KANO is a state with a storied intellectual heritage. For centuries, it has been a beacon of scholarship from its connections to the ancient learning centers of Timbuktu to the legacy of its emirate schools. Knowledge is not just an asset here, it is the very soul of our identity. And libraries, vibrant, living libraries are the heartbeats of a society.
A state library is more than bricks and mortar stacked with dusty books. It is where young minds find direction, where researchers dig for truth, where professionals seek clarity, and where ordinary citizens feed their curiosity. It is where a culture of reading is cultivated, where the next generation of thinkers, innovators, and leaders are shaped.
Kano once prided itself on the Murtala Muhammad Library Complex, a monumental edifice envisioned to be a citadel of knowledge, innovation, and inspiration. Today, however, if we are brutally honest, it stands more as a ghostly shadow of its glorious promise.
Walk through its halls and you are met not with the vibrant hum of learning, but with dusty shelves, dimly lit corridors, neglected infrastructure, and empty tables where students once sat with their books and dreams. The low patronage itself tells a sad story, a society that is slowly letting go of its most powerful tool for progress: access to knowledge.
Our children deserve a library that feels alive. Our students deserve study spaces that ignite curiosity. Our researchers deserve archives that preserve Kano’s history.
Even the American Corner, once a hub of youth engagement, global resources, and internet access, now sits almost abandoned. The very programs meant to prepare Kano’s youth for global opportunities have slowed to a frustrating trickle.
Inside the library lies the Children’s Section, a place that should be buzzing with story circles, playful learning activities, and the laughter of future leaders. Instead, it sits in near silence, understocked, underpowered, and uninspiring. The shelves barely hold enough books. The audiovisual resources are mostly obsolete. Power supply is erratic. The books are outdated and the furniture is barely adequate.
Let’s be honest: when was the last time you, as a parent or guardian in Kano, took your children to the state library? Most of us have not. And that is exactly why this matters. If our children never experience the joy of a library, how can we expect them to grow up with a love of reading?
The Children’s Section should be the brightest corner of the library, where stories leap off the pages, where play meets learning, where curiosity is sparked and nurtured. Right now, it is anything but that.
Reviving the library is not rocket science, it requires commitment, creativity, and collaboration.
This is not just about a neglected building; it is about a state gradually losing its intellectual edge. The revival of the Kano State Library should be a policy priority, not an afterthought.
The government, private sector, and civil society must work together to: repair and modernise the library infrastructure, expand and update the collection of books, journals, and digital resources, develop a functional e-library for the digital generation, bring back programs like reading clubs, mentorship sessions, and youth engagement initiatives and partner with NGOs, schools, and tech hubs to transform the library into a hub of creativity and innovation.
Kano boasts some of Nigeria’s most influential business minds. Imagine if each adopted a section of the library or sponsored a reading initiative, the transformation would be swift and remarkable.
But beyond government and philanthropists, we the people must return to the library. A library lives only when it is used. If we truly want a smarter, more innovative Kano, we must model a reading culture for the next generation.
Kano has never been a place of intellectual poverty, we cannot allow neglect to write that story for us. The library still stands, but every day it remains idle, we lose a piece of our future.
We cannot keep saying “children are the leaders of tomorrow” while giving them libraries that belong to yesterday.
If we can gather thousands for political rallies, surely we can gather readers for book clubs. If we can invest billions in roads, surely we can fix the very place where future engineers, doctors, teachers, and leaders will be inspired to dream big.
This is not just the government’s job. It is a wake-up call to all of us. Let’s demand better. Let’s volunteer. Let’s donate. Let’s use the space and insist that the library becomes a living, breathing hub again.
Because if a library sleeps, a state slows down. And Kano cannot afford to slow down any longer.
Voice, just cleared its throat.
- Kabara is a writer and public commentator. Her syndicated column, Voice, appears on News Point Nigeria every Monday. She can be reached via hafceekay01@gmail.com.