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Building Safer Families, Brighter Futures for a Greater Kano remains our priority – Gov. Abba Kabir Yusuf.
A government is judged by how it treats people who have little power, a widow with no income, a survivor of violence, a child without a family, or a person living with a disability. By this measure, the work of the Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs, Children and People with Special Needs deserves a closer look. Under Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, Gwamnan Aiki (the Working Governor, who works day and night and delivers results people can see), the Ministry is doing work that is quiet and hard to count, Roads and bridges are easy to photograph, Social support is not, yet this is where the true character of a government shows.
Good social programmes begin by knowing the people they serve, The Ministry has visited 44 Women Development Centres and 22 cottage industries across the state to learn what they need. It has also supported government workshops to train social workers, in addition, it has checked more than 50 public facilities to see if they are easy for persons with disabilities to use, this work is not exciting, but it replaces guesswork with facts, and every other programme depends on it.
For women, the results are clear, at the inception of the Administration, two Technical Working Groups have been set up; one on menstrual health and hygiene, and the other on gender equity and women’s empowerment. These give the Ministry lasting structures, not one-time events. About 10,000 powered green stoves have been secured for women; They help families at home and also protect the environment, Training and money have reached 400 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and the plan is to reach 500 soon. For a woman who has lost both safety and income, new skills and start-up money make recovery possible and easy.
The administration also cares more about children, every six months, food is bought for five social homes, and this has continued since the government began. Children at the Remand Home in Goron-Dutse receive essential items and recreation, Trafficked children have been rescued, Skills training and school support were given to 100’s rescued Almajiris from Sumaila and other areas of Kano, who were found in Abuja. One strong example is the graduation of grown-up children from the Nassarawa Children’s Home; Some received job offers, and each one received ₦200,000 to start or grow a business. Leaving a children’s home is a hard moment for many young people, a government that plans for it is thinking beyond photographs and or political or ceremonial events to exhibit this success.
Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are also moving closer to the centre of policy, A Department of PWDs has been set up, and the Ministry is encouraging people to register; Registration matters because what is not counted is rarely planned for. The state also aims to empower 1,000 PWDs. Days such as International Women’s Day, Family Day, Children’s Day and International Spinal Cord Injury Day keep these issues in public view. Partners such as UNICEF, dRPC, Save the Children, RoLAC, the Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative and Bridge Connect help the state to do more.
The Ministry’s buildings are also growing, a sign of massive infrastructural work to achieve the governors’ vision; A transit centre has been built at Gaya, an extra hostel at the Nassarawa Children’s Home, and a solar-powered borehole at the Ministry’s headquarters, The Gyadi-Gyadi Women Development Centre has been renovated, and the Social Welfare Office there has become a State Diversion Centre, Clinics are being built at the Remand Home and Torrey Home, and nine official vehicles have been repaired. A Diversion Centre at Sabuwar Mandawari is under construction, and approval has been given for the Kofar Ruwa Women Skills Acquisition Centre. In all, these are more than ten projects that give the Ministry the tools to do its work.
Many of these achievements are described as firsts.
Supporters of the administration and Ministry officials say that programmes of this size and range have not been recorded since Kano State was created in 1967. In their view, never before has one ministry run so many women’s empowerment, child protection and disability programmes at the same time, with an existing infrastructural strides and data backed planning to achieve scale.
In spite of these successes, it is too early to adjudge that all of Kano’s social problems are solved. Poverty, gender-based violence and child vulnerability are deep and old phenomenon in human existence, and hence require sustained investments, Hundreds or thousands of beneficiaries are welcome, but the support must grow until it reaches every local government area. The real test is whether it lasts. Will empowerment grants become lasting livelihoods? Will the diversion centres and clinics have enough staff and good maintenance? Will the pending laws be passed? Citizens should ask these questions, and the Ministry should welcome them for a greater governance results.
From the work so far, it is fair to say that Gwamnan Aiki, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, treats social development as a core duty of government, not as charity or a privilege; Empowered people, inclusive societies and a stronger Kano are not just words on a poster. They are results that must be measured over time. If the current pace continues, and later governments protect these new institutions, Kano can become a state where families are safer, children have a future and no citizen is left behind, this is part of the administration’s wider promise to build a Kano that is first in all dealings and a first for all.
These commitments also fit the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)- the 2030 A gender for sustainable Development Empowering women and SGBV survivors supports SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 1 (No Poverty), Skills training and the ₦200,000 business grants support SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), The 10,000 green stoves support SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), The new clinics and the menstrual health group support SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being). The Department of PWDs and the accessibility audits support SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), Child rescued and diversion centres and stronger laws support SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). Finally, collaboration and partnership with UNICEF, Save the Children, RoLAC and other partners supports SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). In this way, Kano’s local actions are not in isolation of the global realities for attaining not just Development, but sustainable Development in a way and manner the whole world has agreed to reach the goal.
Bello Adamu is a policy and development studies expert, writes from Kano, Nigeria
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