The mandate given to the Governor-elect of Kano state, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, by the people demonstrated the confidence the electorate reposed in him to govern the state in the next four years, from May 29.
This mandate is by no means an honour done to him and the people expect a positive change in the administration of our great state (Kano). Over time, the people have been disenchanted by the state of the various sectors of our economy. This, therefore, is an opportunity for the governor-elect to prove his mettle as expected by the people of Kano.
First is the education sector, which is part of the priority the governor-elect promised to address during his electioneering. Secondary schools across the state, especially outside Kano metropolis, have been converted to day schools on the pretext of security challenges; thereby jam-packing students of such schools in the few and overstretched facilities.
Students, especially in boarding schools, are often sent back home for at least one week due to lack of food to feed them. This is because food contractors are owed millions of naira by the government thereby starving the innocent children. Some of the food contractors have stopped supplying due to unpaid bills.
The health sector is another top priority for the in-coming administration. The dearth of medical doctors in our health facilities should be addressed without delay. Majority of our young medical doctors and pharmacists sponsored by the Kwankwasiyya administration in 2013 who graduated abroad have returned home and without job.
The situation is the same with our pilot graduates sponsored by the Kwankwasiyya administration in 2013 who studied and trained in Jordan but on coming back home there is no job for them because they need to undergo another training to enable them obtain professional pilot license for them to operate.
These young pilots cannot afford the license fee which is put at about N25 million per pilot. Few members of the young pilots are left with no option than to manage teaching appointments in post primary schools across the state.
Another sub-sector that needs urgent attention by the incoming administration is the revenue sub-sector. Activities, especially, revenue collections in this sector are dominated by a select few and their cronies at the detriment of government employed staff who are supposed to carry out such functions.
Provision of basic infrastructure is one of the areas the governor-elect is seen to be more serious about. As a former commissioner for works and housing, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf has proved to be a worthy ambassador of the Kwankwasiyya movement. Projects under his watch were never delayed or left unattended-to through constant supervision both scheduled and unscheduled.
The governor-elect has indeed exhibited resilience, hard work and dedication to any assigned responsibility by his boss. Now as chief executive to be in piloting the affairs of the state, His Excellency Abba Kabir Yusuf would surely revive the prestige of the ministry of works and housing (infrastructure) which in the last eight years is said to be dormant and a ghost of itself as there are no activities taking place there and that its workforce was almost made redundant as there are no projects to supervise or implement on behalf of the government.
The inactivity is not limited to the ministry of works alone as other ministries, parastatals and agencies have their own share of such a doldrums. Many of such government establishments were stripped of their powers or statutory functions through non-allocation of the overhead grants. This problem, if addressed, by the incoming administration of Abba Kabir Yusuf, will ease pressure on the the chief executive towards ensuring smooth governance.
A section of the electorate whose contribution should not be neglected by the incoming administration is the senior citizens (pensioners) who have been suffering over the last eight years as a result of non-payment of their outstanding gratuities.
The incoming administration should make it a duty to evolve strategies of regular settlement of gratuities which run into billions of naira. Although the outgoing administration was blaming the immediate past Kwankwasiyya administration for being responsible for the backlog of the gratuities owed pensioners in the state, that notwithstanding, the governor-elect can still make amends of the “perceived” mistake.
No matter how little, the incoming administration should make provision to reduce the huge amount.
Another significant project which deserves the attention of the incoming administration is the great Wuju-Wuju road project which aims at making Kano city a model in terms of road construction.
In the same vein, the teeming youths in Kano seen to be instrumental and in the forefront in bringing about the desired change should be engaged in further studies and other entrepreneurial and skills acquisition programmes by the incoming administration as done in the past.
These areas highlighted above are few of such to be addressed if possible within the first 100 days of the Yusuf government.
Lawan Isa Bagwai,
Kano.
