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Saminu Umar Ph.D, Senior Lecture; Department of Information and Media Studies, Bayero University, Kano surijyarzaki@gmail.com
There is a particular kind of political courage that does not announce itself with drama, does not seek the validation of crowds, and does not wait for the approval of godfathers. It is the kind that sits quietly inside a budget document, inside a policy decision, inside an early morning visit to a dying industrial estate, inside the deliberate and systematic dismantling of decades of economic underperformance. It is the kind of courage that says, not in speeches but in actions, that a great city will not accept a diminished destiny.
That is the story of Kano under Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf. And it is a story that is only just beginning to be fully told. To appreciate what Governor Yusuf is building, one must first confront, honestly and without sentimentality, what Kano had become before he assumed office in May 2023.
Kano was once, without serious dispute, the undisputed commercial and industrial capital of Northern Nigeria and one of the most economically consequential cities on the African continent. Its trans-Saharan trade connections, dating back more than five centuries, made it a terminal point of commerce linking sub-Saharan Africa to North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Its groundnut pyramids, towering monuments of agricultural productivity that defined Nigeria’s pre-oil economy, symbolised a city that understood how to convert natural resources into national wealth. Its textile mills, at their peak employing hundreds of thousands of workers, made it one of West Africa’s most productive manufacturing centres. Its leather industry, anchored on the ancient Kofar Mata dye pits that have operated continuously for over 500 years, produced finished goods that travelled to markets in France, Italy, and across the Arab world.
Then came decades of policy neglect, energy poverty, deindustrialisation, and a political culture that prioritised the personal ambitions of powerful individuals over the developmental needs of a city of millions. The groundnut pyramids disappeared. The textile mills fell silent. The industrial estates, Sharada, Bompai, and Challawa, which once hummed with the sound of productive enterprise, became landscapes of rusting machinery, abandoned factory floors, and unfulfilled potential. Kano did not lose its identity overnight. It lost it slowly, painfully, and largely in silence.
Governor Yusuf inherited that silence. He is determined to fill it with something far more enduring.
The most honest and revealing thing any governor can show you is not a speech. It is a budget. Speeches are aspirations. Budgets are commitments. And the budget Governor Yusuf signed into law for 2026, a historic N1.477 trillion appropriation, the largest in Kano’s entire history, is a commitment of extraordinary ambition and clarity.
Of that figure, 68 percent, representing the overwhelming majority of public expenditure, is allocated to capital projects. Infrastructure receives N346.2 billion, education N405.3 billion, and health N212.2 billion. These are not the budget lines of a government managing decline. They are the budget lines of a government engineering a renaissance.
The infrastructure allocation alone signals the governor’s understanding that no city can reclaim commercial and industrial leadership without the physical foundations to support it. Urban road expansions, transformer procurement, solar streetlight installation across the state, housing development initiatives, and market renovation projects spanning all 44 local government areas of the state are not isolated interventions. They are components of a coherent spatial development strategy designed to make Kano physically competitive with any commercial city in West Africa.
The 2025 budget, which preceded this historic 2026 appropriation, recorded over 80 percent implementation performance, a figure that speaks not merely to financial planning but to execution capacity, the rarest and most valuable quality in Nigerian state governance.
No commercial or industrial capital can sustain itself on infrastructure alone. It requires people. Educated, skilled, healthy, and economically empowered people who can drive enterprise, absorb technology, and participate meaningfully in a modern economy. Governor Yusuf understands this with a clarity that is reflected in every major policy decision his administration has taken.
In education, the results are already visible and measurable. Kano ranked first in Nigeria’s 2025 NECO results, a historic achievement for a state that had watched its educational standards erode for years. That ranking did not emerge from luck. It emerged from a state of emergency declared on the education sector, backed by mass classroom renovations, free basic education, payment of NECO fees for students, an expanded scholarship programme, the recruitment of 400 Mathematics teachers, and the establishment of Kano State Polytechnic in Gaya to extend technical and vocational education to the state’s southern corridor.
In healthcare, the administration has invested N149.7 billion in upgrading hospitals across local government areas, launched the Abba Care Scheme to expand health insurance coverage, and partnered with international organisations to strengthen maternal and newborn health services across the North West region.
In women and youth empowerment, over N334 million has been disbursed to 6,680 women across all 44 local government areas, each receiving a monthly stipend of N50,000 to grow their businesses and support their families. More than N800 million has been invested in youth empowerment programmes benefiting over 5,300 young people. Tricycles have been distributed to enable young men and women engage in productive economic activities. These are not welfare gestures. They are deliberate investments in the human capital of a city that intends to lead.
Perhaps the most strategically significant dimension of Governor Yusuf’s industrial vision is his understanding that no state government, regardless of the quality of its internal governance, can fully reposition a city of Kano’s size and complexity without sustained federal partnership. The resources, the regulatory architecture, the trade facilitation frameworks, the innovation infrastructure, and the international connections required to make Kano the commercial and industrial capital of Northern Nigeria exist, in significant measure, at the federal level.
That understanding was at the heart of his historic decision to align Kano with the Federal Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Critics characterised the decision in political terms. The governor has consistently characterised it in developmental terms. The distinction matters enormously.
The immediate and most visible fruit of that alignment is the national launch of the Energise Commercialisation Now initiative in Kano from April 23 to 25, 2026, to be flagged off by Her Excellency Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The programme, designed to identify commercially viable innovations, connect them with investors and manufacturers, and scale them into enterprises that create jobs and generate wealth, is precisely the kind of federal intervention that Kano’s industrial revival requires.
For Kano’s universities, including Bayero University Kano, Kano University of Science and Technology Wudil, and Northwest University Kano, the ECoN initiative creates a structured pipeline from academic research to commercial application. For the innovators and entrepreneurs in Kano’s vibrant informal sector, it creates access to financing, mentorship, and market connections that were previously unavailable. For the industrial estates of Sharada, Bompai, and Challawa, it signals the arrival of the investment mobilisation agenda that could finally reverse decades of industrial decline.
A commercial and industrial capital cannot ignore the productive hinterland that feeds it, supplies its raw materials, and employs the majority of its population. Governor Yusuf has not made that mistake.
His administration has procured 199,000 bags of fertiliser for distribution to farmers across the state, approved 11 mini-dams to support year-round agricultural production, and hired new agricultural extension workers to improve farming practices and productivity. It has revived garment clusters in all 44 local government areas, remodelled major markets, and strengthened SME support structures that connect small producers to larger commercial networks.
On the environment, the administration has planted over 5.5 million trees under its Climate Change Policy, cleared drainage channels across the state, and procured waste management equipment to address the urban environmental challenges that deter investment and reduce quality of life in major commercial cities. These are the actions of a government that understands that sustainable commercial and industrial leadership requires a liveable, well-managed, and environmentally responsible city.
Political analysts tracking Kano’s trajectory have begun to note a pattern that goes beyond routine governance. Governor Yusuf, they observe, has spent the past two years systematically rebuilding Kano’s institutional foundations, redirecting loyalty structures toward Government House, and positioning the state for a new era of political and economic relevance that will define not only the 2027 general elections but the decade beyond them.
The governor himself has been characteristically direct about his intentions. He designated 2026 as the Year of Youth Employment and Peace, a declaration that frames job creation not as a political promise but as a governance priority with a specific timeline and a clear accountability framework. He has engaged members of the National Assembly representing Kano in structured dialogue designed to align state executive priorities with federal legislative action, creating a coordination architecture that maximises the state’s ability to attract and deploy federal resources.
The result of all this is a Kano that is, for the first time in a generation, moving with purpose, direction, and momentum toward the commercial and industrial leadership that its history, its people, and its potential have always demanded.
Kano did not build its legacy in a day. The trans-Saharan traders who made this city a continental commercial crossroads did not do so through speeches or political rallies. They did it through consistent, disciplined, and visionary work across generations. Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf is drawing on that same tradition, applying it to the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, and doing so with the full weight of a state government that has finally, decisively, and irreversibly placed the interests of its people at the centre of every decision it makes.

The commercial and industrial capital of Northern Nigeria is not a title to be claimed. It is a status to be earned, sustained, and defended through the quality of governance, the depth of investment, and the courage of leadership.

By Salihu Tanko Yakasai.

In any election, the most important stakeholder is the electoral umpire. Whoever is chosen to lead the electoral body carries a heavy burden, particularly in how key players and observers perceive the independence of that umpire, whether he will be fair and just or take sides with those who appointed him.

Typically, the person appointed to head the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is expected to ensure a level playing field for all candidates, irrespective of whether they belong to the ruling party or the opposition. Over the years in Nigeria, however, some INEC chairmen have been found wanting in the discharge of their duties.

Maurice Iwu is widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most controversial INEC chairmen, largely because the 2007 elections under his leadership were heavily criticized for irregularities and lack of credibility. Even Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who won that election, admitted the process was flawed. While some argue he operated within a weak system, his tenure is still often seen as a low point for electoral integrity in Nigeria.

If you’re looking at credibility, transparency, and public trust, his tenure is often seen as a low point for Nigeria’s electoral process.

But from all indications, the current INEC chairman, Joash Amupitan, seems to be on the verge of becoming even worse than Maurice Iwu, as his tenure has been marked by one controversy after another since his appointment.

1- Religious bias allegation

The current INEC chairman, Amupitan, has faced criticism over a past petition in which he reportedly raised concerns about what he described as “Christian genocide.” This has drawn objections from groups such as the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, who argue that such a position raises questions about his neutrality in a religiously diverse country and have called for his removal.

2- ADC leadership portal controversy

While citing a court order, the INEC chairman reportedly derecognized David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as Chairman and Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, respectively. This removal from INEC’s official portal could undermine the party’s ability to field candidates. Critics see this as a move that may disadvantage opposition parties in favor of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

3- Voter revalidation exercise concerns

Another major issue was the proposed voter revalidation exercise introduced close to the election timeline, which sparked backlash. Many argued that attempting to revalidate tens of millions of voters within a short period could disenfranchise many Nigerians in the 2027 general elections. Following public pressure, the commission suspended the exercise.

4- Social media partisanship allegation

Questions have been raised about an alleged social media account linked to Amupitan, said to contain posts supportive of the APC and critical of opposition movements such as the “Obidient” movement. Although he denied ownership, some online claims suggest links to personal identifiers such as an email address and phone number, leaving the issue contested.

All these controversies are happening even before the elections. If Maurice Iwu is the yardstick for a poor election umpire, then by all accounts, Amupitan appears to be on track to surpass that record. If he can be perceived as this compromised before the elections, what should be expected on election day?

When the credibility of an election collapses, the consequences go far beyond the ballot box. Voter turnout drops as people begin to feel their votes no longer count, and the legitimacy of whoever emerges as winner is immediately questioned. This often fuels political tension, deepens divisions, and in some cases can trigger unrest. Ultimately, a flawed electoral process does not just produce disputed outcomes, it weakens public trust in democracy itself and makes governance far more difficult.

This is why all well-meaning Nigerians, as well as the international community, must lend their voices to calls for the removal of such a controversial INEC chairman. The credibility of the elections is already being questioned even before they are held. It is like a referee in a football match wearing the jersey of one of the teams, you do not need anyone to tell you that such a referee cannot be neutral.

As Kofi Annan once said, “Credible elections are the cornerstone of democracy.” When that credibility is in doubt, the very foundation of the democratic process is weakened. Nigeria cannot afford to gamble with that foundation in 2027.

By Martin Yakwo

The humid air of Benisheikh felt heavy yesterday, not with rain, but with the silence of a trap. Brigadier General Oseni Braimah stood in the center of the 29 Task Force Brigade’s perimeter, his thumb tracing the jagged edge of a radio that hadn’t caught a clear signal in three days.

He had surely sent five memos to Abuja in a month. He’d asked for the T-72 tanks promised in the quarterly budget and the thermal optics needed to see through the encroaching Sahel dust. After all the general in his youth was trained in the annals of red house aka octopus house..where being on point was a religion? Sharp thinking was necessary to survive and being resourceful was mandatory.

But alas, The replies from the High Command via the buffoons in the villa were always the same: “Resources are being deployed. Maintain your position.” But Braimah knew where the resources were. He had seen the photos of the new mansions in Lakeview, Abuja, owned by men who had never heard a shot fired in anger. He knew the “superior firepower” touted in the morning press releases was sitting in a shipping container in Lagos, held up by a kickback dispute between greedy politically inclined morons and the compromised analogue generals who have become their partners in crime and corruption.

“General,” his adjutant whispered, pointing toward the tree line. “The scouts didn’t return.” how could they have returned? They had already been betrayed by some rehabilitated sons and daughters of Satan with the blessing of the NSA and his clowns in control of the nations security apparatus a long time ago.

Braimah reached for his rifle. It was a decades-old weapon, the ubiquitous AK 47? its barrel worn smooth. He knew the political will to end this war didn’t exist; a forever war was too profitable for the men/agbayas in flowing agbadas, multi million naira watches and their paramilitary gang members in well starched khakis who the general answered to. If the insurgency died, the “security votes”—those unvetted billions—would vanish. After all, the dirty, stinky, drug addled vermin known as Boko Haram are the prodigal sons of some of the hierarchy as well as the politicians. These boys are cash in the bank as it is and so must be protected and supplied more than the military itself.

Then, the darkness erupted.
The terrorists didn’t come with swords; they came with brand-new technicals and night-vision goggles—gear better than anything Braimah’s men possessed. The General sprinted toward the front trench, shouting orders that were drowned out by the screams of boys holding jammed rifles.
He picked up a Light Machine Gun from a fallen soldier, but after three bursts, it seized.

The procurement officers had bought “refurbished” ammunition that was actually decades-old surplus. “Request air support!” Braimah roared over the thunder of RPGs.
“The jets are grounded in Maiduguri, sir!” the comms officer yelled back, tears streaking his dusty face. “They say there’s no fuel budget cleared for night Sorties!”

Braimah looked at the sky, vast and empty. No air support? No night time drones? It wasn’t the enemy that had defeated him. It was the ink on the diverted contracts and the shrugs in the air-conditioned boardrooms of the capital. He stood tall, a silhouette of defiance against the muzzle flashes. He was a lion led by sheep, a guardian sold for a percentage. As the perimeter collapsed, he didn’t retreat. He fired his sidearm until the slide locked back. By then the scene must have looked like a scorched earth with bodies strewn across each other, blood and dust mixing with bullets and shrapnel as the constant staccato of gunfire mixed with Islamic chants by the evil killers of his colleagues rent the air, getting closer, and closer by the mili second?

The last thing Oseni Braimah felt wasn’t the sting of the bullet, but the “cold weight of a betrayal that started a thousand miles away from the battlefield in an air conditioned suite in the villa and freezing office in the MOD.” The desire to gaze upon the faces of his beautiful wife and kids once more must have driven him to jump into the last remaining MRAP vehicle in order to save himself and the wounded left alive to try to salvage their dire situation and protect us the citizens who slept underneath the covers while simultaneously living in order to fight another day?

But alas….it wasn’t meant to be…”oga the MRAP has no fuel and the engine is faulty?” What manner of government allows a red neck to be in charge of a command with such a logistical nightmare? The Nigerian government of course. Better to turn our brightest and bravest into sitting ducks in borno for the bandits as long as the allowances can be exchanged in zone 4 for dollars but not sense!

The next morning, the DHQ would release a statement praising his “heroism” and “the military’s successful repelling of the attack.” The mansions in Abuja would remain quiet, their walls thick enough to drown out the sound of the desert wind while also buck passing in order to avoid any form of official scrutiny. Maybe tomorrow morning the mong from bourdillion would hurriedly fly into an airfield in Maiduguri for 10 minutes to extol the virtues of my red house brother and his fallen comrades in arms as he did in jos? He would make his usual regurgitated speech about “never again or we will crush these bandits?” He may also demand that they bring omos twin brother and his grieving wife and kids for a photo op? To show that he cares? Typical.

Mr President , your high command and your useless Boko Haram trainee ministers and the safari suit wearing boy scout from kaduna . You have all sacrificed an innocent man’s life and that of his brave platoon with your incompetence, blinding stupidity and lack of political will to face this menace head on. Nigerians are now on par with somalians as regards to insecurity and it is all happening under your bleary-eyed watch.

The betrayal of all the remaining red necks and their subordinates rests on your shoulders. May all of you responsible for the current state of this nations capitulation choke on your wealth and die off in penury after being haunted by the visions of all those who have been sent to the upper room by your inaction greed and lack of foresight.

As for “Le deux, tallest, Omo bee and the general?”…..I wish you a peaceful journey
I will see you when it’s my turn . Rest in peace……Salute.

[“The final betrayal of a red neck” is a SEMI BIOGRAPHICAL EPITAPH written by me based on the events of the last 24 hours of oseni braimahs life, as a dedication to his bravery and that of his men, the current inefficiency affecting our nations military offensive against terrorists in nigeria, the debilitating federal corruption as well as our 32 year association via our journey through the hallowed halls of CSSKD”]

© God of words productions. 2026