By Inuwa Waya
Elites are typically understood to be a small, powerful group that controls or leads society. They include government leaders, financial experts, academics, politicians, and top corporate executives.
Let me state ab initio that this article has no political undertone and is not aimed at promoting or demoting the interest of any individual or political party.
It is also not within the realm of polemics. It only narrated the challenges and prospects for the development of Kano as a state within the Federation. This piece did not single out a political party or a particular administration for condemnation or commendation.
• Kano state was created in 1967 from the old Northern Region, seven years after Nigeria’s independence of 1st October 1960.Under the leadership of the late Police Commissioner Audu Bako, Kano State’s first 5-year development plan (1967-1975) focused on transforming Kano into a modern city with good roads, potable drinking water, electricity, irrigation, and other infrastructure.
He and his elites team did their very best to lay a solid foundation for the socio-economic transformation of the young state. These group of elites were honest, God-fearing, hardworking and patriotic. Their modus operandi and modus vivendi were strictly guided by official protocols and religious beliefs.
They believed their participation in government was a call for service that would enable them to contribute significantly to the development of their people. Kano state rapidly progressed under the direction of these men and women of proven integrity and unquestionable character.
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• The early educational system adopted by the state was one of the best in the country. The academic and extracurricular activities in government-owned primary and secondary schools and colleges were designed to impart academic knowledge and instil a culture of respect for law, order, and constituted authority.
In addition to core academic subjects, children were taught various skills, including metal work, wood work, and technical drawing in early years to make them self-reliant. Expatriate teachers from all over the world were employed to teach in secondary schools, while qualified Nigerians from every part of the country managed primary education.
I recalled from 1976 to 1978, when I was in Forms one to two, except for few subjects meant for Nigerians, all my teachers were recruited from the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. It was from 1978 that our college started recruiting teachers from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and faraway countries like the Philippines and Jamaica. Sports, recreational facilities, career guidance and counselling, and full medical facilities were available to everyone for free.
School libraries and science laboratories were fully equipped with books and instruments for practical classes. Exercise books, textbooks, and writing materials were given free of charge. The school fees were negligible and therefore affordable to parents and guardians.
•Ninety nine percent of the secondary schools were boarding colleges. Students were given mattresses, pillows, blankets, bedsheets and had three square meals a day. Bar soap and detergents were distributed at the end of each week for students to wash their uniforms. All student uniforms, comprising of jumpers, kaftans, trousers, shirts, caps, vests, and short knickers, were given to students free of charge.
Confectioneries for tea making were given on a monthly basis. At the end of every term, students were given what was called pocket money and journey money. Each student received these payments to make them comfortable at home.
During the holidays, students had the opportunity to read and borrow textbooks from the main Kano State Library and from the British Council Library located inside the city. These libraries were fully equipped with up-to-date textbooks, journals and reference books.
We must note that even the non-boarding schools enjoyed many of these privileges. The girls’ secondary schools and girls’ teacher training colleges had their own packages. The system provided broad educational opportunities for children in the state, irrespective of class or gender. Basic schools, technical colleges, teacher training colleges, and science secondary schools were located in various local governments. Matters of education were managed by qualified civil servants at the Ministry of Education and the Kano Educational Resource Centre.
In real terms, there was no difference between government and privately owned schools. The government paid all associated examination fees to WAEC and for the Grade ii teachers’ examination. Students who passed their examinations were enrolled in tertiary institutions within and outside the state. There was no official patronage.
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• At the tertiary education level, which includes undergraduate studies, Kano state students were given government scholarships covering examination fees, tuition fees, and upkeep allowances up to graduation. Depending on the profession, government jobs were available before or immediately after the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). That was how we were educated and guided to choose our respective career paths.
• Kano state was known for its agricultural development. Available lands were provided for farming, grazing, and animal husbandry. Dams and river basins were constructed for irrigation. Not only did Kano provide food to other parts of the country, the state also exported agricultural products to neighbouring West Africa. Food and dairy products were available and affordable.
Urban and rural dwellers were fully engaged in farming including on a small scale in their backyards. There was a robust water distribution pipeline network supplying potable drinking water to eighty percent of households. The WRECA, the main agency in charge of water, effectively and efficiently controlled all the water dams at the Challawa, Tiga, Kadawa, and Danbatta river basins. The agency was even providing consultancy services to some northern states and the neighbouring Niger Republic.
• In order to enhance tourism in the state, the hospitality sector was given a major boost. Daula Hotel in the Kano GRA was opened. In the outskirts of Kano city, Bagauda Hotel ( giant in the sun) and Rock Castle Hotels were commissioned for guests interested in Country side visit or a picnic.
All these hotels provided services similar to the ones the five-star hotels provide today. The hotels were equipped with lounges for conferences, workshops and seminars. Guests ranged from airline crew, tourists and conference attendees.
The Kano Zoological Garden was opened to promote wildlife in the state. The zoo was populated with wild animals imported from other African Countries. These animals were well fed and looked after by a team of specialist veterinary doctors.
The zoo was regularly patronised by guests and locals. Elsewhere, in the GRA, there was Magwan Water Restaurant. An amazing place for lunches, dinners and cocktail parties. Department stores owned by the multinational companies opened their bases in the state.
Leventis, Kingsway, Challerams, Bata, Bhojsons and G. B. Olivant had their branches operating in the city. International airlines such as KLM, Lufthansa and British Caledonian ( Airways) had their sales offices at air booking centre on Bank Road. The Nigerian Airways was also there.
Tourists regularly patronised the local dyeing sites, Kano Museum, Dan Hausa house, Kurmi Market and Dala and Goron Dutse hills. There was always an inflow of tourists for the spectacular Dabah horse riding during each Sallah celebration.
• Government policies on commerce and Industry provided incentives for various manufacturing companies to set up their operations in Kano. All the industrial areas of Dakata, Bompai, Sharada and Panshekara were busy producing and employing local labour. There was sufficient water, electricity and road networks to ensure smooth operations of these industries.
They pay their taxes as and when due. The products of these factories such as textile materials, plastics, confectioneries, aluminium, detergents, soaps and many others, were consumed locally and by the neighbouring Countries. Even those economic activities that operated at a subsistence level such as weaving, local baking and carpentry, recorded modest successes.
Kano truly became the centre of commerce with major economic activities taking place at Sabon Gari, Kurmi and Kantin Kwari markets. Singer joined the club later.
• In the health sector, primary health care and community health were effectively and efficiently managed. Expatriate doctors with different areas of specialisation were recruited to run the government-owned hospitals. Government hospitals were equipped with medications and state-of-the-art equipment. Consultations and medications were given free.
Outreach medical centres were created in different parts of the city to make it easy for people to access medical care.
In terms of community health, the state handled the responsibility of disinfecting and fumigating the community. Health inspectors were dispatched (duba gari) to all nooks and crannies of the state. Their main task was to enforce public health through mass enlightenment and awareness. Street sweepers wore uniforms, and garbage was collected and disposed on schedule.
• The old Ministry of Works and Housing was in charge of civil servant quarters, both government-owned and rented. The Housing for All scheme was conceived, and the Kundila Housing Estate, Zaria Road, and later Kundila Zoo Road Housing Estate were constructed as pilot projects.
• Local government administration was very accountable to the people. The secretariats were always busy with full administrative work. The chairmen, secretaries and heads of departments reside in the local government and only travel out of the village over the weekend.
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• The traditional institution was revered. It has a long history and was hierarchical in nature with a clear command structure. The people were proud of their existence as a symbol of culture and tradition. The institution was insulated from partisan political activities.
• The security architecture was very robust. There was synergy between the state government and the security outfits all of who were controlled by the Federal government. In the overall sense of it, the security agencies did their best by ensuring that law and order were maintained. The security of lives and property were relatively guaranteed.
The security agencies operated strictly under the rules of engagement and were trained and equipped for the task of protecting lives and properties. Destruction of lives and properties were reduced to the barest minimum.
• The predominantly Muslim population of the state tolerated one another, and there was virtually no major disagreements between the different religious affiliations. Religious tolerance was practised at the highest level.
• From the middle of 1970th, things began to take a different dimension. The elites who rendered selfless service and provided purposeful leadership began to outgrow the system because of age, years of service and policy changes. They began to exit the system and gradually handed over the mantle of leadership to the younger generation.
Upon taking over the reins of leadership, the new crop of elites exhibited a different approach to governance. The concentration of power and government wealth in the hands of the few resulted in the pursuit of misplaced priorities and the channelling of government resources to unproductive ventures.
Year in, year out, lack of financial prudence in managing government resources resulted in the gradual decline of state institutions. The government could no longer meet its financial obligations. In the educational sector, expatriate teachers were asked to leave upon the expiration of their contract of employment. Government expenditure on education was drastically reduced.
All incentives given to students were stopped. The government could no longer feed students and therefore closed all boarding schools. Teaching facilities gradually became obsolete without replacement.
Science laboratories became out of solutions. Technical workshops no longer maintain their machines. School buildings fell in ruins as a result of a lack of maintenance. Libraries became empty with almost all the books carted away. Teachers’ morale was dampened due to low salaries and the absence of a clear career path. That was the genesis of the decline in the quality of public schools in the state.
The development resulted in the proliferation of private schools operating with total disregard to laid-down rules and regulations. Acute poverty and the need to provide for themselves and their extended families led the children of the downtrodden masses to drop out of Western and Islamic schools. The gradual decay continue unabated.
• In the agricultural sector, loans, grants and other incentives given to the farmers to till the land were frustrated and politicised. Corrupt practices pervaded the purchase, supply and distribution of fertilisers such that it became no longer economical for the peasant farmers to purchase. The government fertile agricultural lands were allocated based on political considerations.
Natural and man-made disasters were not promptly attended to. Importation of modern farming implements were severely curtailed. Irrigation systems collapsed because the dams were not given proper attention. Majority of the international donor agencies left in frustration.
The campaign for self-sufficiency in food production became a mirage. Farmers continue to operate at a subsistence level. A heap of garbage replaced the famous groundnut pyramid in the city.
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• The health sector witnessed gradual decline in quality and quantity. Hospitals became mere consulting clinics without diagnostic equipment and medications. Doctors, nurses and midwives spent months without payment of salaries and allowances. Frequent health workers’ strikes affected the smooth operations of hospitals.
This was compounded by lack of adequate funding, monitoring and auditing. Health care facilities became overstretched, and the workers were overwhelmed. No sufficient water and electricity supplies to run the hospitals. The poor maintenance culture resulted in the collapse of the infrastructure required to sustain the health management system. Health care delivery in the state ultimately became a nightmare.
• The local government system began to be falling apart. Their administration and anything that appertains to them were characterised by a lack of probity and accountability. Inept local government administration contributed in no small measure towards societal moral decadence.
Juvenile delinquency has a direct bearing on the collapse of the educational system at the local government level. The total number of out-of-school children from Kano is a little over one million. This is an estimate from the National Bureau of Statistics. The numbers are more when the dropouts are added. A significant chunk of these children of the downtrodden ended up as street urchins and hooligans.
They became political mercenaries recruited to attack, maim and even kill the innocent at the behest of the elites. They commit all sort of atrocities under the influence of drugs and money. They adopted a deviant culture and are proud to be variously called Yandaba or YanJagaliya.
The future of these children was completely jeopardised. Those who received little education were recruited for another dirty job. In the name of online politics, unemployed youth were given cheap mobile handsets and a stipend to purchase data in order to abuse, harass and blackmail perceived political opponents. Instead of becoming chemists of ideas, their thinking was diverted to abusing elders, leaders of thought and even those who are determined to emancipate them from exploitation. Their abuses know no bounds because they are propelled by the little they receive.
They are deluded and therefore unable to make critically thinking. The category of youth who felt the system had nothing to offer to them decided to migrate to the southern parts of the Country in search of greener pastures. With no formal education, they resort to menial jobs as motorcycle riders, labourers, house help and watchmen. Others resort to street begging while a handful of them engage in petty trading of selling suya, cigarettes and herbal medicines.
The brave ones take on the demeaning job of hunting bush meat and playing with hyena and snakes in the markets. Sadly, what was stated in the preceding three paragraphs typifies the lifestyles of the majority of our youth. Nobody, not even do-gooders, are talking about the menace, let alone seek for solution. These are the children of the poor, the peasantry and the downtrodden who deserve quality education, good job and good life. The system failed to create equal opportunities for all. Nepotism in whatever form or shape only leads to acrimony and disenchantment.
Our elites should note that it was the fear of such disillusionment that led their predecessors to give equal opportunities for all and sundry. It is therefore incumbent upon them, irrespective of their political affiliations, to serve with heart and might.
They must imbibe the principles of natural justice, equity and good conscious. They must work to create an open and accountable society where no man or woman is oppressed. They must eschew corruption and maladministration. They must heal the wounds and scar of the past.
They must aspire to establish a durable and stable society. They must provide leadership by example. They must exercise power and authority with decorum and in accordance with the constitution. They must inculcate the habit of sportsmanship and have it in mind that acquiring power and authority should not be a do-or-die affair. This, in particular, has to start with electioneering campaigns.
These campaigns must be conducted in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity. There should be no violence whatsoever. There should be no attempt to interfere with the conduct of elections. Elections must be free, fair and credible, and its outcome must be accepted by all.
Those who do not agree with the outcome should file a case before the election tribunals. There should be no attempt to influence the outcome of the case at the election tribunal.
The verdict of the election tribunal must be respected, and appeals if any, should be filed on time and again, no attempt should be made to influence the outcome. Once appeals are exhausted, whichever party loses should prepare to provide constructive and not destructive opposition. Opposition is necessary in a democratic setting because it completes the circle of checks and balances.
Overheating the polity by brewing revolt against the constituted authority is not a healthy opposition. Ditto for attempt to annihilate or hold the government to the jugular.
The opposition should therefore be organised in such a way that the government must act in the interest of the larger society. The party that won the election and formed the government has greater responsibility.
They must organise the government and put in place a mechanism that would get rid of practices that run counter to established rules and regulations. Going forward, the important task before them is to reform the civil service. It is not easy to reform an institution that has suffered long years of neglect in terms of discipline, promotion, welfare and accountability.
Civil service reforms should begin by restoring all rights and privileges in order boost the workers’ morale. The government should organise seminars and retreats for civil servants to refresh their memories and renew their vigour. Civil service rules and regulations should be printed and distributed to all workers.
All categories of civil servants must be trained on information technology (IT) and be given access to computers, printers, photocopiers and projectors in order to enhance their productivity. Government offices must be renovated and essential working tools such as tables and chairs must be made available to staff.
Workers’ salaries and allowances must be paid as and when due. The government should boast of having well well-trained and motivated workforce. Workers must report to the Office on time. Laxity and absenteeism must not be tolerated. An electronic attendance register should be opened in government offices to take attendance.
Dress code must be respected. Government assets entrusted in the hands of any worker must be jealously protected and accounted for at any given time. Civil servants must be monitored and supervised, and appropriate disciplinary measures must be taken against any worker that is found to be wanting or in breach of laid-down rules and regulations. The government must issue online and hard copies of policies against bribery and corruption and offenders are liable to investigation and prosecution in accordance with the laws of the land.
The civil service reforms should be followed by incorporating international standards in procurement, accounting and auditing. These standards would curtail waste, leakages and stealing of public funds. The government would than be able to make a realistic development plan regarding infrastructural deficit in electricity, road networks, traffic lights, drainage systems, food sufficiency, and potable drinking water. Government functions should be streamlined, and it’s spending drastically reduced.
Contracts should be given only if there are budgetary provisions for them. Expenditure on travelling, refreshments, vehicle procurement and maintenance must be reduced to the barest minimum. All cash empowerment programmes should be abolished in order to eliminate the waste and corruption associated with it. Ditto for empowerment with chickens, goats, wheelbarrows, sugarcane, bicycles, motorcycles and cars. Government funding of marriages should be halted.
Government donations should strictly be for natural disasters and health matters. State taxation laws should be reviewed to remove all impediments, such as double taxation and unrealistic estimates. Revenue generation processes must be automated. Payments to Government agencies must be through designated Banks.
All payments for government contracts must be properly certified by qualified experts from the government and counter-checked by private sector experts operating as consultants. Private weddings should no longer be funded by the government.
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• Education should be given priority. Dilapidated schools should be renovated and equipped with modern teaching and learning equipment. Teachers must be qualified. They must also be subjected to periodic training.
Vocational training colleges should be equipped to produce artisans and experts on joinery, motor mechanics and the rest of them.
The state Universities, polytechnics and colleges of education should be fully equipped and funded. Foreign scholarships should be limited to courses that are not available in Nigeria.
Students who show exceptional qualities should be recognised and encouraged with awards that will have a meaningful impact on their lives. Adult literacy programmes should be restored for the benefit of our elders.
• Water is life, oh yes, water is life. Steps should be taken to address the lingering water shortages in the state. Adequate water supply is imperative in reducing infectious and communicable diseases. Water is also needed for the operation of the manufacturing and industrial sectors. Ditto for irrigation.
• The disposal of liquid and solid waste must be given serious consideration. Garbage collection and disposal in and around the state is necessary to guarantee good health and urban beautification. Machinery should be set in motion to fine-tune the processes of converting waste to wealth through recycling.
• Electricity supply is a sine qua non for development. The state government should immediately go into a public and private partnership to increase the electricity supply in the state. Independent power Companies should be given incentives to set up power plants.
• Health they say is wealth. The physical and mental well-being of the people is essential for their existence. The health sector must be revitalised to live up to expectations. Community health must be restored.
• Other infrastructural facilities that require fixing are road networks, drainage, markets, juvenile homes, orphanages and homes for the handicapped.
• Transforming a system is not an easy task, and therefore should not be left to the government alone. Parents have a role to play in guiding their children and wards. Many parents require counselling themselves. The Islamic scholars have a duty to tell the government and the people the truth.
The Hisbah, the Sharia Commission and even the Zakat Commission must be in the front burner in preaching for people to eschew corruption, violence, treachery and all vices that threaten the foundation for peaceful coexistence. People must be tolerant to one another and must respect the plurality of our society.
Every hand must be put on deck to deal with the menace of drug abuse, child delinquency and child trafficking. The society should stop celebrating criminals, corrupt people and the morally bankrupt. Honesty, discipline and integrity should be our guiding principles.
These are the steps that must be taken for the progress and development of our dear state. Cleansing the society and eradicating poverty and illiteracy requires sacrifices. We must do what other people did in order to make progress. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Slow and steady wins the race, while patience and perseverance give courage. We should translate our dream into reality. The societies that we respect and admire started from somewhere.
The resilience and the determination of their people led to a major breakthrough. The tiny Gulf states of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates developed in happiness and prosperity through the vision of their leaders and followers. Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Indonesia have passed the threshold and are therefore on track.
• In conclusion, I salute the Kano people for their endurance. Our people are magnanimous and accommodating. Over the years, the state has been the humble abode of different ethnic nationalities, including those from the diaspora.
The people understood the diverse nature of the universe. All residents in the state freely speak their language and practice their religion.
People are allowed to exercise their civic rights. Islam is deep-rooted in the state, and our people are devout Muslims. Our humility and simplicity are based on the teachings of Islam, which is the religion of peace. We have peace, we cherish peace and will continue to have peace insha Allah.
Finally, I write this piece on my own free will and volition. The views expressed are entirely mine and mine alone. There is no political ambition. This is about the future of our children and our children’s children.
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