Re: Kano government owing N3bn tuition fees – Ganduje

Kano State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, was reported in Daily Trust of last Friday to have complained that the immediate past government of Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso had distorted the scholarship programme it had introduced under which it sponsored hundreds of students abroad. He said as a result of the development his government currently […]

Kano State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, was reported in Daily Trust of last Friday to have complained that the immediate past government of Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso had distorted the scholarship programme it had introduced under which it sponsored hundreds of students abroad. He said as a result of the development his government currently owes N3 billion tuition fees to foreign universities, according to the publication.
“For one year, the government did not pay a single kobo as tuition fee for our students studying abroad. Right now, Kano State Government owes these students about N3 billion. And our revenue is dwindling, so we will be cautious in handling the situation.” The governor stated this when he received some members of the General Association of Northern Nigerian Students based in Egypt.
He said as enlightened people he expected the students to understand the situation, but warned that if they decided to complain publically that the previous government sponsored them while his own failed to do so he would be forced to expose “everything”! This came as a surprise because, unlike many other new governors who shortly after assumption of office on May 29th complained about being handed over empty treasuries, Dr Ganduje did not say he had any problem with the treasury.
Nevertheless, he did hint that there wasn’t much in the treasury to write home about, but rationalized it by saying the projects on ground justified the expenses incurred. Now that he is complaining publically and even threatening to expose the profligate manner in which the government was ran, it is obvious that he is also facing some gargantuan financial crisis.
Apparently weighing the enormity of the problem and its implications to him as governor, he said “no right thinking person will joke with the education of the populace.” If that is so, and the governor does not really want to joke with the future of the next generation of our people, he should please spare time to visit GTC, Tiga, where hundreds of students spend the night in darkness and stay for two or three days without water to drink.
Meanwhile, the government is being widely criticized by the people due mainly to its alleged lack of vibrancy. They are disenchanted because they had expected a significant improvement in the way government is being run. For instance, civil servants and pensioners did not expect continued delays in payment of their salaries and pensions.
Other disappointed groups include students who had to return home from abroad due to non-payment of their tuition fees and living allowances, not to talk of those still suffering there whose representatives visited the governor last week. In fact, the recent sacking of over 2600 sweepers of the Refuse Management and Sanitation Board (REMASAB) widened the scope of indignation.
Actually, the state government which hitherto was known for its prudent management of resources would have been able to wade through the precarious financial crisis being faced by some states in Nigeria if it were not for the over-ambition of our immediate past leaders, which was however self-serving as their main focus was winning the next elections. They should take the blame for our woes today.
Halima Ja’afaru, Tal’udu, Sabon-Titi, Kano <[email protected]>