What President Buhari saw during his Kano visit

President Muhammadu Buhari has, after all, come and witnessed the giant strides by the administration of Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in nearly eight years in office.

The uttermost grandeur of his stewardship therefore must be the fact that on January 30, 2023, the president did not only arrive in the state in style, but he also commissioned Ganduje’s marvellous projects and recognised the enormity of the developmental impact of the two-term governor.

The visit afforded the president the opportunity to see for himself, how Ganduje has been able to transform all sectors of development affecting the lives of the people in the state and was so overwhelmed that he congratulated the governor for the achievements.

Among the signature projects commissioned by Mr President is the state-of-the-art Kano Cancer Treatment Centre (KCTC). The multi-billion-naira project is meant to bridge the infrastructural gap in public health institutions and is the best in Africa in terms of size and expertise, and even bigger than the Australian Peter Mac Centre, after which it is modelled.

The centre, which is located within the premises of the Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital, Giginyu in Nassarawa Local Government Area, when operational, will reduce deaths from cancer disease. The KCTC project is part of the modest but laudable strides of the Ganduje administration, which is also expected to reduce the burden of cancer treatment and create at least 150 jobs for medical and allied professionals.

It will provide world-class radiotherapy and chemotherapy services to hundreds of thousands of Nigerian cancer patients and will be truly the best in sub-Saharan Africa. The equipment installed is amongst the most advanced in the world and is used in the treatment of cancer as well as power facilities, hospital and office furniture.

In addition to the main services, the centre will house a full research facility to help train a new generation of doctors in both cancer treatment and the practical use of the equipment.

The centre will also allow patients to get specialised and cheap cancer diagnosis and treatment, and it is expected to raise the bar in the quality and standard of cancer treatment in Nigeria with outcomes that would be consistent with the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

Since its inception, the Ganduje administration has adopted policies designed to provide ample opportunities for youth engagement for self-reliance in various fields of development, which informed its decision to establish the multi-billion-naira Aliko Dangote Ultra-Modern Skill Acquisition Centre (ADUMSAC) along the Kano-Zaria Federal High Way.

The centre was established after the government identified gaps in the trades and services, such as electric wiring, plumbing, mechanics, masonry etc, offered in the state which required citizens’ participation. It also discovered that Kano indigenes are left out of the scheme.

ADUMSAC will offer the opportunity for trainees to learn 12 different trades that included automotive mechanics, block work and concrete work, tailoring, plumbing and pipework, electrical electronics, business studies and computer engineering, carpentry, refrigeration and air conditioning.

Others are welding and fabrication, technical drawing, renewable energy and fabrication, metal mechanics, leather work and shoemaking, hairdressing, pedicure and manicure, dressing and fashion design and catering and hospitality.

The 10MW Tiga Hydroelectric Power Project (generation, transmission, and distribution) was started in 2013 during the reign of Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso. The project was, until recently, designed to provide 25MW from the Tiga Power Plant in Bebeji local government and 10MW from the Challawa Gorge Dam in Karaye local government.

However, the Ganduje administration revisited and revised the project to make it realistic and achievable, and the Tiga Power Plant was redesigned to provide 10MW, while that of Challawa Dam was also redesigned to produce 6MW.

The project will power the Tamburawa Water Treatment Plant and metropolitan street lights, which takes away all the burden from the state government of paying utility bills for the Tamburawa Water Treatment Plant and Metro Street Lights.

With the submission of the Kano Master Plan to a wholesale review, it eased the flow of traffic, giving accessibility to as many areas as possible, as well as the impetus for proper planning and implementation of mega ground works.

The plan also seeks to make Kano an urbanised city and to provide the foundation for the growth of other smaller cities, such as the headquarters of the newly created emirates, to depopulate the pluralistic city, which is craving social amenities that include roads, urban expansion, housing, water supply and electricity, among others.

Some of the mega projects the Ganduje administration embarked upon include the construction of flyovers and underpasses, as well as other major road construction/rehabilitation works that dot the ancient city.

These gallant space-age moves to decongest the roads and pave way for efficient traffic flow for enhanced business and economic activities, also make Kano the most amazing infrastructural development spectacle in the North.

These have landed with a massive light-up of the state capital and rapid road modernisation in the state as part of a strategic goal to create a conducive ambience for local and foreign investment in Kano with its teeming population and make the state a 24-hour economy.

It is clear that Governor Ganduje forged on as a two-term governor in the iconic commerce centre and the political capital of the North and is keen on leaving indelible developmental footprints on the sands of time.

The administration initiated and constructed the Muhammadu Buhari Road Interchange at the NNPC Mega Station, Rotary Intersection, Hotoro, along Maiduguri Road, which connects the three local government areas of Kumbotso, Tarauni and Nassarawa.

The road is aimed at easing the disturbing congestion that has become a permanent feature on the ever-busy road that serves as an entrance point to the state capital from Jigawa State, as well as Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states. It also links the southern states through the Western Bypass.

Other projects by the Ganduje administration include the Kano Data Centre which will serve as security infrastructure for the control and monitoring of closed-circuit cameras in strategic places in the metropolitan area, which is situated at the Audu Bako Secretariat Complex; the Command and Control Centre at the Department of Security Service, fitted with software to track mobile phones; and the New Emir’s Palace Chambers in the Kano Emirate.

President Buhari, therefore, made the symbolic touch, appreciating the infrastructure landmarks laid by Governor Ganduje during the visit.

Garba is the Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Kano State