“Cancelling or abandoning existing projects and programmes weakens governance and slows progress.” – Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, September 21, 2025.
I WRITE this not out of hatred, but out of responsibility to my state, to my conscience, and to the truth.
I watched Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje speak recently at the send-off of Bayero University Kano’s outgoing Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sagir Abbas. In his speech, he declared that “abandoning projects weakens governance.”
For a moment, I paused. Perhaps he had forgotten his own record. Or maybe he assumed that we had.
But we haven’t. Because in Kano, we remember.
The Discontinuity That Broke Public Trust
What we remember most about Ganduje’s administration is not what he built, but what he abandoned.
Yes, every well-meaning leader knows that continuity is the backbone of governance. Every patriotic government builds on what works, regardless of who started it.
But in eight years of rule, Dr. Ganduje did not just refuse to continue existing projects he actively dismantled them, and with that, denied millions of citizens access to opportunities already within their reach.
Boarding Schools Silenced And Deserted
His government shut down over 20 girls’ boarding schools, including the historic Shehu Minjibir Boarding Primary School, the only one of its kind. Students who once dreamt of becoming doctors and engineers were sent home overnight not because the schools weren’t working, but because they were not his own initiative.
The bilingual schools in Kwankwaso town and Niger Republic were also neglected, throwing away a rare model of regional cooperation in education.
Skills Centres Crushed
He also shut down 26 entrepreneurship and vocational training institutions centres designed to give thousands of Kano youths practical, job-ready skills in ICT, agriculture, metalwork, tailoring, carpentry,Sport, and more.
These institutions weren’t just training centers. They were hubs of hope designed to reduce unemployment, boost SMEs, and support the local economy.
Universities And Polytechnic Starved Of Support
Both of Kano’s state-owned universities Northwest University and Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST) were left without proper accreditation and re-accreditation for core academic programs.
The State Polytechnic wasn’t spared either starved of resources, staff motivation, and institutional reform.
How do you expect students to succeed when even their certificates carry no weight?
Domestic Scholarships: A Silent Denial
It wasn’t just foreign scholarships that were abandoned. The domestic scholarship scheme, which provided tuition and stipends to thousands of indigent students across Kano, was also quietly scrapped.
These were children of farmers, traders, and laborers who depended on this support to survive the harsh realities of tertiary education.
With no announcement and no transition plan, the lifeline was cut. Students dropped out. Families lost hope.
Healthcare Shutdowns And A Promising Scheme Wasted
The Hasiya Bayero Pediatric Hospital, one of the few specialist children’s hospitals in the region, was shut down. Not only was it closed, but it was also earmarked for sale, as though children’s lives were negotiable.
You also shut down the College of Advanced and Remedial Studies in Kunchi, and multiple health science tertiary institutions.
Even the Lafiya Jari scheme, which was designed to help health graduates start clinics, labs, and pharmacies, was killed without replacement.
Instead of creating jobs, your administration erased the means to make one.
5km Road Projects Left To Rot
The 5km road projects one per each local government were a revolutionary idea to bridge rural-urban infrastructure gaps, launched by Kwankwaso’s administration.
Under your watch, they were abandoned halfway, leaving open trenches, incomplete bridges, and roads that became death traps during the rainy season.
They weren’t your projects, so they were denied life.
Foreign Scholarship: From Hope To Humiliation
Thousands of Kano students were sent abroad to study in India, Egypt, Malaysia, Sudan, and Russia under a foreign scholarship scheme. You inherited them. You abandoned them midstream.
You stopped paying their tuition. You blocked their stipends. Some were deported. Others became homeless.
How do you explain this disservice to the parents who sold their farms just to help their children travel?
Mega Cities: Concrete Dreams Now In Ruins
Kwankwasiyya, Amana, and Bandirawo Mega Cities were envisioned as modern, affordable housing schemes. They were meant to end Kano’s housing crisis.
You didn’t finish even a fraction of them.
Now, the sites stand as monuments of stagnation, overgrown and unfinished, just like the promises you never kept.
Abattoir Lands: Commercial Betrayal
The modern abattoir project, established as far back as the Audu Bako era, was systematically stripped, and land meant for butchers was shared among friends and cronies.
You didn’t just sabotage a public service, you commercialized public land for personal gain.
Kafin Chiri Dam Left To Die
A project intended to boost irrigation, water supply, and rural development Kafin Chiri Dam was left to die. The farmers wait. Their crops wilt. Their hope has dried up.
Civic Enlightenment And Educational Dignity Destroyed
The Community Reorientation Committee (CRC) was doing vital work, teaching civic responsibility, peaceful coexistence, and community development.
You scrapped it.
A Party For Politics, Not Public Service
So when I watched you at that send-off party hosted by your wife, celebrating legacy, quoting good governance, I saw not a statesman, but a man chasing personal redemption, cloaked in other people’s achievements.
While you spoke of continuity, the projects you abandoned lie in silence.
While you gave speeches, the students you left behind search for help.
While you collected awards, the youth you ignored stand jobless on street corners.
Let History Be Honest
Let the record show: You inherited dozens of public-interest projects. You abandoned or shut down nearly all of them.
You denied thousands of people access to education, health, and livelihoods, just because the programs weren’t initiated by your hand.
So, when you said: “Abandoning projects weakens governance…” I agree with you. We all do. We just wish you had listened to yourself eight years ago.
The abrupt closure of the textile tailoring clusters across the 44 LGAs under the your administration stands as yet another heartbreaking example of the persistent lack of continuity that has plagued governance in our state. What was once a beacon of local empowerment and economic resilience nurtured through years of collective effort and community investment has now been reduced to silence and rust.
As aptly put and affirmed by every meaningful and right-thinking citizen, this act not only undermines the hopes of thousands of artisans and their families, but also chips away at the very foundation of good governance.
“A people whose livelihoods are swept away without thought cannot be expected to trust in a system that forgets them so easily.”
In Closing
This is not just a political critique. It is a statement of conscience, a record of truth, and a voice for the voiceless.
Still, in the spirit of fairness and respect, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Professor Sagir Adamu Abbas, the outgoing Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano. You served with excellence, integrity, and grace. May Allah bless your future endeavors and reward your dedication to knowledge.
To the incoming Vice Chancellor, Professor Haruna Musa, I say congratulations and welcome. May Allah guide your leadership, strengthen your vision, and grant you the wisdom to steer BUK to even greater heights.
We pray that your tenure brings continuity, dignity, and purpose for the benefit of the university, and for the good of Kano State.
- Sarki, an advocate of good governance and public policy analyst, writes from Zawaciki, Kano.