Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State said his administration is working deliberately to break away from the circle of despair, poverty, insecurity and youth restiveness which described as products of bad leadership.
The governor who spoke during event to mark Nigeria’s 63rd independence day celebration at Sani Abacha Stadium, Kofar Mata, said, they are determined to look to the future with hope, belief and careful plans devoid of the encumbrances of the burden of the past.
According to him, in the four months since his assumption into office, some bold steps in ensuring security of lives and properties have so far been taken citing cases of phone snatching and street crimes as examples and have become history.
This is the day our heroes brought us joy and freedom- Abba Kabir Yusuf
He added that his government has re-opened all institutes for skill acquisition for the purposes of equipping the teeming youth with soft and hard skills as well as empowering them with startup capital to start their SMEs and contribute to the development of the State and nation.
Furthermore, he added that decisive steps to overhaul the Education and Healthcare sector have been taken with Schools being renovated in batches with free uniforms, schools bag, learning materials and shoes distribution at pilot stage.
To support girls-child education and encourage parents to send their daughters to school, we are issuing stipend of 20,000 Naira to over 45,000 girl – child as a pilot scheme to support them to continue schooling. We are also re-introducing the girl – child school buses to transport them to and from schools
However, the Governor lamented that Nigeria’s development and growth ought to have gone beyond where we are today as well as the nation’s cohesion and unity which he believed ought to have been stronger than what it is today.
Governor Yusuf who spoke passionately also added our “security and stability ought to have been better than what it is today”.
“The challenges of unemployment and youth restiveness must be given more attention; the challenges of insecurity and poverty must be attended to with sincerity; while challenges bedeviling education provisioning and healthcare services must be genuinely attended to”.
Here in Kano State, our administration has taken some practical steps to support people at the bottom of the social ladder with some palliatives. We have purchased 99 trailers of Rice, 150 trailers of maize for distribution to the most deserving households.
“The challenges of hunger and malnutrition must be tackled compassionately”, he added.
Abba Kabir extended his felicitation to the state’s senior citizens, Ulamas, security agencies and the entire people of the State and Nigeria wishing them peaceful celebration.