Governor Yusuf and the Birth of Kano’s Golden Age in Education
There are leaders, after which there are visionaries—those that see past the current, who dream in colors brighter than the daybreak. In Kano, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf stands as a beacon of transformation, his coronary heart beating to the rhythm of progress.
Once once more, his unwavering dedication to training has earned him a prestigious honour—this time, from the New Telegraph newspaper—a testomony to his relentless pursuit of information because the cornerstone of growth.
But awards are mere echoes of impression. The true symphony of Yusuf’s governance performs within the halls of Kano’s rejuvenated lecture rooms, within the sharpened pencils of hopeful youngsters, and within the laughter of younger ladies who now have a seat on the desk of studying.
Education, to him, isn’t just a coverage; it’s a lifeline, a bridge between what’s and what might be. From the second he stepped into workplace, Yusuf’s priorities have been as clear because the northern skies. He made training the crown jewel of his administration, allocating 29.9% of the 2024 price range and an excellent bolder 31% for 2025—exceeding UNESCO’s golden benchmark.
These figures will not be simply numbers; they’re proof of a promise, inked into the very cloth of Kano’s future. And the outcomes communicate. Thousands of lecture rooms, as soon as weary from neglect, now stand renewed, their partitions whispering tales of hope.
Over 80,000 three-seater desks have discovered their method into faculties, embracing over 240,000 college students who as soon as sat on naked flooring. To deal with the ghost of illiteracy, Yusuf has constructed 130 new faculties, distributed 789,000 uniforms throughout 7,092 public establishments, and prolonged the hand of alternative to youngsters who as soon as stood on the margins of society.
Yet, maybe his most poetic stroke is his devotion to the training of ladies. In a land the place custom typically weighs heavier than change, he has turned limitations into bridges, providing N20,000 month-to-month stipends to 40,000 underprivileged ladies—guaranteeing that poverty is not an excuse for stolen desires.
Teachers, the architects of the long run, haven’t been forgotten. Under his management, 5,500 volunteer educators have been granted everlasting positions, whereas 20,500 others have climbed the rungs of promotion. Salary arrears, as soon as a burden, have been cleared—as a result of dignity, too, is a part of training.
His imaginative and prescient stretches past the 4 partitions of the classroom. With N1.3 billion, he has lifted the load of NECO and NBTE registration charges off the shoulders of 57,000 indigent college students, proving that no little one needs to be denied information attributable to circumstance.
Skills acquisition facilities, lengthy deserted to mud and disrepair, have discovered new life—26 of them, together with the Kano School of Informatics and Aliko Dangote Skills Acquisition Centre, now making ready younger minds for a world that calls for each mind and craftsmanship.
The garment business alone is about to start over 63,000 jobs, stitching a future wealthy with alternative. This isn’t the primary time Yusuf has been lauded for his devotion to studying. The Nigeria Union of Teachers as soon as draped him within the Golden Award for Outstanding Performance in Education Reform, recognizing his legacy within the making.
Now, the New Telegraph newspaper echoes that sentiment, a refrain of accolades singing in unison. But awards fade. What stays is the sunshine he has kindled—the numerous minds woke up, the desires rewritten, the legacy etched in ink and motion.
Kano’s youngsters will develop underneath his watchful care, and lengthy after the applause has settled, his impression will linger just like the perfume of rain on sun-scorched earth. For in the long run, a governor is remembered not for the titles he bears however for the futures he builds.
And within the pages of Kano’s historical past, Abba Kabir Yusuf is writing his chapter in daring, unwavering strokes.
Abubakar Idris Musa is a PRNigeria Fellow and writes from Kano