Memo To Citizens of Kano

 

As fast growing city, with the largest population on African continent, Kano is experiencing social issues resulting from rapid urbanization. In the late of 2015 through 2016, the city experienced series of fire disaster which culminated in the deadliest inferno in Kano’s history, raging shops and businesses at Abubakar Rimi Market, Sabon Gari Kano. It took the city hours to fight the outbreak.

  

The incident left a gruesome sight, and thousands economically hopeless. Soon afterwards, officials started searching solution, though there has never been preemptive measure and response strategy to fall back in the wake of such incident.

Urban pressures force the city to experience bout of disaster year in, year out. Like other fast growing cities across the globe, Kano struggles with issues of flooding, transportation, crime, drugs, healthcare, agriculture, growing desertification, increased population and scarce opportunities. Boko Haram insurgency has considerably crippled commercial activities. Until recently, the city witnessed frequent social unrest.

Kano has the capacity to shake off stress and bounce back from a disaster. Visiting the Abubakar Rimi market would depict how resilient the city is. Few months after the inferno, activities resumed, things taking up shape singlehandedly by the traders themselves with no intervention from without.

But the fear is busy streets, large population, commercial centers, active citizens with resistance capacity would all amount to nothing without measures in place.

This is where I want to draw readers’ attention. And I hope each and every one would benefit.

When you live in a society where problems are too many, you just get to be naturally interested in finding solutions. You will be sniffing for places the Guardian UK described as “mutually beneficial hub of experience.”

I was in a roundtable discussion some time ago with a panel of sociologists, economists, town planners, transport industry experts and political scientists, billed to talk to participants on the application of knowledge and ideas that could help governments and communities manage affairs in time of hardship, develop resilience capacity, disaster control mechanism, stress and shock.

I had no idea then what this is called in professional terms. I did not know there has been any systematic study on this. I didn’t know a foundation called Rockefeller exists, selecting cities and “helping people around the world become more resilient to physical, social and economic shock and stress.”

Hear the Rockefeller:

“Crisis is the new normal for cities in the 21st century. Because of the collision of globalization, urbanization, and climate change, not a week goes by that there’s not a disruption to a city somewhere in the world: a cyber attack, a natural disaster, or economic or social upheaval. Meanwhile, cities face acute stresses, such as poverty, endemic crime and violence, or failing infrastructure, that weaken a city over time.

“While cities can’t predict which disruptions will come next, they can plan for them, learn from them, and generate additional benefits through the same investments, such as opportunities for economic growth or improved parks for city residents. In other words, they can achieve “resilience dividends” that can make cities better places to live not just in times of emergency, but every single day.”

Although I had no idea, but everything said in that meeting, speaker after speaker, was so familiar to me I was quickly swallowing the points. These are things happening in Kano. I easily related to them.

The experience changed my life forever and opened me up to new dimension, to see hope where none exists.

The workshop rekindled my hope in Kano. Immediately afterwards, I started thinking how to help build a huge economic zone, vibrant and sound media and intelligent business community. I have worries when it comes to consumption, we provide the biggest markets for companies across Africa and beyond and still remain the losers.

I began thinking that in our plan to move Kano forward, we need to produce crop of educated tech-savvy youth in years to come.

But my hope is a bit dented for at least some three reasons. Before I mention them I must acknowledge the inspiring work Mallam Rabi’u Shamma and his team are doing on this front. They are setting a model for governments and private citizens.

  

1)

Our people don’t even know the age in which they live. It is not that there is not great number of youth population on the Internet. But what are they doing?

They don’t concentrate on outsourcing skills and cutting-edge ideas. That is why when I get to town it cuts through me to hear people say “Kano ko da mai kazo an fika.”

They are never aware we are left behind centuries. If people know the modern trends, not posting photos on Instagram which they religiously and passionately do, they would have stopped parading Kano as giant.

2)

Lack of awareness among our people, what you may call Yan Kasuwa. I think we don’t have smart guys here who understand the power of industry. All we have is a bunch of dealers, retailers, and importers who think they are killing by earning little while the producers go with cool cash, rolling their eyes gleefully after beating our people.

Think of anything from the category of soft drink and pasta to biscuit and sweet. You will realize none is produced here. We are throwing huge money away. And we are not even on top of our own farming business. What are we here for on earth? Others are inching to beat us in it. Have you ever packaged tomato from this part? We simply don’t know how to go about things in this age.

I shudder in horror to realize we consume more than we produce. You know there is a problem, great one, when such phenomenon dominates your economic space. Spending more than you earn!

Go to sea ports, the overwhelming majority of people there are likely to be from here. While others are sending their people to train abroad and get hired in Google, our people are sending their children to Bara. Meanwhile, other people somewhere are attracting Mark Zuckerberg’s attention to invest in their tech businesses. Pundits’ prediction points that the next Nigerian billionaire would not come from oil as online business holds firm grip on economy.

We don’t have online shopping mall created here. We don’t have media power, we don’t have platform and advocacy centers with strong presence on the Internet. We are left behind in everything.

These are the signs of 21^st century cultures and civilizations. We need some courses in economic power structure to learn how to drag favour and benefits to our side. But we cannot achieve that with an army of beggars.

We cannot continue like that. We must fight begging until it is defeated. We can’t be weighed down by pessimism and defeatism. We can’t get stuck in shackles while others are moving.

3)

Lack of political will.

I think the least said here the better.  We all know how things are in respect to the intention and philosophy of people in government.  It is extremely painful how these people you call Yan Baka in the media become the source of wasting huge fortune, and how stupidly their paymasters in government, who set them up, are dancing to their tune.  These semi-literate people became influencers of government policies. The painful thing is that they are local Messi. Once outside, they become invisible and empty. That is why somehow I love Kwankwaso. That is why somehow I loathe Shekaraus’s approach to governance for running government as charity, making things free-for-all, everyone dipping their hands to the till according to their position. That is why I somehow dislike Ganduje for being too attendant to the politicians and their silliness.

I have pretty good ideas. Just walking around Kano will present you opportunities on how to make the state great. We have the greatest deposit of manpower more than any other African country I know of. We can harness these resources and create formidable economic structure. We will just set the tune and allow people to go ahead on their own. I can give you one example.

Most businesses in Kano are operating in informal sector. Incorporating them would help document business transactions, retain financial values and strengths and economic indices would pick up right here. For every single naira deposited by a Kano trader for a company somewhere, the economic value and indices would appear in that state. And we will forever show economically backward in government registry.

Look at the scraping business, or what you call gwan-gwan.  Nowhere that I know of all over Africa it is done like here. The Indians are here, but the companies are elsewhere in other states building their economy.

While we recognize that the problems are foundational, stemming from poor policies by past governments, we should not accept this as excuses to leave things unattended. Lack of money shouldn’t be an alibi. That is why you are there as a governor. To find ways for our problems. And you must think like someone at policy level. Every achievement and accomplishment have their firsts. They did not create themselves. 

We know that you can’t accomplish this catalogue of policies in your regime or even witness them in your lifetime, but history will always remember you is you do the right thing of setting the tune.

There is the need for the state officials to tap into various opportunities, to cooperate with development partners for cohesive community, better and integrated development.

In the Rockefeller program, Enugu was chosen some time back.  Kano was there in 2015 for the Rockefeller Foundation 100 Resilience City Program. This year, Lagos state made to the list. But after crosschecking, I am yet to find any evidence pointing to the Kano’s selection.

Put your people to work, Governor, explore every bit of opportunity, here and elsewhere to move communities forward. We are glad you have an information manager who has got a head that could not mistake Blackberry for some kind of exotic fruit. Ask him to explore ways we can apply for the Rockefeller Foundation Program proper. It is free of charge, really. The benefit is big if someone would care.

Am I not writing this one free of charge?