Headlines
CAJA expresses concern over sexual harassment in tertiary institutions
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Continued occurrence of sexual harassment in higher institutions of learning in the country has been
disturbing Center for Awareness on Justice and Accountability (CAJA).
The menace seems to be on the increase.
KANO FOCUS observed that the perpetrators of such act seem to be
getting away with it as rare or no punishment has been meted against them.
If punishment is meted against such
perpetrators, the gesture would really
serve as a deterrent against others.
CAJA is lending a campaign against the
act in the country’s institutions of learning.
Cross section of participants
That is why it recently organized an
interactive stakeholders’ session at Tahir Guest Palace in Kano metropolis with a view to deepening discussion on the issue.
The theme of the event was: ‘The Role
of the Media on Curbing the Menace of
Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Institutions.’
The center invited seasoned panelists
who shared their views and perspectives on how best journalists or stakeholders could do to end the menace.
The panelists were Malama Nafisa
Murtala Ahmad from Exrpress Radio;
Malama Sadiya Aliyu from Solace Base
and Malam Mustapha Gambo Muhammad from Pyramid Radio respectively.
Cross section of participants
During the event proper, journalists and students from various media organizations and institutions of learning in the state, held the view that there should be more commitment of stakeholders in pursuing cases of sexual harassment to logical conclusion.
Stakeholders observed that it was not
only the males that perpetrate the act,
even the females, to some extent, do engage in such harassment.
They however observed lack of or non
availability of serious codes in tertiary institutions that spell the punishment to be meted against the perpetrators.
They posited that there should be written documents that would warn any would-be perpetrator of the act and the punishment to be meted on him or her.
They acknowledged that most cases
treated on sexual harassment, in the past, in some institutions of learning in the country, hinged on dismissal of the culprits – that is all, saying that apart from dismissal, the culprits should be made to face the wrath of the law of the land.
Nafisa Murtala Ahmad
It was observed that not only indecency used to attract sexual harassment, but
however, even ladies in Hijab used to fall victims of the menace.
Again, what drew attention of participants at the event was the issue of a bill laying before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his assent.
The bill tagged: ‘Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Institutions Prohibition Bill 2023,’ if passed into law, would help a lot in addressing or wiping out the menace or its eradication completely from the nation’s tertiary institutions.
That is CAJA or its partners like Evelyn
T. Ugbe, the Vulnerable Population Sector Manager and Mr. Eric Umoru from Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) team, who attended the event all the way from Abuja, the capital of the nation, posited that the media should pursue the passage of the bill vigorously as it provided preventive mechanism to the nation’s students against the menace.
Ugbe said the media should maintain
the momentum so that assent to the bill
should see the light of the day.
In his votes of thank, the Senior Program Officer of CAJA, Malam Akibu Hamisu Garko, while thanking everybody for attending the event, said they took the campaign against the menace in tertiary institutions in the state as very significant so as to eradicate it completely.
Malam Akibu Hamisu Garko
Garko said creating awareness
about the menace in the institutions would help in doing away with it, adding that the students in such institutions should know the existence of such clusters around them with a view to knowing the needed things to do in case of any harassment.
He urged the media to do the needful
and understand the cluster in tertiary institutions, which he added had done a lot on seeing that the bill waiting to be assented by the presidency scaled through.
He said what they prayed for was the
inauguration of an independent sexual harassment committee that would ginger up efforts towards actualizing the dream of their organization.
The Executive Director of CAJA, Malam
Kabir Sa’id Dakata, coordinated the
panel session of the event very well.
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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