Author: Mohammed Nur

Kano residents lament lingering water scarcity
Kano residents lament lingering water scarcity
Scarcity
By Muhammad Nur Tijani
Kano, June 11, 2024 (NAN) Some residents of Kano metropolis have expressed great concern over the lingering water scarcity in the city.
A cross-section of the residents, who spoke on the situation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Tuesday said that the situation had lasted for about one year.
They said that it had caused them untold economic hardship.
They appealed to the State Government to quickly come to their rescue.
NAN reports that the areas mostly affected include Kano Municipal, Dala, Nasarawa, Taurauni, Gwale, Kimbotso and Fagge Local Government Areas (LGAs).
A resident of Dakata in Nasarawa LGA, Tanko Idris, said the water scarcity had persisted for about a year in some areas with no solution in sight.
Idris said that he was worried that the problem had lingered without any solution by the government.
He said: “I am a petty trader and I have seven children. I buy a cart of six jerrycans of water for N1,200 on a daily basis.
“Government spends billions of naira on over head bridges, flyovers and interchange projects.
“Why not channel part of the money to provide water for the people?”
Also, Baba Ali of Tarauni area said that the situation had made life unbearable for most families in the affected areas.
Ali said that families now relied on unwholesome water from vendors, in spite of its impurity and health risks.
“The taps have not run for about nine months to one year in some areas and the few available hand pumps are overstretched.
“Children spend several hours in the queue waiting to fetch water.
“We are experiencing difficulties in accessing clean water in Kano,” Ali said.
A resident of Fagge LGA, Aisha Isa, described the situation as disheartening, saying that they struggled to find alternatives to public water supply.
Isa, who called for “urgent government intervention”, said that she was spending an average of N1,500 daily on water.
A civil servant in Kumbotso, Saleh Musa, also said that the situation was overwhelming and taking too long to solve.
“Authorities concerned should look into our plight and find a way to address it immediately because water is life and we need it to survive,” Musa said.
He further said that he used five carts of water in less than a week, which cost him N1,500.
A bank worker from Gwale, Muhammad Nura, also decried the situation, saying that water vendors hiked the price of water per cart by about 100 per cent.
Nura said that residents were buying a 25-litre jerrycan of water between N100 and N120 as against the former price of N50 and N60.
“We are left with no option than to patronise unwholesome water from the vendors even at exorbitant prices.
“I urge the State Government to declare a state of emergency on portable water supply,” he said.
Efforts to get the Commissioner for Water Resources, Ali Makoda, to react to the ugly development, were unsuccessful.
However, a top ministry official, who pleaded anonymity, said that government was aware of the crisis and was making efforts to tackle it. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
MNT/BEN/USO
Edited by Benson Ezugwu/Sam Oditah

June 11, 2024
Kano farmers laud FG, partners for providing climate-resilient crops

Crops
By Muhammad Nur Tijani
Kano, June 8, 2024(NAN)Some farmers in Kano State have commended the National Centre For Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), Crop Trust and German Development Bank(KfW) for providing them with climate-resilient crops varieties.
The farmers gave the commendation on Saturday during NACGRAB’s seed dissemination exercise to Germplasm User Group on Saturday in Bagauda near Kano.
Jummai Gadzama, a female farmer from Bagauda, commended the agency and its partners for their impressive gesture.
Gadzama said that she recorded a bountiful harvest after cultivating the improved white sorghum.
“The seeds I used before yielded small harvests but the seeds I got from NACGRAB and crop trust yielded much bigger and nutritious harvests,” she said.
She also appealed to Federal Government to provide subsidised fertilizer and other farm implements.
Another farmer from Minjibir local government, Salisu Kunya, who lauded the Federal Government’s agency for the gesture, said that he would like to obtain another batch of improved seeds from NACGRAB.
He disclosed that he had, nonetheless, saved part of the seeds for this planting season.
Kunya added the red variety of sorghum he planted for two seasons was very nutritious and early maturity.
“The red variety I got from the agency was very good, matures very early and because of its nutritional value we make baby food with it.
“This variety also is resilient to drought and we like this to be made available on a large scale,” he added.
Mairo Uba, from Tiga, said that she adopted the variety of copwpea as a result of its quality, traits, early maturity, high yields, among others.
“We have also multiplied the seeds we selected in year 2023 and as well disseminated it to other farmers,” Uba explained.
Yahaya Wada, a farmer from Tiga, also explained that the variety of sorghum they harvested in 2022 and 2023 was very productive; good for both human consumption and animal feeding.
“The varieties of sorghum are better compared to our local varieties, because it is resilience to drought,” he said.
Wada also called on the Federal Government to provide subsidised fertiliser for them.
Earlier, Dr Abisoye Ojo, Deputy Director, NACGRAB, said that the programme was a component of user engagement activities within the framework Seed for Resilience (S4R) project which was being implemented in three states in Nigeria namely Oyo, Niger and Kano.
According to her, 150 samples of both indigenous and unique accessions of sorghum and cowpea were planted in order to mitigate the effects of climate change in the country.
Speaking also, the Chief Scientific Officer, NACGRAB, Dr Muyiwa Olubiyi, stressed the importance of crop conservation, saying that it would enable researchers to access the different indigenous crop samples in the gene bank for breeding, particularly in view of climate change.
Olubiyi said that the project had exposed the diversity of sorghum, cowpea and other crops to farmers and other users in Nigeria in order to mitigate the effects of climate change and boost farmers’ productivity and ensure food and nutrition security in Nigeria.
He said that the project was successful based on feedback from farmers and other users.
Olubiyi said that the response showed that the good quality seeds planted yielded well in multiples, compared to the previous years.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

MNT/CJ/
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Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo
June 8, 2024
Kano earmarks N2.9bn to settle NECO, NBAIS exam fees
Fees
By Muhammad Nur Tijani
Kano, May 6, 2024 (NAN) The Kano state government says it has earmarked N2.9 billion for payment of the National Examinations Council (NECO) and National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) examination fees for 119,903 indigent students.
The Commissioner for Education, Umar Doguwa, who stated this at a news conference on Thursday in Kano, said the students passed the 2024 Qualifying Examination.
He said the state governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf has approved payment of the exam fees for students who passed four subjects in the qualifying examination.
The commissioner said the beneficiaries comprise 109,891 students representing 83 per cent for NECO and 10,012 others representing 97.24 per cent for the NBAIS examination.
Doguwa said that N2.6 billion would be spent on candidates for the NECO and N248 million for those writing NBAIS examinations, respectively.
The gesture, he said, would assist indigent students to sat for the examinations and further their education.
“In our effort to ensure that our students got admission to higher institutions, the Abba Kabir Yusuf-led administration paid NECO and NBAIS for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 registration fees inherited from the previous government,” he said.
While reiterating commitment to uplift the standards of education, Duguwa sought support for government’s programmes to address challenges bedevilling the education sector in the state. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
MNT/RSA
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Edited by Rabiu Sani-Ali
June 6, 2024
Kano govt to plant 3m trees to tackle climate change
Kano govt to plant 3m trees to tackle climate change
Trees
By Muhammad Nur Tijani
Kano, June 5, 2024 (NAN) Kano State Government says it has concluded plans to plant three million tree seedlings to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Alhaji Nasiru Garo, the state’s Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, disclosed this at a news conference on Wednesday, to mark the 2024 World Environment Day.
“We were able to plant one million trees last year and we are planning to plant three million more this year, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders like ACReSAL, NGOs, individuals and organised private sector,” he said
Garo, who decried the activities of illegal loggers in the state, said tree felling generally has negative effects on the ecosystem.

The commissioner urged people of the state to imbibe the culture of keeping their environment clean and always avoid felling of trees.
He explained that government would continue to sensitise people, using the media, on best practices of protecting the environment through tree planting.
Garo, however, called on individuals and organisations to plant plenty trees and flowers to help save the environment.
According to him, the state government has sustained clearance exercise of drains and drainages across the eight metropolitan local government areas to prevent flooding.
The commissioner, therefore, warned the people to desist from indiscriminate waste disposal and commit to clearing their drains to avert flooding.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5.
The theme for the 2024 commemoration is “Land restoration, stopping desertification and building drought resilience”. (NAN) (www. nannews.ng)
MNT/AAA/FAA
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Edited by Aisha Ahmed/Folasade Adeniran
June 5, 2024
ECOWAS harmonising framework, policy for its standby force —Commissioner
Logistics
By Muhammad Nur Tijani
Kano, June 4, 2024(NAN) The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) says it is working towards harmonising framework and policy documents for the management of logistics for its Standby Force (ESF).
The Standby Force constitutes the use of force as a last resort if diplomacy fails.
Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, made this known at a four-day workshop to review the documents, in Kano on Tuesday.
Musah, who was represented by Dr Cyriaque Agnekethom, Director Peacekeeping and Regional Security, said that the documents spelled out the logistics requirements by the Troop Contributing Countries, ECOWAS, and other partners.
He explained that the workshop was organised to review and harmonise the documents to address emerging contemporary security challenges.
He recalled that the Commission had earlier recruited a consultant in 2019 to develop the policy and guiding documents for the management of ECOWAS Logistics Depots (ELDs).
He explained that the ESF logistics concept was created in 2005 to provide a platform for the coordination of all key logistics support and procedures for the ECOWAS Standby Force.
According to him, both documents were reviewed during internal expert workshops and are now ready for an independent expert validation.
“The documents are expected to be rich enough to address contemporary challenges and in tune with international best practices.”
The commissioner further said that the logistics concept also provided a conceptual understanding of sustained operations, considering that the dynamics of the contemporary security environment and peace support in the region had continued to evolve.
This, he said, underscores the need to adapt the original ESF logistics concept to accommodate emerging realities.
He added that to deploy the ESF efficiently, when necessary, ECOWAS had established a Multidimensional Logistics Depot in Lungi, Sierra Leone, and a Humanitarian Logistics Depot in Senou, Mali.
Earlier, Dr. Sani Adamu, acting Head of ECOWAS Peace Support Operations, decried the challenges of peace keeping operations over the years.
He said that it was for this reason that ECOWAS decided to put in place an effective framework to enhance the ESF’s deployment capacity.
Adamu said that the overall objective of the workshop was to review and harmonise the policies in line with UN and AU standards of procedures.
He said that the participants would review the logistics concept, existing statutes, policies, and other strategic instruments relating to ESF’s objectives as an instrument for conflict prevention and management.
“It was also organised to update, harmonise, and finalise the policies on ECOWAS logistics bases, in line with AU and UN principles.
“It was also to review and adopt a standard organogram for the ELD, among others,” he explained.
A participant, Mr Francis Babatunde, said the two documents, if reviewed, would enhance the deployment capacity of ESF for strategic roles towards a formidable regional security framework. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
MNT/YEN/FDY
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Edited by Mark Longyen and Philip Yatai
June 4, 2024