The apple does not fall far from the tree, it appears. In Kano State, this timeless idiom is proving spectacularly true. Only recently, the state government bid farewell to about 1000 indigenes of the state who were going to India and Uganda for their post graduate education.
It continues a laudable legacy which started under Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a two-term former Governor of the State whose strides in education will not be forgotten in a hurry. It Is really no surprise that like Kwankwaso, Abba Kabir, the present governor is toeing the line of his predecessor and mentor.
During the last election, while Kwankwaso was the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in a failed bid to be president, Abba Kabir succeeded in his quest to be Governor. Although his election was nullified by the State Election Petition Tribunal, there is widespread belief that even if the election is conducted a further ten times in the state, his popularity would leave other candidates licking their wounds.
Immediately after his swearing in May 2023, his decision to go on a demolition job in the state capital stirred up controversy. The demolitions which reduced structures worth billions of dollars to rubble were perceived to hold more promise as political vendetta than any tangible benefits for the good people of Kano State.
This feeling was recently validated by the decision of a Kano State high court which awarded damages worth billions of Naira to a party who had gone to court. When it is considered that the judgment debt would come from public funds, the decision to demolish indiscriminately seems like a pathetic policy failure.
But with the governor, it is not all about poor decisions. In fact, in prioritizing education much like his predecessor and mentor, Kwankwaso, the government is bequeathing a priceless legacy to the people of the ancient commercial city.
Education illuminates the mind and liberates people. In the course of man’s journey, education has been shown to wield an invisible hammer that breaks even the strongest of chains.
Kano State recognizes that it has a problem, and it is doing all it can to address that problem. According to UNICEF, the state has about 989,234 out-of-school children. Expectedly many of them are girls.
To address this, the state is giving a stipend of 20,000 to 45,000 girls to encourage them to go to school and stay in school. The state is also building more schools to absorb out-of-school children.
In a country where many public officers would rather fritter away public funds leading spending sprees to other countries, engaging in debauchery, or sowing chaos in their states and other states, those responsible for Kano’s public purse are showing the kind of ancient wisdom that befits an ancient city.
Nigeria’s many concerns started or at least became intractable when the country began to neglect quality education.
In the course of human experience, education has long shown its power as an unmatched equalizer. Especially for girls, education has long proven to be a weapon in the fight against poverty, inequality, and injustice.
Education remains in a state of flux in Nigeria. Across many states, education, especially in public schools, continues to suffer scandalous neglect.
Classrooms with neither chairs nor windows, decrepit buildings with disgruntled teachers and disillusioned students all point to a sector in disrepair.
The current government of Kano State may neither be the most prudent nor the most proactive, but in following the path of its predecessors to prioritize education, it has a lot to teach other governments in the country.
In a country where confusing academic credentials have become the mark of high office, there is a wealth of lessons to be learnt from Kano’s laudable example and experience.
Rather than sink money into bogus programs, and white elephant projects, state governors should rather invest in education. It is the best way to secure the future.
Kano’s lesson is likely to largely go unheeded in a country where public priorities are often riotously misplaced.
As for those governors who would rather use public funds to foment trouble and create chaos in other states in the name of dubious party politics, Kano state’s example risks exposing them for whom they are-dubious frauds.
Kene Obiezu,
