Lately, Kano State once more led all the APC states in APC Progressive Governors Forum Assessment termed ‘Progressive Strides- Tracking Developmental Initiatives in APC States’. It is a key performance indicator the forum has introduced to encourage healthy competition among the member states.
The indices cut across all sectors of the economy ranging from health care, education, infrastructural development, commerce, youth empowerment, agriculture, housing, transport, environmental sanitation, among others.
As indicated by a letter duly signed by the Director-General of the forum, Salihu Mohammed Lukman and forwarded to the state governors, this is the third consecutive lead by Kano State, which can be translated into ‘Governor Ganduje performs, by far, much better than any other governor in the country.
In September 2019, Kano led the states with 18 strides followed by Yobe State that came second with 14 strides. In October Kano, State won with 19 strides leading Lagos State by one stride. In November, the story is quite different. Ganduje has added free education and youth empowerment to his carry-all-bag of human development. Kano recorded 22 strides followed by Lagos State with 20 strides.
Surprisingly, very few spare some minutes, even the ardent critics of the administration, to ponder on why Kano State for more than three months is leading mega cities like Lagos and many states have not that privilege of being near Kano in terms of socio-economic development. Must people be taught on the basic ideas of human development? Critics, perhaps because of blind opposition, cared not a straw of these modest developments in Kano State.
The forum had its conviction in the administration’s determination to reinvigorate the civil service, improve healthcare delivery and standard of education, empower the youth, create an enabling environment for economic development, among others.
Is it for nothing that APC governors, of late, said: “Ganduje is our pride”? The governors were awed by the Ganduje administration’s vision and sterling leadership qualities. It is no longer news that Kano State has become a reference point in innovative infrastructural development in the country; or the state’s 10 megawatts electrification project has reached 90% completion stage.
The decision by the Nigerian Society for Engineers (NSE) to hold its national conference in Kano in December 2019 was not by accident. It was correlative of the modest development projects Governor Ganduje is executing in the State.
Apart from the fact that the society honoured the governor in appreciation of the inclusiveness of indigenous engineers in the projects going on in the state, the society was in Kano to take cue from what its president, Adekunle Oluminiyi Makuolu called ‘Gandule’s model of infrastructural development’.
Of course, one may be bewildered by the stamps of road networks, flyovers (especially the first of their kind, Dangi and Shahuci flyovers), sanitary, environmental sanitation and the smooth flow of traffic characterizing Kano State today; but in truth infrastructural development is not the only tissue receiving this structural overhaul; almost all the tissues that make up the state are experiencing a facelift of some kind.
Ganduje is very strategic in his model of human development. He knows that infrastructure is a vital part of investment and livelihood. Having achieved numerous feats in infrastructural developments, he tagged the state’s 2020 fiscal year ‘Budget of Sustainable Social Development’, with special attention given to education and health care. Why? There is a significant correlation between health care, education and human development.
On one hand, with free and compulsory education implemented and school fees abolished, the education sector gets the lion’s share of 25% of the total budget and N2.4 billion goes to 1,180 primary and secondary schools. N200 million approved for books and 779,522 free school uniforms distributed to pupils across the state.
Concurrent with the administration’s efforts to integrate Islamiyya/Qur’anic schools into the mainstream educational system and thereby ending the menace of almajiris, a pilot scheme was introduced with 50 mega schools to receive direct funding from the state government and 600 teachers were recruited to cater for the educational needs of the pupils.
Two approvals absolutely captured Ganduje’s model of human development.
I have been waiting patiently for months to hear a formal commendation from within for the modest development Ganduje is putting in place. Sadly, blind opposition is doing great disservice to the state by resorting to propaganda in their futile attempts to eclipse these monumental strides. Instead, the commendations are coming from without.
When the vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo attended the education summit Kano State organized last year, he was speechless.
He said: “Ganduje is triggering educational revolution in the country”. World leaders, educationists, the mighty, powerful – almost everyone – converged in Kano to discuss the state’s educational fate and chart out ways for sustainable quality education. Now all is history. Education is free and compulsory in Kano State.
Two weeks ago, President Muhammadu Buhari described Ganduje as “one of the most patient and calculable politicians” he has ever met and Asiwaju Tinubu described him as “an astute politician with political dexterity, strong administrative acumen and good team spirit”. Both have those complex infrastructural developments Ganduje is executing in their minds.
It is interesting to note that Ganduje is up and doing to attenuate migration from rural areas to the city for medical purposes and is focused in making Kano a centre for medical tourism. He has approved the sum of N2, 543, 819, 588.67 billion for the construction and upgrading of health care facilities at the headquarters of the four new emirates of Gaya, Bichi, Rano and Karaye.
The four hospitals will be upgraded to a minimum of 400-bed capacity facility each. The projects include accident and emergency wards, provision of 22 medical wards, eye centres, dental clinics, laboratory units, mortuaries, road networks, landscaping, overhead tanks, and boreholes, among others.
Also, the governor approved the sum of N4, 238, 855, 671.91 billion for the equipping and furnishing of the on-going multi-million naira state-of-the-arts cancer centre at Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital, Giginyu.
Some of the equipment to be provided include leaner accelerators, CT SIM wide bore, Treatment Planning Eclipse, Mobilization Accessories, EM, Brachytherapy Applicators (set), Aria EMR, 750 KVA Generator, 500 KVA Generator, 160 KVA Generator, among others. In no time Kano will become a centre of attraction to medical tourists.
Youth empowerment? Why should not the Nigeria Youth Parliament held its first sitting of the fourth parliament session in Kano? The Ganduje administration accords so much importance to the youth. The third set of the youth the administration sent to the Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Learning Centre to be trained as auto mechanic engineers have completed their trainings. This is part of the administration’s youth empowerment scheme to address the challenges of unemployment in the state.
The Ganduje administration has built a multi-billion acquisition centre named after Aliko Dangote. 40 professionals in different skills have been employed and will soon depart for UK for training. They are to manage the acquisition centre upon their return.
Armed with this multi-purpose exploits, technical and vocational education, in no time Ganduje will tackle the menace of unemployment and fast-track socio-economic development in Kano State though the so-called opposition elements are averse to admitting these giant strides the administration has recorded during its first and second tenures!
Abdulhamid wrote via abdullahiyassar2013@gmail.com
Twitter: yassara2013
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The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Sky Daily
