Inside Kano common facility centre

Maimuna Usman Isa, an undergraduate student of Applied Biology at Bayero University Kano (BUK) combined study with learning handcraft in case her certificate could not fetch her employment. She said she would like to be occupied by her craft even after graduation. Maimuna, 25, is among many undergraduate students that are undergoing training on shoes […]

Maimuna Usman Isa, an undergraduate student of Applied Biology at Bayero University Kano (BUK) combined study with learning handcraft in case her certificate could not fetch her employment. She said she would like to be occupied by her craft even after graduation.
Maimuna, 25, is among many undergraduate students that are undergoing training on shoes and bags making at Common Facility Centre Kano (CFCK) located at Kwanar Sharada.
Maimuna’s plan was to open her own shop. She said: “I want to be an employer not employee after graduation. With this small business I can help my husband in so many ways.
“Time for anticipating job from government is over. Everybody has to look for alternative way of earning incomes. This kind of small craft is enough for a woman to take care of children and even help others”.
The level 400 Applied Biology student has been learning the shoes and bags making at the centre for three years now, she said their major challenges were lack of market and electricity supply.
She said people from within and outside the state patronized their products, adding that “we also display our products on social networks for interesting buyers. And this marketing strategy is really selling our products.
“People from Sokoto, Kaduna, Borno, Jigawa, Zaria, Kebbi, Zamfara and Gombe among other states do put their orders whenever we show our products on the social networks,” she said.
Maimuna therefore appealed to government to equip the centre by providing them with modern machines that could ease their work.
Another trainee, Hajiya Khadijah Abdullahi who spent only two months at the centre learning how to make shoes, said she would make the craft her personal business.
She said: “I was a dealer of this centre’s products for five years before I later developed interest in learning how to make shoes. I have already learnt how to make the shoes and now I am into bags making”.
Muhammadu Nura Zubairu popularly known as Dan-Nasarawa was also a trainee at the centre. He said he joined the centre in 2013 and had completed his training but he was retained to train others.
“I have trained many youths at this centre. We have over 2,000 trainees at the moment.
Youths from far and near do come to the centre for training.
Dan-Nasarawa, a secondary dropout, said he started the shoes production business with less than N1,000 but now he had a capital of N30,000 and he had been taking good care of his family with little earnings from the trade.
“Our major challenge is market and capital. I need a capital of at least N500,000 to boost my business because if you have enough capital you will not have any problem as far as this business is concern,” he said.
Dan-Nasarawa lamented that activities of insurgents in the North East were hindering efforts of the centre from marketing its products in the region. The region was one of the areas where the center’s products could sell well.
The CFCK was established in 2010 by Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau led administration but commissioned in 2014 by Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, the immediate past governor of the state.
The center was built to train youth on various crafts with a view of making them self-reliant after graduation and it has two sections designed for training of prospect entrepreneurs.
At the moment, the center is being run by Kazaci Shoemakers Development Association, a conglomeration of various unions of shoemakers in the state.
To make the center effective, Kano state government and United Nation Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have provided modern facilities to the center, thereby making training easy to the trainees.
Kano Chronicle learnt that about 2,000 youths are undergoing different trainings on shoe and cap making at the center under the supervision of the association.
Interestingly, most of the female trainees are graduates who decided to combine their degree certificates with a craft or two for a better future. They are undergoing training on shoe, cap and bag making at the centre.
In an effort to boost activities at the centre, the Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC), has also donated variety of raw materials to the Centre last week.
The Director of Cluster Development Department of the council, Hajara Yahaya Tanko, who presented the items to the centre, said the council had been donating materials to the centre to facilitate production of quality leather products.
She said the items donated include gums and variety of processed leather materials adding that the gesture was aimed at facilitating activities at the centre.
Mrs. Tanko said the gesture would enable the centre to generate more employment opportunities to the teeming unemployed youths in the state and beyond.
Speaking further, the Director explained that the council was focusing on developing a good marketing strategy to attract buyers to the Kano leather products.
Chairman of Kazaci shoemakers Development Association, Kano, Alhaji Yusuf J. B. said the association had 180,000 members.
Yusuf commended the RMRDC for the donation to the centre, assuring that the items would be utilized judiciously.