Headlines
Finding the ultimate peace: A tribute to Dr Habib Musa Fagge
Dr Muhammad Sulaiman Fagge
I can’t remember the last time I saw so many people, young and old, crying as a result of losing someone. Probably the nearest I can remember was during the demise of the famous Sheikh, Sheikh Ja’far Mahmud Adam, who was murdered while leading Subh prayer somewhere in 2007.
The death of Dr. Habib, an anaethesiologist and a medical consultant with Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano Nigeria, has been a great tragedy which directly touched thousands of people.
Dr. Habib was born around 47 years ago. Born from the family of Alhaji Musan Kwalle in Fagge, Kano, he had his early Islamic education in Fagge, partly in Saqafah Islamiyya and in other places.
He attended Kwakwaci Secondary School and later proceeded and obtained his medical degree from University of Maiduguri. He became a medical doctor who worked with honesty, dedication and for the sake of Allah, Almighty. His qualifications didn’t in any way go into his head or made him feel superior to others.
Throughout the days of his academic struggles, Malam Dr. Habib was truly a hard working servant of Allah who devoted his time, energy, and meagre resources for the sake of humanity.
Dr. Habib Musa was a philanthropist per excellence. He never needed to know you personally before he offered his helping hand. As a government worker, he went the extra mile to help and assist anyone who came his way, and to the best of his ability.
I am a living witness to how he had assisted one of our students, who sought for his assistance. I heard many people narrating how he had also assisted them, paid for their medication and transport fare back home. This is incredible.
Sheikh Bin Usman, on returning to Nigeria from a foreign trip, directly branched at Fagge, Dr. Habib’s family house, to pay his condolence and pray for the deceased. It was there that he narrated and showed a text message which showed Dr. Habib donating more than a hundred thousand naira, just two weeks before his final exit.
People have mentioned a lot of good about him. Thousands of mouths described him as “mutumin kirki” – a righteous person. The mention is too much and too high. As I told his brother, Sheikh Musa Musa that, even his (Dr. Habib’s) family, will never know half of what Dr. Habib did to help others during his lifetime. With all the pouring revelations, these cannot reveal half of what he has done to those in need.
He was a doctor for all! He cared and prescribed cures for his family, friends, friends of his families, friends of friends of his families, and to even those who were not known to him personally. He helped all those who went to him accordingly.
On the 28th of September, 2019, as the President of Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN), Dr. Habib and many other doctors like him, celebrated the day and made it a duty upon themselves to sensitize and make people aware of simple and quick methods of saving lives.
They tagged and gave a theme of “LifeSavers” for the event internationally. Dr. Habib sacrificed the day and chose our two mosques, at Rijiyar Zaki (Assalam Juma’at Mosque) and Dambare (Darul Hamd Juma’at Mosque) for his personal demonstrations.
Dr. Habib was very cool, cute and calm. A right honourable gentle man! You will never see him in the middle of anything! He always chose to be at a side, hardly to be noticed by anyone. He didn’t want to be known unless where necessary. Someone may easily [mis]perceive him as an introvert, not knowing that he can overtake a whole crowd when there is need.
A day after his death, it was said that Lassa fever killed him. This is up to the authorities to confirm, however, Dr. was known to have an ailment which repeatedly put him to bed, almost every year.
“If Lassa fever was the culprit in Dr Habeeb’s death, then it was indeed merciless and evil. It took away the wrong person at the wrong time.”
It didn’t know the right person to be taken. We have no worries whatever as to the cause of his death. We are worried that Dr. Habeeb is no longer in our midst with his charming smile and soothing frame.
After he was buried, people stayed around the grave for a very long time. They just stayed and stared. They didn’t want to leave. I was there wondering and praying for him to answer his questions right! He has truly done that insha Allah. Finally, one his brothers, Malam Adamu Sarki, too weak and crying, stood up and said, “jama’a mu tafi”, and there we left!
His life is a life worth of lessons to be emulated. It was a life of a man who struggled from grass to grace and from the soil to the stars! May we copy and do more than what he did.
May the almighty Allah forgive him. May the almighty Allah make him to be among the dwellers of Jannatul Firdaus. May the almighty Allah make us to have more people like him and more! May almighty Allah give his family, friends, colleagues, all and sundry the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss, amen! Allah Ya sa mu riske ku da alheri, amin. Ina yi wa ‘yan’uwa da kowa da kowa ta’aziyya.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano State Government says it has executed 1,508 development projects worth more than N928 billion across the state’s 44 local government areas since Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf assumed office, with about 80 per cent of constituency projects awarded between 2023 and 2025 already completed.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Commissioner for Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Comrade Nura Iro Ma’aji Sumaila, disclosed this during an international press briefing on the administration’s infrastructure development programme.
According to Comrade Sumaila, the projects cover critical sectors including roads, urban renewal, education, healthcare, security and other social infrastructure.
He said 799 of the projects have been completed, while 709 are at various stages of execution. He added that the state is also implementing 619 constituency projects through members of the Kano State House of Assembly.
The commissioner noted that about 80 per cent of the constituency projects have been completed. However, he said some projects remain unfinished because of rising construction costs caused by inflation.
He said the government has submitted a request to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for an upward review of contract sums to enable contractors complete the affected projects.
Breakdown of projects
Comrade Sumaila said the administration spent over N169 billion on urban renewal projects, including road rehabilitation, drainage construction and other metropolitan infrastructure.
He said another N118 billion was committed to constructing five-kilometre roads in 38 local government areas to improve connectivity across the state.
According to him, the government also awarded contracts worth over N6.8 billion for the construction of Kano State Neighbourhood Watch security divisions in 36 local government areas.
He added that rural infrastructure projects covering education, healthcare and other social interventions across the 44 local government areas account for contracts valued at more than N397 billion, while other ongoing projects have a combined value of about N255 billion.
Commitment to transparency
The commissioner said the Ministry of Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation would continue to ensure compliance with due process and technical standards in the execution of government projects.
He said the ministry’s mandate includes monitoring projects to ensure value for money and prudent utilisation of public resources.
According to him, the administration’s investments in infrastructure are intended to improve mobility, strengthen security, expand access to education and healthcare, improve water supply and stimulate economic growth across the state.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State has emerged as the highest-ranked sub-national government in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for education spending, according to the latest Sub-National Education Spending Index developed by the University of Paris.
KANO FOCUS reports that the ranking places Kano State first among 209 first-level sub-national governments across 15 ECOWAS member countries, underscoring the state’s growing reputation for prioritising investment in education.
According to the published index, Kano topped the rankings with an overall S-WAESI score of 87.21, outperforming other leading regions, including Dakar and Saint-Louis in Senegal. Lagos State was the second Nigerian state on the list, ranking 16th overall.
The assessment evaluated states and regions using the S-WAESI (Sub-National Weighted Aggregate Education Spending Index) methodology, which measures government commitment to education through indicators such as actual education expenditure, spending per student, budget execution, education priority, transparency and evidence-based reporting.
The methodology assigns 35 points to actual education spending, 25 points to spending per student, 20 points to budget execution, 10 points to education priority and 10 points to transparency.
The report indicated that Kano excelled largely due to its strong actual education spending and budget execution, making it the best-performing sub-national government in the region.
The ranking covered states, regions, districts and municipalities across Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde.
Kano State Accountability Forum on Education (K-SAFE) said the recognition reflects Kano State Government’s sustained investment in expanding access to education, improving school infrastructure and strengthening educational planning and budget implementation.
KANO FOCUS reports that the achievement is expected to further boost the state’s profile as a leader in education reform within West Africa and provide additional momentum for ongoing efforts to improve learning outcomes across the state.
The latest ranking comes amid renewed attention on education financing across ECOWAS, with experts increasingly emphasising transparent budgeting, efficient resource utilisation and sustained public investment as critical drivers of quality education.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme after qualifying for a total of $3.5 million in performance-based incentives for implementing key governance, education and healthcare reforms.
KANO FOCUS reports that the World Bank, through the HOPE Governance Programme domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, approved $27 million in incentives for states that successfully met the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results (DLRs).
The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Assad Hassan, announced the incentives on Tuesday in Abuja during a retreat attended by commissioners, permanent secretaries and directors of budget and planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
A statement issued by the programme’s Communications Officer, Joe Mutah, said the incentives were based on the recommendations of the Interim Independent Verification Agent, which assessed states’ performance against agreed reform indicators.
Kano ranked among the highest-performing states, qualifying for incentives under three separate reform indicators.
The state will receive $1.5 million under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.1 for adopting comprehensive guidelines for the preparation and submission of consolidated work plans for the state basic education budget.
It also qualified for another $1.5 million under DLR 2.2, which recognises states that adopted comprehensive guidelines for consolidated work plans for state primary healthcare budgets.
In addition, Kano secured $500,000 under DLR 2.3 for adopting harmonised budget guidelines and a unified chart of accounts for local governments.
Altogether, the state is expected to receive $3.5 million, making it one of the top-performing states under the programme.
Only five states—Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe—qualified for both the education and healthcare planning incentives, earning $3 million each from the two indicators alone.
Kano further distinguished itself by qualifying under the local government budgeting reform indicator, increasing its total allocation to $3.5 million.
The state also featured among 15 states that met the requirements under DLR 4.1, which rewards states for publishing their 2025 Citizens Budget for basic education and primary healthcare by February 28, 2025. Each qualifying state under this indicator will receive $500,000.
Other states that qualified under DLR 4.1 are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe.
According to the programme, the performance-based incentives are designed to encourage states to strengthen governance systems, improve budget transparency and enhance planning in the education and primary healthcare sectors.
KANO FOCUS reports that the HOPE Governance Programme is a World Bank-supported initiative implemented through the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to promote improved public financial management and better service delivery across Nigeria’s states.
Kano says it executed 1,508 projects worth N928 billion in three years
World Cup: Imam warns Muslims against allowing football to distract from worship
Kano ranks best in ECOWAS on education spending index
Kano emerges top beneficiary as World Bank rewards states with $27m for reforms
NCC invites stakeholders to public consultation on zero-rated access to educational platforms
Kano recruits over 16,000 teachers, begins 10-year education reform plan
Kano delegation participates in international labour conference in Geneva
UBEC, UNICEF train education stakeholders on SBMCs in Northern Nigeria
Kano ranks best in ECOWAS on education spending index
