This week, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State has discovered himself within the highlight of nationwide acclaim. As he leads his friends in a uniquely transformative management model, the nation appears to be taking notice with eager curiosity. Three separate honors — from Vanguard Newspaper, Heritage Occasions Journal, and Management Newspaper— have topped him with titles resembling Governor of the Yr (Training), African Governor of the Yr (Good Governance), and Character of the Yr.
The attention-grabbing factor about these unsolicited recognitions is that they got here abruptly from the media trade, which has been identified to be hyper-critical. And this is nothing wanting a validation of purposeful management rising from one in every of Nigeria’s most populous and vibrant states. From Nigeria to Morocco, we all sing one refrain — Kano is Working, Abba is Working.
Nigeria is maybe no stranger to award politics. Some recognitions are much less about rigorous analysis and extra about symbolism — gestures meant to endorse political trajectories or curry favor with energy brokers. However what makes Gov. Abba’s recognitions notably attention-grabbing is the context and timing. Elected in a fiercely contested race in 2023 when he flew the flag of an opposition celebration with hitherto no well-established construction in Kano state or elsewhere, Gov. Yusuf inherited a deeply divided political panorama and a state grappling with overwhelming problems. Youth unemployment, instructional deficits, pension backlogs almost plunging the state right into a social safety disaster, and basic infrastructural decay had been at their peak. The state was marked by a fancy mixture of quickly rising city slums, financial underdevelopment, rising debt, pervasive corruption, public frustrations, and lethargy in governance. Folks had misplaced hope, and nothing gave the impression to be working. From day one, Gov. Abba made it clear that governance wouldn’t be enterprise as normal. His early strikes, together with an aggressive push to redress the deliberate missteps of his predecessor and a visual funding in roadworks, road lighting, rural improvement, hospital revival, human capital improvement, and faculty rehabilitation, earned him swift endorsements amongst loyalists and optimism amongst critics. Persistently, Gov. Abba’s administration has proven a placing willingness to confront long-standing inefficiencies and push the agenda of a larger Kano forward of private curiosity or primordial sentiments.
Reforms are identified to be a tough and painful endeavor, and reformers typically get misunderstood earlier than the dividends begin rolling out. For Abba, management is a terrain he was born into — he wears it, speaks it, breathes it, and lives it. From sanitizing the procurement course of according to due course of and international greatest practices, prioritizing transparency and accountability in applications focused at decreasing poverty indices, and large deployment of social reinvestment applications to an bold plan to arrange at the least one useful well being facility per political ward that might run 24/7 providers — one should submit that even Mahathir of Malaysia could be envious. Having labored intently with Gov. Abba over the previous 3 months, I’ve seen and discovered the seven habits of extremely efficient folks straight from his motions. It’s little marvel that the nation is now starting to see the nice but unassuming chief he’s made up of. The dexterity with which he handles the fixed nuisance of rejected Abuja politicians, who’re hell-bent on distracting him to pull Kano down, earns him common respect.
I don’t wish to spill the beans. However because the Yankees would say, “You ain’t seen something but.” The good issues that may come throughout Gov. Abba’s tenure won’t solely daze you however redefine the idea of servant and visionary management in Nigeria. Wait till you see him commissioning 2,000 megawatts of electrical energy to allow the revival of our moribund industries. Wait till you see him driving the 5-year funding technique to draw at the least $10 billion in international and native investments in Kano. Wait till he opens the large land and water banks for particular agro-industrial processing zones. Wait till you see him giving Kano a brand new grasp plan toeing the trail of Dubai. Wait till you see him making Kano nice.
Congratulations, Sir! Might we dwell lengthy to witness the actualization of your dream for Kano state. Whereas we have a good time the testimonies from the media trade, we glance ahead to the favorable verdict from the lecture rooms, the markets, and the streets of Kano itself.
Mr Musa is a particular adviser to the governor of Kano State on well being providers. He may be reached by way of muazamusa@yahoo.com
