A book supply company, Narungo Nigeria Limited, has donated books, academic journals and electronic resources worth over ₦5 million to support the restoration of the library at Kano State Polytechnic following a devastating fire incident that destroyed the facility about two months ago.

Speaking during the presentation on Tuesday, the Managing Director of Narungo Nigeria Limited, Bashir Danladi Garba, said the donation was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility and commitment to supporting education in Kano State.

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According to him, the fire disaster prompted the company to intervene by providing learning materials to help restore the institution’s library resources.

“We donated a collection of books, academic journals and e-resources valued at over ₦5 million for the restoration of the library. Our target is to contribute to educational development in Kano State because we believe it is our corporate responsibility to support the sector,” he said.

Receiving the donated materials on behalf of the Kano State Government and the management of Kano State Polytechnic, the Commissioner for Education, Ali Bukar Makoda, expressed appreciation to Narungo Nigeria Limited for the gesture, describing the intervention as timely and significant in restoring the institution’s learning resources after the fire incident.

Makoda commended the company for complementing the government’s efforts to strengthen the education sector, noting that the donation would go a long way in supporting teaching, learning and research at the institution.
He also called on other corporate organisations, philanthropists and well-meaning individuals to emulate the gesture by investing in the education sector, stressing that government alone cannot meet the growing needs of educational institutions.

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On his part, the Chairman of the Nigerian Library Association (NLA), Kano State Chapter, Malam Nazir Muhammad, said the association played a key role in facilitating the donation after learning about the incident.

Muhammad, who is also the University Librarian of Khalifa Isyaku Rabi’u University, recalled receiving a call informing him that the polytechnic’s library had been completely destroyed by fire.

He said members of the association immediately visited the scene and confirmed the extent of the damage before notifying the National President of the association.

“We visited the library and discovered that it had been burnt to ashes, resulting in the loss of a significant amount of knowledge resources. We sympathised with the management of Kano State Polytechnic and the Kano State Government over the unfortunate incident,” he said.

He explained that the association subsequently reached out to book vendors and partners across the country to seek support for rebuilding the library.

According to him, Narungo Nigeria Limited responded positively by committing learning resources worth over ₦5 million to assist the institution.

Muhammad described the donation as a demonstration of the strong partnership between librarians and book suppliers in promoting education and preserving knowledge.

On measures to prevent future fire incidents in libraries, he said the association regularly organises workshops and sensitisation programmes for librarians.

He noted that librarians are consistently advised to ensure that electrical appliances are switched off after closing libraries and to observe all necessary fire safety precautions to minimise the risk of fire outbreaks.If you have the name of the Kano State Polytechnic official who received the donation or the exact date and venue of the presentation, I can incorporate those details to make the report more complete.