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Opinion

Stability, Continuity And Consolidation. What The Nomination Of Murtala Sule Garo Tells Us About Governor’s Vision For Kano

Published

7 months ago

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Governance, at its most fundamental level, is not a series of isolated decisions. It is a coherent and sustained act of institutional will, expressed through the accumulation of choices that, taken together, reveal the values, the priorities, and the long-term vision of the leader making them.

Every appointment a governor makes, every vacancy he fills, every partner he chooses to place beside him at the highest levels of the state’s executive, is a window into his understanding of what governance requires, what his people deserve, and what kind of state he intends to build by the time his tenure is complete. When Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf transmitted the name of Alhaji Murtala Sule Garo to the Kano State House of Assembly on April 22, 2026, for screening and confirmation as Deputy Governor, he opened precisely such a window. And what it reveals about his governance vision for Kano is both illuminating and deeply reassuring

The context in which this nomination was made is inseparable from its meaning. Kano’s political space had been in active turbulence for months, shaped by the seismic consequences of Governor Yusuf’s defection from the New Nigeria Peoples Party to the All Progressives Congress, the resignation of former Deputy Governor Abdussalam Gwarzo on March 27, 2026, amid impeachment proceedings triggered by disagreements over party affiliation, and the fierce public debate about loyalty, identity, and political direction that those events generated across the state.

In the midst of that turbulence, a lesser political leader might have been tempted to make a hasty appointment, to fill the vacancy quickly with a figure whose primary qualification was political convenience rather than governance competence, and to move on. Governor Yusuf chose a different path entirely. He took his time. He consulted widely. He thought carefully. And he arrived at a nomination that speaks not to the pressures of the moment but to the demands of the long term

That choice, deliberate and consultative rather than reactive and expedient, is itself a governance statement

It says that this administration understands the difference between managing a political crisis and building a governance legacy. It says that the vacancy created by Gwarzo’s departure was not merely a constitutional inconvenience to be resolved at the earliest opportunity but a governance challenge to be addressed with the full weight of strategic thought and stakeholder engagement that it deserved. And it says, most importantly, that the person chosen to fill that vacancy was selected not because of what his appointment would do for the politics of the moment but because of what his presence in the deputy governor’s office will do for the governance of the state across the remainder of this administration’s term and beyond

Murtala Sule Garo brings to this moment a profile that is uniquely suited to the three governance imperatives that his nomination signals most clearly: stability, continuity, and consolidation. These are not abstract governance concepts. In the specific context of Kano State in April 2026, they are urgent, concrete, and measurable requirements that the administration’s development agenda depends upon for its successful execution.
Stability, in this context, means the restoration of a fully constituted and functionally coherent executive that can manage the complex, multi-layered demands of governing Nigeria’s most populous state without the distraction, the vulnerability, and the institutional incompleteness that a deputy governor vacancy inevitably creates. Garo’s nomination addresses that requirement directly and comprehensively

His reputation as a calm, strategic, and calculated political actor, his well-documented ability to navigate complex political environments without generating unnecessary friction, and his long-established relationships with the diverse stakeholder communities across Kano’s 44 local government areas make him precisely the stabilising presence that the executive requires at this juncture. In a political terrain where competing elite interests, factional pressures, and legislative-executive dynamics create a continuous requirement for careful management and diplomatic skill, a deputy governor whose defining political characteristics include consensus-building, strategic pragmatism, and cross-factional accessibility is not merely a useful addition to the executive. He is an essential one.
Continuity, in this context, means the uninterrupted pursuit of the development agenda that Governor Yusuf’s administration has been executing since May 2023, an agenda anchored on the Kano First philosophy and expressed through the most ambitious budget in the state’s history, a N1.477 trillion appropriation for 2026 with 68 percent directed at capital projects, historic investments in education that produced Kano’s first-place ranking in the 2025 NECO results, women and youth empowerment programmes that have disbursed over N334 million to 6,680 women entrepreneurs and more than N800 million to over 5,300 young people, agricultural revitalisation through 199,000 bags of fertiliser, 11 approved mini-dams, and expanded extension worker deployment, and a security architecture strengthened by 2,000 trained Neighbourhood Watch operatives across the state. All of that work is in motion

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All of it requires sustained executive focus, institutional coherence, and leadership alignment to deliver the outcomes that the people of Kano have been promised and that the data already shows are beginning to materialise. A deputy governor whose career has been defined by institutional commitment, administrative discipline, and a governance philosophy centred on community-driven, locally responsive delivery is a deputy governor who will protect and advance that continuity rather than disrupt it

Garo’s experience as Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs is particularly relevant to the continuity imperative. The Kano First Agenda’s most tangible outcomes, the empowerment programmes, the infrastructure projects, the agricultural interventions, the security structures, are delivered not from the corridors of Government House but through the 44 local government areas of the state, each with its own administrative dynamics, its own community priorities, and its own relationship with the state executive. A deputy governor who has spent years at the intersection of state policy and local government implementation, who has managed the relationships between formal administrative structures and traditional authority systems, and who has built a statewide network of trust and engagement across every local government area through his tenure as ALGON Chairman, is a deputy governor who can ensure that the administration’s development agenda reaches every community in Kano with the fidelity and the effectiveness that the governor’s vision demands

Consolidation, in this context, means the deliberate and strategic strengthening of the APC coalition in Kano, the deepening of the political relationships, the broadening of the stakeholder base, and the building of the institutional structures that will carry the administration through the remainder of its current term and position it competitively for the 2027 electoral cycle. This is perhaps the most politically sensitive of the three imperatives, and it is the one that Garo’s profile addresses with the greatest precision and the most compelling credibility. His candidacy as the APC’s Deputy Governorship candidate in the 2023 general elections, his ward-level mobilisation work across all 44 local government areas of the state, his deep relationships with party structures, community leaders, traditional institutions, women’s groups, and youth organisations in every corner of Kano, and his reputation as a loyal party man who rose through the APC’s organisational ranks through long-term commitment rather than opportunistic positioning, all combine to make him the ideal instrument of political consolidation for an administration that is simultaneously managing the consequences of a major defection and building the foundations of a new and broader political coalition.
The public response to Garo’s nomination has provided the most immediate and powerful confirmation of the consolidation logic behind it.

The spontaneous street celebrations that erupted across Kano metropolis and beyond within hours of the announcement, the viral videos of youths chanting “Sai Abba” and “Sai Garo” through major roads, carrying portraits of the governor and his nominee in scenes of genuine and unmanufactured popular enthusiasm, were not merely expressions of personal affection for a well-liked politician. They were expressions of public relief, of the relief that a population feels when its government demonstrates, through a specific and consequential decision, that it is thinking clearly, acting strategically, and choosing its partners with the care and the seriousness that the responsibilities of governance demand

That relief is itself a governance outcome. A population that trusts its government’s judgment is a population that is more likely to engage with its programmes, support its initiatives, absorb its policies, and extend the patience that ambitious development agendas inevitably require. By making a nomination that has generated genuine and widespread public confidence, Governor Yusuf has strengthened not only his executive team but his broader governance environment, creating the conditions of public trust and political stability within which his administration’s most ambitious objectives can be most effectively pursued

The nomination of Murtala Sule Garo is, in the final analysis, a portrait of a governor who knows exactly what he is doing and exactly why he is doing it. It is a portrait of a leader who has looked at the governance challenges before him, assessed the political landscape around him, and made a choice that addresses both with the intelligence, the foresight, and the strategic clarity that Kano’s 20 million people have every right to expect from the man they elected to lead them. Stability, continuity, and consolidation are not merely words in a governance document. Under Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, they are becoming the defining characteristics of a state that is moving, with deliberate and unstoppable purpose, toward the future its people deserve.

Aliyu Mohammed Idris,PhD
President
Northern Your Assembly,

Hafiz Abubakar, PhD
23rd April, 2026
Secretary General
Northern Youth Assembly
23rd April, 2026

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Opinion

Kano’s War On Drugs: How Barr. Muhyi’s Taskforce Is Changing The Game

Published

4 days ago

on

November 2, 2026

By

Muhuyi Magaji

 

By Muhammad Abubakar Suleiman

When Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf declared a public health emergency on drug abuse on July 22, 2026, and inaugurated the Multi-Agency Task Force on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, many in Kano saw it as another committee. Three months later, the committee led by Barrister Muhyi Magaji Rimin Gado is dominating security headlines in the state.

The Taskforce was constituted as a multi-agency platform bringing together NDLEA, Police, DSS, Consumer Protection Council, Pharmaceutical Society, Ministry of Health, Anti-Daba Unit and other stakeholders. Dr. Ibrahim Garba Muhammad serves as Secretary.

From Raids to Results: Over 400 Arrests

According to briefings by the Chairman, within the first two months the Taskforce arrested more than 380 suspects and secured over 230 convictions. By September 29, when Barr. Muhyi spoke at the Kano Network of NGOs (KANET) Monthly Lecture at Nasarawa GRA, the figure had risen to over 400 arrests.

Presenting its scorecard to the State Executive Council in late September, the Taskforce reported a 35% reduction in drug-related crimes in the last three months, attributing it to intensified enforcement, seizures and over 500 convictions as of October 22.

Operations have focused on identified hotspots: Race Course, Filin Idi, Filin Mahaha, Tashar Rami, Kawo, Tashar Rimi, Jakara, Madigawa, Yalwa, Sanka, Kul Kul, Dogon Nama and Kukar Bulukiya.

Recoveries include Cannabis Sativa, Tramadol, Diazepam, Pentazocine, Pregabalin, Exol-5 and a Methamphetamine-based designer drug. In one case, 870,000 capsules of Pregabalin were seized from a pharmaceutical company over suspected diversion. Local weapons – knives, daggers, cutlasses and clubs – used by gangs were also recovered.

The Taskforce also recorded high-profile arrests. On August 18, it announced the arrest of a former Chairman of Rogo Local Government for allegedly selling and administering fentanyl injections to youths, after a victim who spent over N2 million on injections identified him.

Latest: Gang Sponsor Tracked to Port Harcourt

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In its most recent operation, the Taskforce announced on October 30 the arrest of a 27-year-old suspected gang violence sponsor, Ishaq Lawan Ibrahim, popularly known as Malam Keya, from Yalwa in Dala LGA.

According to the committee, Malam Keya was allegedly financing violent clashes by rival Daba gangs in Dala that claimed lives. He fled to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, after crackdown intensified, but was tracked and arrested in an operation led by Head of Operations, CSP Bashir Gwadabe, and brought back to Kano. He is now in police custody pending prosecution.

Chairman Muhyi said the arrest outside Kano shows the Taskforce will pursue suspects beyond state boundaries.

Beyond Enforcement: Children, Rehabilitation and Technology

The committee says its mandate is not just enforcement. It reported rescuing 43 underage children allegedly exposed to intoxicants and convicting two dealers – Kabiru Isa and Usman Hamisu – for the offence. About 125 persons were referred to the Kano Reformatory Institute in Kiru for rehabilitation. With Kiru overstretched, government has provided an additional facility in Tofa.

The Taskforce has set an ambitious target of taking 10,000 youths off the streets for rehabilitation, skills acquisition and reintegration.

On August 21, Barr. Muhyi inaugurated nine sub-committees to professionalize the fight: Finance; Media and Publicity; Advocacy and Sensitisation; Licences, Inventory and Verification; Compliance, Inspection and Electronic Tracking; Monitoring and Implementation; Intelligence; Reformative and Traditional Council; and Anti-Drug Coordination.

Tech Turn: AI, 24-Hour Line and NDLEA Support

In the last two weeks, the Taskforce unveiled a new approach. On October 22, Barr. Muhyi, on behalf of Governor Yusuf, donated operational equipment to the NDLEA Kano Strategic Command led by Commander Dahiru Yahaya Lawan, to boost operations.

He also disclosed that Kano is deploying Artificial Intelligence for surveillance and tracking of suspected dealers, and equipping a rapid-response centre with ICT and a 24-hour toll-free line where residents can report and get response within 30 minutes.

At KANET lecture themed “Kano Drugs Crisis: Challenges, the Way Forward and the Role of the Community,” Muhyi stressed community intelligence and called for more rehabilitation to decongest remand homes.

No Sacred Cows

From day one, Barr. Muhyi has maintained a hard line on political interference. “No politician can pressure me to free drug suspects. The only person who can stop me is the Governor, and I know he will never interfere,” he told journalists on July 28.

That stance, coupled with intelligence-led raids, has earned the Taskforce both praise and scrutiny.

The Bigger Picture

Kano Police data cited by the Taskforce indicates about 70% of major crimes in 2025 were linked to drug abuse. The Executive Order outlawing Daba gangs provides a minimum of five years imprisonment under Section 97A of the Kano Penal Code.

Whether the Taskforce can sustain momentum will depend on three tests: securing the drug supply chain from pharmaceutical diversion, expanding rehabilitation beyond Kiru, and maintaining inter-agency cooperation without becoming a parallel enforcement body.

For now, in the markets of Filin Idi and the streets of Dala, residents say the presence of the committee is being felt.

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Opinion

The Reward For Hardwork Is More Work: A Rejoinder To Dr Garba Ubale Danbatta

Published

4 days ago

on

November 2, 2026

By

 

 

 

By Nworisa Michael

The redeployment of Hon. Comr. Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya PhD from the Ministry of Information and Internal Affairs to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has attracted several reactions. While professional and civic organisations have congratulated him and acknowledged his contributions, Dr Garba Ubale Danbatta, a supposedly veteran journalist, has chosen to use the development to question his performance and professional conduct in his former ministry.

Dr Danbatta is entitled to his opinion. Nobody should be above criticism, especially in public office. However, when criticism is presented as a professional assessment, it should be supported by facts, not merely personal convictions or years of experience.

Before concluding that journalism suffered under Waiya, perhaps we should examine some of the developments recorded during his tenure.

Eight contributions worth considering:

• Grassroots information: Strengthened engagement with Information Officers across Kano’s 44 local government areas and eight zonal offices.

• Capacity building: Supported training programmes for local government Information Officers, alongside interactive engagements with editors and news managers.

• Media policy: Facilitated the inauguration of an 18-member committee to develop a media and information policy framework for Kano State.

• Digital transformation: Established a Digital Multimedia Department to modernise government communication, improve digital engagement and address misinformation.

• Peacebuilding: Advanced the Safe Corridor Project, an initiative focused on rehabilitation, skills development and reintegration of reformed youths.

• Media engagement: Engaged media practitioners, online publishers and political programme presenters on responsible public communication and professional conduct.

• Institutional development: Pursued interventions aimed at strengthening state-owned media institutions and improving the capacity of personnel within the information machinery.

• National recognition: Received the Crisis Communicator of the Year award at the 2026 National Spokespersons Awards in Abuja.

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These developments do not mean that Waiya’s tenure was without shortcomings. They simply demonstrate that there is more to his record than the sweeping conclusion offered by his critic.

There is also something interesting about the public reactions to his redeployment. The Kano State Forum of Information Officers, Northern Youths Assembly and International Peace and Secure Society are among the organisations that have publicly acknowledged his contributions and congratulated him on his new assignment. Their statements may not settle every debate about his tenure, but they show that his work was not viewed negatively by everyone who interacted with his ministry.

Now, to Dr Danbatta’s presentation of his professional experience.

I found it rather curious that a commentary intended to assess another public officer’s performance devoted three of its concluding paragraphs to the author’s own professional journey, positions held and years of experience. One could almost finish reading the piece knowing more about the author’s resume than the evidence behind his criticism of Waiya.

Same individual who has been unable to ensure good working relationship with his staffs at Pyramid Radio Kano where is currently serves as its manager, a station that constantly runs out of diesel and goes off the air, perhaps even he isn’t proud of this hence he left it out from the list of his workplaces listed.

With due respect, professional experience is valuable, but it should strengthen an argument, not become the argument itself. A good product sells itself. A journalist’s professional standing should be reflected in the quality, fairness and depth of their analysis. Thirty years in the profession deserves recognition, but it does not automatically make every opinion conclusive.

If the intention was to assess Waiya’s stewardship, then the more important questions should have been: What did he inherit? What did he change? Which initiatives did he introduce? What measurable outcomes were achieved? And where did he fall short? Those are the questions that give criticism substance.

We can be safe to say that Waiya’s redeployment was a direct reward for his performance in the former ministry. The Governor has publicly explained the cabinet adjustments as part of efforts to strengthen institutions and improve service delivery. What is evident, however, is that Waiya has been entrusted with another important responsibility, and his record in the former ministry remains open to public examination.

The Ministry of Information and Internal Affairs is not beyond criticism, and neither is Dr. Waiya. But fairness requires that we acknowledge the work done alongside the shortcomings alleged.

Frankly the most fitting way to understand this new assignment is captured in the title of this piece: the reward for hard work is more work. His previous assignment is now part of his public record; his new ministry presents another opportunity to serve.

Congratulations, Hon. Comr. Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya. The expectations continue.

Nworisa Michael is a
Writer, Public Affairs Commentator and writes from nworisamichael1917@gmail.com
1st Nov. 2026

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Opinion

My Achievements At Kano State Ministry of Environment — By Dr. Dahir M. Hashim

Published

6 days ago

on

October 31, 2026

By

 

Looking back on my time at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, one change I value most is how the public came to see the sector itself. Environmental protection became a stronger part of conversations about our health, neighbourhoods, livelihoods, and Kano’s future. People increasingly joined the work, supported our programmes, and held us accountable.

For that, I thank the people of my dear state.

This journey began for me on 6 January 2025, when His Excellency, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, the Executive Governor of Kano State, entrusted me with the responsibility of leading the Ministry.

The challenges were clear. Facilities had deteriorated, policies needed updating, enforcement was weak, and frontline workers were owed outstanding payments. Yet His Excellency saw what the Ministry could become and gave us the support to begin rebuilding it.

Our government-owned nurseries tell part of that story. Eight facilities that had become non-functional were fully rehabilitated, restoring our capacity to produce seedlings locally. Building on the administration’s three-million-tree planting programme in 2024, the programme grew to five million in 2025 and ten million in 2026, with all seedlings raised in government-owned nurseries. Behind those numbers was the recovery of public facilities that could continue serving Kano for years to come.

The same determination guided the restoration of the Kano State Pollution Control Laboratory. We renovated, equipped, and recommissioned it, giving the State the scientific capacity to test, monitor pollution, and support enforcement. We operationalised the Environmental Pollution Control Law and developed the Environmental Pollution and Waste Control Regulations to give that work a stronger legal foundation.

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At REMASAB, reforms improved the coordination of waste collection, evacuation, and disposal. Waste management became more organised and responsive, with operations supporting the evacuation of approximately one million metric tonnes of waste. The Dorayi Compost Plant was also brought back into operation, restoring the capacity to turn organic waste into useful compost and creating opportunities for investment.

Across flood-prone communities, we undertook drainage construction, clearance and erosion control. The stormwater harvesting intervention in Toranke and work on the Kano State Drainage Master Plan formed part of our effort to move towards better protection and long-term planning.

We also restored four public parks, with more underway. Spaces that had suffered neglect were given new management arrangements and a clear responsibility for maintenance. Families now have more welcoming places to spend time together, while the parks’ combined annual revenue increased from around ₦5 million to ₦90 million.

Alongside these projects, we rebuilt the policy foundations of the sector. We developed the Kano State Climate Change Policy, its implementation plan and results framework; advanced the Climate Change Bill; and reviewed the Forestry Law after more than five decades. We also developed the Climate Finance Reform Action and Implementation Plan and the Green Bond Framework to prepare Kano for environmental and climate investment.

Kano’s third-place finish in the just-concluded 2026 Climate Governance Performance Ranking, and the opportunity to present our work at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, gave us reasons to be thankful. They also reminded us how far consistent support and collective effort could take the state.

None of this work could have continued without the people delivering it every day. With His Excellency’s backing, we cleared nine months of salary arrears for 2,369 verified street sweepers and doubled their stipends, re-engaged inspectors and forest guards, and doubled the stipends of 875 sanitation vanguards. I remain grateful for their service.

Today, as His Excellency separates the ministries and appoints a new Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, my strongest feeling is gratitude.

To His Excellency, thank you for trusting me with this responsibility, listening to our proposals and supporting the decisions needed to carry them through.

To our staff and agencies, community leaders, development partners, civil society organisations, young volunteers, businesses and residents: thank you for standing with us. Your participation, patience and constructive criticism helped us improve. These achievements belong to everyone who contributed.

I congratulate the incoming Honourable Commissioner and offer my full cooperation to sustain the work we began together.

Serving the people of Kano State in this capacity has been a privilege. Thank you for the trust and support.

Dr. Dahir M. Hashim, Honourable Commissioner
Ministry of Water Resources, Kano State, writes from Kano.

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