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INTERVIEW: Why Kano can’t cope with COVID-19 outbreak–Infectious disease expert
Nazifi Dawud
In this interview with KANO FOCUS, Professor Isa Sadiq Abubakar, the Director, Centre for Infectious Disease Research, Bayero University, Kano (BUK) and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), shares his thoughts on the need to prevent the outbreak of the new coronavirus or COVID-19 in Kano state. Excerpts:
Q: It seems that here in Kano, many people doubt the existence of the COVID-19 coronavirus, what do you say to these people?
Professor Abubabar: That is a very costly mistake because it is a reality. We are lucky it started from a very far place, that is China and gradually spread to other countries. So, this thing started in December and we are living witnesses that over the last three months it has been spreading, yet it has not come to us.
But it is a reality that whether today, tomorrrow or another day, it will definitely come to us whether we like it or not. So, the best thing is that we should get out from the state of denial and do the needful.
And one thing I want you to understand is that it is a very dangerous disease that is very easily contracted and people get down with symptoms that could be life threatening because nothing is more important to our lives than the air we breath. If a disease will disallow us from breathing normally, destroy our lungs, definitely it is a very deadly disease and we must do all withing our powers to ensure that it doesn’t affect us.
Q: The COVID-19 is a disease that demands isolation and keeping distance from one another, but with the huge population in Kano and our lack of understanding of the disease, how do you think people can be convinced to abide by the rules.
Professor Abubakar: Please I want everybody who has a means to tell another person that we should keep away from each other for now. I implore everyone to do this.
Everyone should be informed that staying at home is the best way to prevent this disease from further transmission because the more we come together the more some of us will be having the disease and spread it to other people either through droplets from sneezes or coughs.
Very recently, we were informed that when a person passes out the virus during coughs or sneeze, it lasts in the air for up to eight hours. That is a very dangerous situation we are facing and so the best way is to keep staying at home.
People who have symptoms should also stay at home, rest and drink lots of fluids. They should be in a humidified room and when they have fever, they can take paracetamol to lower their temperatures and can breath fresher air than when they are out.
Q: Nigeria has one of the worst healthcare systems in the world, do you think our healthcare system can cope with the COVID-19 pandemic?
Professor Abubakar: It is a fact that even the super powers of the world have done everything humanly possible to contain this epidemic but they are being overwhelmed.
If you look at Italy, United Kingdom, United States, they are battling the disease and their medical supplies are being depleted, they are calling for help, they are helpless. What about us in the African continent, especially Nigeria that has the largest population.
In terms of human resources, we have one of the poorest indices in the world. The performance of our health system is very low and so we do not have a resilient health system. Should this problem escalate, we are going to be in a very serious crisis that people can just fold their arms and not be able to contain it.
So, we are just hoping that it shouldn’t take us to that level and the best thing is for people to prevent because the health system as I’m speaking to you everything is in scarcity. We do not have enough protective materials for the health workers to work with.
This is a disease that doesn’t have a vaccine, so we don’t have the capacity to confront this disease. We are not ready to battle this illness, so the best approach is prevention. And the best prevention approach is keeping social distance and hand-washing with soap and water, good coughing habits, wearing face masks and disposing them properly.
Question: Do you advise the Kano government to ban movement of people into the state through closure of motor parks and suspending domestic flights?
Professor Abubakar: It is up to the government to take necessary measures but what I know is that the coronavirus is a very dangerous disease and government needs to reduce the number of people coming into town.
As of now, there is a plan to screen everybody coming in but at a later time it may reach a situation where people will be stopped from coming in entirely.
Q: What category of people does the coronavirus affects the most?
Professor Abubakar: Well, it affects everybody but the people it harms the most include the elderly, people with diabetes, people with weak immunity like HIV, cancer patients, hypertensive or heart disease patients and others.
My Advice for them is to stay at home, maintain social distance and avoid any gathering while adhering to hygienic practices.
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.
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