Last week Thursday, the Kwankwasiyya Development Foundation held fund-raising in Kano state. According to them, they organized the programme to raise money for Kano state students studying Nursing in Egypt. Before the programme, there was media hype to it. Chieftains of the newly politically motivated Kwankwasiyya Group spent over N15 million in print media advert and radio and television jingles, appealing to Nigerians to come and donate to protect the ‘future’ of the students.
Going by the level of publicity accorded to the event, one would have expected that very important personalities, including Senator Kwankwaso himself would have stormed Kano to donate generously for Kwankwasiyya Group. The reverse was, however, the case as they were able to raise only N41 million! In that well-publicized event, no ex-governor, serving governor, business mogul and or philanthropist were in attendance. The said N41 million announced after the occasion was on account of mere pledges made by ordinary members of the Kwankwasiyya Group, which over 80 per cent of it may not be redeemed.
From my calculation, the 37 students in question who need ‘help’ should be demanding for thousands of dollars to carter for their needs. How far can a mere N41 million go to meet up with their financial requirements? This, however, explains the fact that the newly politically motivated Kwankwasiyya Group organized the fund-raising, not for the interest of the students, but to test-run the political prowess of their leader, Senator Kwankwaso. At the end of the day, it has dawned on them that he is no longer relevant politically, as people have come to understand his antics and game-plan!
To further put the records straight, in July 2017, the authorities of Mansoura University, Egypt, where about 154 nursing students from Kano state were enrolled as part of the scholarship scheme sponsored by the state government, sent a signal that 37 out of the students might face suspension, following their inability to cope with the academic standards of the University. The state government got the information through the Commissioner for Education who doubles as the Deputy Governor, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar. Following this development, arrangements were made to facilitate their return tickets. There were also moves to ensure that they complete their studies in alternative institutions here in Nigeria, since they failed to meet up with the standards in Mansoura University. So, it was decided that they return home after wider consultations.
More so, from the report available to us from the Faculty of Nursing of Mansoura University, the 37 students could not make 2.0 GPA for the two consecutive semesters of 2015/2016 academic year, despite what the report refer to as, close academic supervision and support during their summer semester. However, twelve among the 154 nursing students in that university satisfactorily completed their programme in August, last year and they were given rousing reception by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje’s administration, at least, for making the state proud, while others who are yet to complete their programme are currently studying in the university under the same scholarship scheme, which the Ganduje administration inherited from the immediate-past administration of Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, with huge backlog of unpaid allowances and tuition fees.
It is, however, sad to note that some people are politicizing the whole issue. When the news of the fate of the 37 students filtered in, it was not a surprise that detractors of Governor Ganduje’s administration cashed in on it to score cheap political goals! In fact, they seized it as an opportunity to boost their alleged illicit deals of making money through the Kano state government-sponsored foreign scholarship programme. They launched a campaign of calumny against Governor Ganduje’s administration, making those who cared to listen to them believe that the governor, personally withdrew the 37 Nursing students from the Mansoura University!
There is no gainsaying the fact that the good people of Kano have become wiser. They have under-studied the antics, whims and caprices of Senator Kwankwaso.
When he initiated the foreign scholarship scheme as the Governor of Kano state, Senator Kwankwaso told the world that he had paid hundred per cent of the tuition fees and allowances of the beneficiaries upfront-this was later discovered not to be true! He engaged consultants who were later unmasked as chieftains of the newly politically motivated Kwankwasiyya Group. The Ganduje administration abhors corruption and indiscipline; so, no amount of stampede can force us to subscribe to dirty deals at the detriment of the welfare and wellbeing of the good people of Kano state.
It is, indeed, worrisome as documents and information available to us when Governor Ganduje took over the mantle of leadership in May 29, 2015, that Kwankwaso’s administration owed billions of Naira to the universities where Kano students are studying abroad. This is just a tip of the iceberg of the indescribable debts left behind by Senator Kwankwaso’s administration, amounting to over N300 billion, which Ganduje’s administration is gradually off-setting.
In spite of all these distractions, Governor Ganduje, within a space of two years, spent over N5 billion on sponsoring students overseas to bag degrees, Masters and Ph.D in different disciplines, as well as paying the backlog of debts that piled up on the scholarship scheme left behind by Senator Kwankwaso. Late last year, Governor Ganduje presented scholarship awards to Kano indigenes drawn from the three Senatorial districts, to study for degree programmes at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. Also, Imams from Kano have been enrolled for a two-month capacity building programme by the Egyptian government.
As I write this piece, I am presently in Sudan in the company of the Executive Secretary, Kano State Scholarship Board, paying the 2018 tuition fees and allowances of about 103 Kano state indigenes studying Medicine and Nursing in that country. Already, we have completed 100 percent payment for 2018 academic year, amounting to over N680 million.
Notwithstanding the high cost, Governor Ganduje’s administration will continue to help Kano citizens acquire quality education at home and abroad. Early this month, over N650 million was approved for Kano state students studying in various higher institutions across the country. The money would be disbursed in two trenches.
So, for Senator Kwankwaso and chieftains of the newly politically motivated Kwankwasiyya Group, my advice is that even in the field of politics, there is need to remember God. For the fact that politics is seen by some myopic minds as a ‘dirty game,’ does not mean that you can seize every opportunity to turn white into black. Governor Ganduje became the governor of Kano State through the will of God and the popular demand of the Kano masses who massively voted for him. This explains why we put the interest of the state and the people first in every step we take which is guided by God. Nobody stays in power forever, but what matters is the legacy you leave behind. Kano is working!
Malam Garba is the Commissioner for Information, Internal Affairs, Youths and Culture, Kano State.
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