic enlightenment, has in too many instances become a vehicle for the amplification of the very misinformation, polarization, and moral dislocation that the Kano First Initiative is designed to address. These are not small problems, and they will not yield to small solutions.
What gives the Kano First Initiative its historical seriousness is precisely that it does not pretend otherwise. The four-phase implementation framework, stretching from 2026 through 2030, is built on the recognition that the restoration of a civilization’s normative foundations is a generational project, not a political campaign. Phase One builds the empirical foundation, the baseline surveys, perception mapping, and narrative architecture that genuine social intervention requires. Phase Two deploys coordinated, multi-channel behavioral activation across youth networks, religious institutions, traditional authorities, and community organizations. Phase Three scales what works and deepens digital engagement. Phase Four embeds the initiative permanently into Kano’s governance architecture through a dedicated directorate and the annual Kano Values Index. This is not the timeline of an administration managing its image. It is the timeline of a government that has looked honestly at the depth of the challenge and committed itself to the depth of response that the challenge demands.
There is an emotional dimension to this story that deserves to be named directly, because it is one that the purely analytical framing of policy discourse tends to obscure. Kano’s people love their state with an intensity and a pride that is, even in a country of fierce regional loyalties, remarkable. They carry within them the memory of a greatness that their grandparents knew and that they themselves have glimpsed, in fragments and in moments, even through the long decades of disappointment. When Governor Yusuf speaks of restoring Kano’s glory, he is not merely making a political argument. He is speaking to something that lives in the hearts of ordinary Kano citizens, something that has survived misgovernance, political manipulation, and cultural erosion with a resilience that is itself a testament to the depth of Kano’s civilizational roots. That emotional resonance is not a weakness in the Kano First philosophy. It is one of its greatest strategic assets, because renewal that connects with people’s deepest sense of identity and pride generates the kind of civic energy that no top-down programme can manufacture.
The work of restoring that glory belongs, ultimately, not to government alone but to every institution, every community leader, every journalist, every religious scholar, every teacher, every trader, and every young person in Kano who chooses, in their daily conduct, to live by the values that made this civilization great. Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has provided the vision, the institutional framework, and the personal example of a leader who is willing to pay the political costs that genuine commitment to the public good always exacts. Comrade Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya has provided the intellectual architecture and the communication infrastructure through which that vision can be translated into civic reality. The rest, as it must always be when a society is serious about its own renewal, belongs to the people.
Kano’s glory was never lost. It was covered over, layer by layer, by the accumulated debris of decades of bad governance, institutional betrayal, and the slow erosion of the values that once made it shine. The Kano First Initiative is not building something new on empty ground. It is clearing the ground of debris so that what was always there can breathe again, grow again, and reclaim the space in Nigeria’s national life and in West Africa’s historical memory that Kano has always, by right of civilization, deserved to occupy. That is the historical vision behind Kano First. And it is a vision worth every effort, every sacrifice, and every ounce of collective will that Kano’s people can bring to its realization.

 

Saminu Umar Ph.D is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Information and Media Studies, Bayero University, Kano. surijyarzaki@gmail.com

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Rabe Darma’s First 100 Days: Laying the Foundation for Nigeria’s Housing Renaissance

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3 days ago

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August 5, 2026

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By Ahmad Danyaro
Housing is more than bricks and mortar. It is about dignity, economic opportunity, social stability, and national development. Countries that have transformed their housing sectors have not merely built homes; they have built systems that make homeownership accessible, urban development sustainable, and investments attractive. Nigeria has long struggled to achieve these ideals, but the first 100 days of Engr. Dr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma as Honourable Minister of Housing and Urban Development have offered encouraging signs that a new era may be unfolding.
Since assuming office on 27 April , Dr. Darma has approached Nigeria’s housing challenge with a clear understanding that lasting solutions require more than commissioning housing estates. Rather, they demand comprehensive reforms that address the structural barriers responsible for decades of inadequate housing delivery. His administration has focused on land administration, investment promotion, institutional coordination, industry regulation, and social inclusion—areas that form the bedrock of a sustainable housing sector.
One of the defining initiatives of his first 100 days is the proposed nationwide Social Housing Programme, designed to extend affordable housing to all 774 Local Government Areas of the federation. The programme represents one of the most ambitious efforts to decentralise housing delivery in Nigeria’s history. If effectively implemented, it has the potential not only to reduce the country’s huge housing deficit but also to stimulate local economies through construction activities, job creation, and infrastructure development.
Equally significant is the programme’s emphasis on social inclusion. By prioritising women, children, victims of insecurity, internally displaced persons, and communities affected by natural disasters, the Minister has demonstrated that housing policy must also serve as social policy. In a nation grappling with displacement caused by insecurity and climate-related disasters, such an approach reflects both compassion and strategic thinking.
Within his first 100 days, Dr. Darma has also underscored the indispensable role of private-sector participation in addressing Nigeria’s housing deficit. Recognising that government resources alone cannot meet the nation’s housing needs, he has actively engaged international investors and development partners. His discussions with Japan’s CHODAI Company Limited and other prospective partners signal Nigeria’s renewed commitment to attracting global expertise, innovative technology, and long-term financing into the housing and infrastructure sectors.
Across the world, successful housing programmes are anchored on strong Public-Private Partnerships. By assuring investors that Nigeria remains open for business and committed to creating an enabling environment, the Minister is laying the groundwork for increased investment capable of accelerating housing delivery and modern urban development.
Perhaps the most transformative aspect of his reform agenda is the renewed focus on land administration.
For decades, access to land has remained one of the greatest obstacles to affordable housing in Nigeria. Lengthy registration processes, insecure titles, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and ownership disputes have discouraged investment while placing homeownership beyond the reach of many citizens. Dr. Darma’s commitment to the Nigerian Land Titling, Registration and Documentation Programme (NLTRDP) represents a bold effort to tackle these long-standing challenges.
The proposed digitalisation of land records, deployment of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), electronic documentation, and the establishment of a more efficient land administration framework promise to improve transparency, shorten processing timelines, and restore confidence in land ownership. These reforms may not generate the excitement of housing commissioning ceremonies, but they are precisely the institutional changes capable of transforming the sector over the long term.
The Minister has also demonstrated commendable resolve in addressing the persistent challenge of building collapses through stronger regulation of Nigeria’s built environment. His insistence on ending quackery, enforcing professional standards, and strengthening regulatory oversight reflects a commitment to safeguarding lives and restoring confidence in the construction industry.
By advocating a coordinated regulatory framework involving all professional bodies and stakeholders, Dr. Darma is reinforcing the principle that sustainable development must be underpinned by professionalism, accountability, and strict compliance with building standards.
Institutional efficiency has equally featured prominently in his first 100 days. Through engagements with Federal Controllers of Housing across the federation, the Minister has emphasized improved project monitoring, stronger inter-agency coordination, and enhanced accountability in project execution. These administrative reforms may receive less public attention, but they are essential to translating policy into measurable outcomes.
Naturally, the true test of any administration lies not in policy announcements but in implementation. Nigerians have witnessed ambitious programmes in the past that faltered due to inadequate funding, bureaucratic delays, weak political will, or inconsistent execution. The reforms initiated during these first 100 days must therefore be sustained through transparency, measurable targets, stakeholder collaboration, and rigorous monitoring.Even so, the direction being charted deserves recognition.
For perhaps the first time in many years, national conversations on housing are moving beyond the mere construction of houses towards broader institutional reforms encompassing land governance, digital transformation, investment attraction, professional regulation, and inclusive urban development. This holistic approach aligns more closely with global best practices and recognises housing as both a social necessity and a catalyst for economic growth.
Housing remains one of the strongest multipliers in any economy. It drives manufacturing, construction, transportation, financial services, and numerous small businesses while generating employment across multiple sectors. A vibrant housing industry strengthens communities, improves living standards, and contributes significantly to national development.
In his first 100 days, Engr. Dr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma has outlined an ambitious roadmap for the sector. His priorities are becoming increasingly clear, and his early interventions suggest a willingness to confront some of the most difficult structural challenges that have hindered Nigeria’s housing development for decades.
The journey ahead will undoubtedly be demanding. Expectations remain high, resources are limited, and implementation will ultimately determine the success of these reforms. However, if the momentum generated during these first 100 days is sustained with consistency, professionalism, and accountability, Nigeria’s housing sector could be on the threshold of a genuine transformation.
For millions of Nigerians who still dream of owning a decent and affordable home, that is a vision worth supportingand one that deserves every opportunity to succeed.
Danyaro is a Media and Public Affairs Analysts based in Abuja.

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WARAKA: The Story of Kano Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC)

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5 days ago

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August 3, 2026

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A Story by Nurse Ekwem Chinwendu Blessing (BNSC, RPHN, RM, RN)

I was out on my routine duty at Murtala Specialist Hospital for my ambulance service when I decided to take a walk to a centre I had heard about from Sir Muhammad Sunusi Specialist Hospital Accident and Emergency Unit. The centre is called WARAKA–SARC — ‘Waraka’ meaning ‘healing’ in the English language. It is housed in the same building with the Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KSCHMA), a beautiful block within Murtala Specialist Hospital. The centre comprises three offices and two toilets. Inside, the offices are adorned with colourful posters of alphabets, numbers, GBV survivors support, pathway for initial care after sexual assaults and domestic animals and pets, creating a quiet and therapeutic atmosphere. The staff are warm and friendly.

The centre was sponsored by non-governmental organisation’s (NGOs) and championed by four ministries in the state: the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Women Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the State Police Force. Unfortunately, the NGOs have since pulled out. WARAKA–SARC attends to cases of sexual assault and gender-based violence for both males and females. I was informed that between 7 and 12 September 2015, training was conducted for doctors, nurses, and counsellors on the management of such cases. Due to the high rate of reported incidents, the NGOs and the four aforementioned ministries pushed for the official opening of the centre.

During my visit, I met several members of staff: a nurse nearing retirement, counsellors, a receptionist, and a volunteer who also serves as the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer. She conducts serological tests such as pregnancy test (serum), HIV, HBsAg, HCV, and VDRL. I had expected to see a doctor trained to assist with forensic examinations, but none was present. I was told that doctors had indeed been trained to provide evidence-based care to clients; however, due to the high demand for medical personnel, they were redeployed to other hospitals and units. Due to that, When a client presents — whether as a case of domestic violence or assault — they are referred to the Gynaecology Emergency Unit, the Gynaecology Ward, the Accident and Emergency Unit, or the Paediatric Unit, depending on the client’s age and the nature of the assault. Following examination, the client returns to WARAKA–SARC for further management, including counselling and serology. On average, the centre sees about fifty clients per week.

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Notwithstanding these challenges, this is the only functioning centre in the state that attends to cases of sexual assault and gender-based violence. I noted that all services rendered to clients are free of charge, and the centre also provides continuous follow-up care.

Based on my observation, WARAKA–SARC is a sensitive and vital centre. I therefore suggest the following measures to improve the care and services provided to clients:

· The deployment of medical personnel — including doctors, nurses, and counselling psychologists — to the centre.

· The four ministries should consistently include the centre in their annual budgets.

· Continuous engagement of staff through training, rural outreach programmes, community sensitisation, and the provision of incentives.

· NGOs should resume and sustain their collaboration with the centre.

· Proper referral pathways for clients to the centre must be established and maintained.

· The Ministry of Justice should make it mandatory for all cases of sexual assault and gender-based violence to pass through WARAKA–SARC before trial. This will enhance the centre’s visibility among individuals and communities.

· Additional centres should be established in strategic local government areas to bring services closer to rural communities far from Kano town, thereby improving access and utilisation.

· Community enlightenment on the importance of the centre and the need to seek help freely when necessary.

· Religious and community leaders should partner with the centre to promote peace and encourage community members to utilise its services.

 

Speak out, get help — end the cycle of violence.

WARAKA SARC: Your path to healing and justice.

Stop GBV. Support survivors. Strengthen justice.

WARAKA SARC: Restoring dignity, rebuilding lives.

Supporting survivors with care, dignity, and compassion.

WARAKA SARC — A Safe Space for Healing.

 

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How Kano Digitized Land Turns N50m to N750m Monthly

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5 days ago

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August 3, 2026

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– Abba Ka Cika Gwarzo…

By Abba Anwar

Land administration, safety and security of land documents are dancing gorgeously to the gallery, as the administration of His Excellency, Executive Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf digitalized and institutionalized land administration and ownership in the last three years.

Study tour to Kano Geographic Information System (KANGIS), by states like Abia, Kaduna, Jigawa, Adamawa, among others is a clear testimony that Kano is making headway with excellent innovations in land administration and management. Analog to digital development.

Before now, KANGIS was a small unit /department under the state Ministry of Land and Physical Planning. But when Governor Yusuf came on board, the agency turned into full-fledged and autonomous agency with the establishment Law. Normal legislative procedures were followed. And now an independent agency. This makes seamless operations possible. With clear mandate and global taste.

Billions of Naira injected in overhauling and modernizing the agency, were recovered within six months of becoming an autonomous agency. With full Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure which turned the face of the agency via digital and GIS infrastructures, pave the way for that.

Employing GIS enterprise, that is modernizing land administration, beginning from land application to the level of acquiring Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) has now become a seamless operation. Where slow operation fades away.

For Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) the agency was generating a maximum of Fifty Million Naira (N50m) monthly. With the new Law in place and dedicated leadership, from His Excellency down to the Director General of the agency, Dr Dalhatu Aliyu Sani, and dedicated staff, KANGIS can now boost of generating a maximum of up to Seven Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N750m) monthly.

Racketeering of land documents by touts and weak minded internal elements, has significantly minimized. A system has now been in place for a land applicant to monitor the movement and progress of his or her application from the comfort of one’s room.

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There is an improved manpower, who are always undergoing training and retraining. To cope with the global best practice. With this and the digitalization of the agency, corruption is being reduced to minimal level in the administration and management of land. So also laziness from the part of the staff, unproductive posture, double allocation and insecured process for land ownership are all shelved aside.

Under the wisdom of His Excellency, the Governor, the agency, KANGIS, works hand in hand with the state ministry for land and physical planning. Unlike in some other states, where such agencies wall out ministries of land. Not only maintaining the two institutions, in Kano, both the agency and the ministry work harmoniously in rancour-free atmosphere.

Though land ministry is the mother ministry, but rivalry between them is significantly at the lowest level. It may interest one to know that all payments of the ministry are paid through KANGIS.

The Director General of KANGIS Dr Sani is a renown scholar of geographic information system of global repute, who was invited by Governor Yusuf from far away Turkey, to come and serve his state. Without hesitation, Dr Sani responded positively to His Excellency’s request. Here he is, Dr Sani brought many strategies and innovations to KANGIS. The political will of the Governor helps much in this development. That has eluded the agency since its creation in 2012.

Understanding the genuine political will and commitment of the Governor towards the spirit development of the agency, the good working relationship between all the political appointees and staff of the agency and the mother ministry, is strengthening day in day out. They all understand what team work is to the development of the state.

Ranging from the Commissioner for Land and Physical Planning, Abudujjabar Muhammad Umar, Adviser to the Governor on Land Matters, Hadiza Gadanya, Director General of KANGIS, Dr Dalhatu Aliyu Sani, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Land Matters, Alhaji Ahmad down to the Senior Special Reporter Nanu Kankarofi, all believe and understand what team work is and what Governor Yusuf wants in reshaping land administration, control and ownership in the state. Kudos to them all.

Another important picture of Governor’s genuine love for a new Kano is his non-interference in KANGIS’s operations and technical decisions. Being an autonomous with competent hand as the Director General, Governor Yusuf believes he puts a square peg in a square hole. At KANGIS and the mother ministry, modernization with global touch is quite visible. It was this visibility, I guessed, that prompted other states to come to Kano and start shopping for ingenious land administration.

I can still remember vividly clear, when the immediate past Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Ahmad Dangiwa visited KANGIS sometime back, he informed the DG that when he returned back to Abuja, he would inform President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to kindly urge other states of the federation to come to Kano and visit KANGIS for them to replicate Kano model of land administration. I don’t know if that really happened.

With the full operation and commitment of KANGIS and Land Ministry, Kano Master Plan of over 30 years is now being undusted and ready to be revisited word by word. This is possible as a result of Governor Yusuf’s political will and commitment.

Anwar writes from Kano
Monday, 3rd August, 2026

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