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Huawei donates ICT lab to GSS Danbatta, alma mater of Prof. Umar Garba
Nasiru Yusuf
The Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited has donated Computer Laboratory to the Government Senior Secondary School (GSS), Danbatta, Kano State.
KANO FOCUS reports that the historic school is the alma mater of Prof. Danbatta, who, himself, has consistently implemented many philanthropic and people-oriented projects in his Danbatta community in addition his strides in driving the development of ICT adoption and usage, via numerous initiatives as the country’s Chief Telecoms Regulator.
Speaking at the occasion the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta expressed his gratitude to the company for choosing his alma mater for the important ICT project.
Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta speaking at the occasion
He noted that the facility will not only bring invaluable benefits to the students and teachers of the GSS in Danbatta, but also impact other neighbouring schools.
According to him the school will utilise the tech facility for preparing their pupils for the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and other educational purposes.
He charged the students and others desirous of acquiring for upgrading their knowledge of ICT to avail themselves of the ample opportunity provided by the new facility within their own domain.
Restating the NCC’s commitment toward digitising Nigeria’s economy, Prof. Danbatta said the Commission will continue to be at the forefront of implementing Federal Government’s policies aimed at achieving the goal.
The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the NCC urged stakeholders in Nigeria to support the Commission in its noble quest to ensure ubiquitous adoption and use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), with a view to transforming the nation’s economy.
This is just as the EVC pledged the commitment of NCC to continue to be in the vanguard of implementing the Federal Government’s policies aimed at digitalising the nation’s economy.
Speaking earlier, the Director, Public Relations of Huawei Nigeria, Lola Fafore, observed that the fully-fledged computer laboratory donated to the school is equipped with free 4G internet service for 90 days as well as computer-based testing (CBT) training applications for JAMB installed in the computers for the benefit of the students.
Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, with the Director, Public Relations, Huawei Nigeria Limited, Lola Fafore at the event.
She said, as part of the company’s contribution to Nigeria through corporate social responsibility, the firm would continue to promote digital inclusion, especially through provision of access to technology.
“As a company, Huawei looks forward to making more contributions to Nigeria by supporting the NCC in bridging the digital connectivity divide, training talents, building capacity, knowledge transfer and supporting the process of achieving a fully-digital economy,” she said.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Chairman of Danbatta Charity Foundation (DCF), Nasiru Danguda, commended the NCC for attracting major development projects to the community, thereby opening unprecedented windows of opportunity for the people.
Danguda said, “This is not the first time Huawei is donating this kind of project in Danbatta as Maimunatu Girls Secondary School is also a previous beneficiary. We, the people of Danbatta, are grateful to you and are also proud that we have Prof Danbatta making us proud with his outstanding performance at NCC, which has attracted us to global giants like Huawei.”
Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, NCC (Centre), during the commissioning of the computer laboratory.
Only recently, traditional rulers and concerned community leaders commended Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta for his role in boosting security and supporting other initiatives aimed at stepping up the tempo of development in Danbatta Local Government Area, Kano State and its environs vis-a-vis concerted effort towards national development.
The inauguration ceremony was organised by DCF in conjunction with four other organisations, namely Zauren Tuntuba, a non-for-profit organisation; Danbatta Academic Forum (DAF); Danbatta Reporters; and, Duniya Ba Hutu.
Also at the event, 10 (ten) female students from Muslim Community College of Health Sciences and Technology, Funtua, and another 20 (twenty) female beneficiaries of the vocational training empowerment programme with bias for tailoring and fashion designing, all under the sponsorship of Prof. Danbatta, celebrated their graduation.
The event, which featured the presentation of sewing machines and other fashion designing items to the two sets of qualified trainees, also saw Prof. Danbatta being conferred with a special recognition award for his immense contribution to the security of Danbatta community, among other community development initiatives
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
In a bid to ensure the smooth conduct of the ongoing Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination, the Kano State Government has temporarily suspended the April 2025, End of month sanitation exercise.
KANO FOCUS reports that this decision was taken after careful consideration and consultation with relevant stakeholders, in an effort to allow students of Kano State to write their examination without any hitches.
In a statement issued by the Director Public Enlightenment of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Ismail Garba Gwammaja has quoted the Commissioner of Environment and Climate Change Dr. Dahiru M. Hashim saying that:
“The suspension is aimed at preventing any potential disruptions to the examination process and ensuring that candidates can sit for their exams without any hindrance.”
The Commissioner assured residents that the suspension is temporary for this month, and that the sanitation exercise will resume in its full force next month May 2025, in the state.
The Commissioner however, appeals to residents to cooperate with the authorities and understand the rationale behind this decision.
“We are committed to maintaining a clean and healthy environment, and we will work tirelessly to ensure that our sanitation activities do not conflict with other important events in the state,” the commissioner said.
While Commending the residents for their understanding and cooperation to the present administration, urged them to continue to avoid indiscriminate dumping of waste and cooperates with our sanitation staff to ensure clean and healthy environment always, and pray for the successful conduct of students who will sit for the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano State Chapter of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has inaugurated a security committee aimed at strengthening community-based responses to insecurity in the state and wider northern region.
KANO FOCUS reports that the committee was inaugurated on Tuesday at the ACF Secretariat by the Chairman of the ACF Board of Trustees in Kano State, Brigadier General Haliru Akilu (Rtd), who said the initiative was a strategic response to Nigeria’s growing security challenges.
Gen. Halliru Akilu inaugurating Gen. Idris Bello Dambazau while Dr Goni Faruk Umar is watching
Akilu described the committee as a platform for strategic engagement, grassroots intervention, and policy articulation to support formal security institutions.
“This committee is envisioned to serve as a fulcrum of strategic engagement and community-driven security intervention. It symbolizes our collective resolve to restore order and peace to our communities,” he said.
He noted that the committee draws membership from various security and paramilitary agencies including the NDLEA, Police, Hisbah, Civil Defence, FRSC, NAPTIP, and vigilante groups.
Gen. Halliru Akilu delivering his address
According to him, the committee is tasked with assessing the evolving security landscape in Kano and beyond, acting as a bridge between citizens and security agencies, and developing actionable, data-driven recommendations to promote peace, vigilance and resilience across ethnic, religious, and political divides.
General Akilu stressed that the committee must operate beyond bureaucratic routines and ensure its insights influence national policy. He also urged members to demonstrate integrity, confidentiality, and dedication.
Chairman of the committee, General Idris Bello Dambazau (Rtd), pledged to uphold the mandate of the committee with seriousness and discipline.
Gen. Idris Bello Dambazau (Rtd) granting interview to journalists
“We’re bringing the seriousness of military service into this assignment. Time in service is life. One minute can cost lives. That’s how seriously we’re taking this task,” he said, adding that the committee was set to begin work immediately.
On his part, the NDLEA Commander in Kano, Ahmed Idris, commended the synergy among security agencies in the state and expressed optimism that the ACF’s initiative would serve as a model for other states.
Cross section of members of the security committee
“In Kano, we’ve built a strong culture of collaboration. This committee reflects that spirit and the quality of its membership shows the seriousness of the ACF,” he said.
KANO FOCUS reports that the initiative comes as Kano and other northern states are facing security threats such as banditry, kidnapping, drug abuse, and youth radicalization. Observers say the ACF’s grassroots-focused approach could offer a much-needed complement to conventional security responses.
Gen. Halliru Akilu (rtd) inaugurating Gen. Idris Bello Dambazau (rtd)
Speakers at the event called for similar committees to be replicated across other states in the region, with hopes that the Kano model would become a blueprint for wider regional intervention.
Members of the security committee and ACF officials
General Akilu closed the event with a call for the committee to chart a new course for peace and security in the region, describing the inauguration as “a bold first step.”
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged the Kano State Government to declare a state of emergency on polio and routine immunisation due to the resurgence of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs) in the state.
KANO FOCUS reports that with18 polio cases recorded across nine states, including three in Kano, UNICEF Acting Chief of Field Office, Michael Banda, emphasized the need for urgent action. “Polio knows no boundaries. An outbreak anywhere threatens children everywhere,” he said.
Senior Education Manager and Officer-in-Charge, UNICEF Field Office, Kano, Michael Banda, made the revelation during a media dialogue on polio and routine immunization in Kano.
Mr Michael Banda
According to Banda, Kano accounted for three cases uncovered in Warawa, Nasarawa, and Bunkure local government areas of the state, amid zero immunization and misconceptions against the deadly infection.
cVDPV refers to a type of poliovirus that arises from the oral polio vaccine (OPV), used in the prevention of polio.
According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), on rare occasions, the weakened virus in the OPV can mutate and begin to circulate within a community, causing infections and potentially paralysis, similar to wild poliovirus.
Although Banda reminded that polio has been the leading cause of paralysis and death among children, he affirmed the disease is on the brink of eradication with vaccination of 3 billion children globally in the last 37 years.
The UNICEF boss, however, worried that the fight against polio is not over in some countries, including in Nigeria, because of low vaccination rates, thereby paving the way for polio outbreaks.
Banda explained that there is a collaboration with the Kano State Government through the Primary Health Care Management Board to broaden public knowledge on the potency of the vaccination.
He added that the media dialogue was targeted to solicit media support in raising awareness and mobilizing parents on the polio vaccination campaign in Kano ahead of World Immunization Week, beginning from 24th and 30th April 2025.
On her part, representative of Kano state Primary Healthcare Management Board, Hajiya Saadatu Ibrahim, identified challenges of hard-to-reach settlements, missing houses, zero-dose vaccination, and poor healthcare workers as major setbacks.
Hajiya Saadatu Ibrahim,
She reassured that the government has a renewed strategy to overcome the challenges, including a new method of recruiting immunization workers and the involvement of external supervisors
She said Kano State Government will immunize 4.1 million under five children.
A polio vaccination campaign is scheduled for April 24-30, 2025, coinciding with World Immunization Week. UNICEF is collaborating with the state government to raise awareness and mobilise parents.
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