By Bashir Mohammed
Kano
Kano state Deputy Governor, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar has said that the investment of the state government in education is part of strategies to efficiently manage its increasing population.
Hafiz said educating indigenes of the state was a meaningful and realisable approach to develop people who can cope with emerging demographic problems.
“Investment in education is better than other ad-hoc measures. We are investing in education because the more your people are educated, the more they become aware of the need to handle population issues well”, he stated.
He made the assertion while enquiring from some members of a delegation, comprising 19 senior military officers and civil servants from the United Kingdom Royal College of Defense Studies, who visited Kano as part of their study tour to Nigeria.
The deputy governor said the population of the state at the time of its creation in 1967 was no longer the same hence, the need for the people to understand that the land mass would not expand to accommodate a growing population.
Hafiz also said that the state government, through the contribution of DFID, had deepened capacity to generate funds to address development issues explaining that in the past two years, its internal revenue has grown by almost 300 percent.
The team leader, Maj. Gen. Craig Lawrence, explained that the visit was to enable them assess how nations achieved prosperity, security and stability, adding that the delegation had found the tour to Nigeria extremely useful in view of the country’s rich culture, opportunities and ability to confront its numerous challenges.
