Kano community where girls relocate to attend secondary school

Dan Shayi is a community in Rimin Gado Local Government Area of Kano State, some 40 kilometres away from the state capital.

From the bad access roads to a lone health facility built some two years ago with only one bed and lack of potable water, residents of the community continue to lament and cry for dividends of democracy.

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The residents, however, said they are more worried about the fact that for any of their female children to obtain secondary education, such has to relocate from the community because of the lack of a secondary school in the area.

This is at a time the state government has declared free and compulsory basic education across the state.

During a visit to the area, Chronicle observed that the only alternative for those who wish to further their education beyond primary level is by travelling some 20 kilometres to neighbouring communities of Karofin Yashi, Tamawa, Gulu or Yalwan Danziyal.

But as a result of the bad condition of the only road linking the village with other parts of the local government area, students who wish to go to secondary schools have to use bicycles or motorcycles.

This has made it almost impossible for female children to access these schools without having to relocate from of their community.

‘No secondary school here’

“We don’t have a secondary school here. Those who want to go have to trek all the way to Yalwan Danziyal or Kwankwaso (in neighbouring Madobi Local Government) or use their bicycles.

“Some also go there by car after crossing a river, so it is not really easy for ladies to go there. And when it is the rainy season, it is not that easy to get there due to the rivers surrounding us and the road problem.

“I can’t think of any lady that has ever completed her secondary education within the area. Parents who want their daughters to be educated beyond primary level have to take them to other local government areas,” Malam Shehu Sani, the Ward Head of the community, told Chronicle.

Malam Sani said their daughters were willing to study and the parents were not against them studying but for the absence of a secondary school in their community.

“My daughter-in-law for instance has even completed her secondary school, though she had to be going to another village every day,” he said.

Another resident of the community, Malam Iliyasu Abdulkadir, said his daughter is presently studying at a faraway boarding school in Garko Local Government Area.

“But not every father has the will and the financial capacity to sponsor his girl-child to that level. Majority of them marry them off even before completion,” he said.

Even in the four-block lone primary school in the area, Chronicle observed that most of the classrooms do not have chairs while a part of one of its blocks has been blown away by a windstorm.

Also, parts of the classroom ceilings have turned to birds’ nests due to their exposure to direct sunlight and dilapidation.

Aside from the school problem, the village is also faced with other challenges in the areas of access road, hospital, potable water supply and electricity.

“Even you people suffered on your way here due to the road problem,” the ward head said to our reporter.

“We have a hospital there (pointing at the primary healthcare centre in the community), but there are no enough health workers to handle it, no beds, no light or medicine to run it. There are supposed to be three health workers there, but only one is available.

“We usually travel to Kwankwaso or Yalwan Danziyal for treatment. Even for pregnant women who wish to see a doctor for antenatal, they have to travel that distance. In the process, many have been having miscarriages. The only thing our hospital could do is to add drip to patients,” he said.

The community leader also lamented that as a result of having only one bed to accommodate patients, when there is demand from more than one patient, the other has to be laid down on a mat.

“As for electricity, there are only poles that have been erected for years, but we are yet to be connected with the power grid,” he said.

He called on the local and state governments to come to their aid to address the road challenge, which he said was contributing a lot to their educational backwardness.

“The only road linking our village to other communities can only be followed conveniently by bicycles and motorcycles but not cars,” he lamented.

‘We see politicians once in every four years’

On whether they have complained about their predicament to the appropriate authorities, Malam Sani said the only time they see politicians is during elections and political campaigns.

“Politicians only come here once in every four years. When it is time for their campaigns, they will drop their cars at the entrance and use motorcycles to promise us heaven on earth and once they win, the story will continue to be the same”, he lamented.

Dan Shayi community dwellers’ lives depend largely on farming, but even to transport their agricultural produce to nearby markets is often a nightmare.

Several other communities with similar challenges exist in different parts of the state.