Since its creation in May 1967 by the then military government under General Yakubu Gowon, Kano state experienced different types of governance ranging from political to military one, but, most of the people that governed the great people of Kano have tended to centralize capital projects and ministries within the metropolitan which comprises local government areas like Kano municipal, Fagge, Gwale, Tarauni, Nasarawa, Dala and by extension Ungogo and Kumbotso respectively.

Abraham Lincoln, a former American president propounded a famous definition of politics as a ‘government of the people, for the people and by the people’. Therefore, leaders must remember that the votes of the people are what bring them to their position irrespective of where those people emerged from. Why can’t most capital project and ministries be extended to local governments outside of the metropolis?

In most developed countries, you can only identify the differences between urban and rural areas by location not from the infrastructure and the equality in providing them, the standard of such projects is the same whether they are in the city or not. Audu Bako, though a military administrator is an icon of emulation in that regard, He built the Audu Bako State Secretariat and constructed the Bagauda Dam to Supply Kadawa irrigation for Kano central people, Thomas Danbatta water supply for Kano North and Tiga Dam in Bebeji LGAs for Kano south.

Furthermore, Bako built most of modern Kano’s landmark structure and set the first plan for developing and promoting tourism. The dividing of trade and industry division from the then ministry of finance cannot be over emphasised. There came Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, the first civilian governor who banned the payment of land tax Jangali”, which people throughout the state especially the poor warmly celebrated. He also laid the foundation of rural electrification. Another notable effort is that of Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso in his second tenure as governor, with his incomplete dualization of five kilometers in every local government.

I urge the present government to duly implement its program ‘Lungu Kalkal, Karkara salamu alaikum’, and initiate more projects to at least avoid Urban-Rural politics which vehemently threatened the peace and harmony of Kano in the 2019 general elections. And if possible, some Kano ministries may need to be relocated to local governments outside the city as this will also trigger equality in governance.

 Ashiru Dan’Azumi,

Bayero University, Kano