When he assumed office on May 29, 2023, Abba Kabir Yusuf, a Kano Prince, accomplished technocrat and political leader knew he had an enormous task ahead of him.
He inherited a state that was bleeding following eight years of mixed fortunes by his predecessor, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, now the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress(APC).
Backed by a political war horse and former Governor of the state, Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Yusuf won a majority vote with the then new New Nigerian Peoples Party(NNPP), founded by Kwankwaso himself. Born into the prestigious Sullubawa Fulani clan, the ruling class of the Kano Emirate, Yusuf had been a major player in the state politics since 19
He was raised in Gaya Local Government Area of Kano State, began his education under the guidance of his grandfather, Alhaji Yusuf Bashari (Danmakwayon Kano), the District Head of Gaya.
He completed his primary and secondary education in Kano before pursuing a National Diploma and Higher National Diploma in Civil Engineering and Water Resources Engineering with specialisation in Environmental Engineering at Federal Polytechnic, Mubi and Kaduna Polytechnic, respectively.
Yusuf further went to Bayero University, Kano, earning a Postgraduate Diploma in Management and a Master’s degree in Business Administration.
Yusuf had held various positions in the Kano State Water Resources Engineering and Construction Agency and and Kano State Water Board. He served as Chairman of the Governing Board of the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration.
His political career started when he also worked closely with Kwankwaso, serving as his Personal Assistant, Special Assistant, Principal Private Secretary and later as Commissioner of Works, Housing, and Transport in Kano State. In 2018, Yusuf contested the g u b e r n a t o r i a l election on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and ‘won’ against incumbent Abdullahi Umar Ganduje but the election was upturned under the guise of inconclusiveness.
Despite the setback and discouragement from many, including some members of his former political party, Yusuf joined Kwankwaso to switch to the NNPP, where he won the governorship election in the 2023 electi
Yusuf’s dedication to public service, combined with his educational background and experience, positioned him as a dynamic and couragious leader, committed to driving positive change and progress in Kano State.
He took over the affairs of Kano State at a time of persistent political crises. His election was upturned by the Election Petition Tribunal, a decision he challeged up to Supreme Court, where justice prevailed as he was returned as the duly elected Governor of Kano State on January 12, 2024. But Yusuf remains one of the outstanding governors in Nigeria and a courageous leader, who never allowed himself to be distracted.
W i t h i n t h i s first half of his tenure, Yusuf was recognised by national and internations organisations for his outstanding performance in various areas of human endeavour such as Pensioners Friendly Governor of the year 2024 by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP); Teachers Friendly Governor of the year 2024 by the National Body of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT); Courage in Leadership award 2024 by ThisNigeria Newspapers; Governor of the year award 2024 by African Trust Magazine; Humanitarian Governor of the year 2024 by Nigeria-Niger League of Journalists and Fellow, the Institute of Management and Leadership, USA.
He has gone ahead since to receive the New Telegraph’s Award for Governor of the Year 2024(Education) and Leadership’s newspaper Governor of the Year Award. Yusuf as the 7th democratically elected Governor of Kano State, has achieved great milestones since the inception of his administration.
Some of his key acheivements are the declaration of state of emergency on education and subsequent allocation of 29 and 31 per cent of 2024 and 2025 annual budgets to education respectively.
Being aware of the decay and delapidation in t h e education sector, which was a result of years of neglect by the immediate past administration, he is beginning to give maximum attention on the provision of quality education through contructions and renovations of school infrastructure, teachers’ recruitment and training.
He has also left visible footprints in other sectors of the state’s economy and politics. A man, not afraid of battles, one of his key political achievements was the reinstatement of the 14th and now 16th Emir of Kano, Khalifa Sanusi Lamido Sanusi back into office.
Sanusi was controversially dethroned by the Ganduje administration over his consistent criticism of the government former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. Although, the matter is now at the Supreme Court, having oscillated between the State, Federal High Courts and the Appeal Court, Yusuf has stuck to his position.
In his New Year message to the people of Kano, Yusuf, expressed optimism for a brighter and more prosperous year ahead. He commended the resilience and patience of Kano residents in navigating the challenges of 2024 and reassured them of his unwavering commitment to delivering meaningful progress and development in 2025.
The governor pledged to work tirelessly to improve the lives of every citizen of the state. He noted that his administration had made significant efforts to ensure the timely approval of the 2025 budget, describing it as a critical step toward accelerating development across the state.
He expressed confidence that Kano would witness remarkable improvements in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and agriculture in the year ahead. The Governor outlined plans to complete ongoing road projects, expand healthcare facilities, improve the quality of education, and support farmers with tools and resources to enhance food production and reduce costs of foodstuff.
He also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to empowering youth and women through skills acquisition initiatives and increased access to credit for small and medium-sized businesses
Yusuf called on the people of Kano to remain united and supportive of the government’s vision for progress. He expressed optimism that 2025 would be a transformative year, bringing better living standards and greater economic opportunities to every corner of the state.
“In 2025, the result of our declaration of state of emergency on education will continue to manifest as we allocated a lion share of 31 per cent of the year budget for education to reaffirmed our promise for reforming the sector” said Gov. Yusuf The governor also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to working closely with the Federal Government to ensure that Kano residents benefit fully from governance, particularly in the areas of infrastructure, education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.
The governor was to late assure the people of government’s readiness to compensate owners of properties affected by the multi-billion naira Overpass project under construction at Tal’udu area of the metropolitis. Yusuf also disclosed plans to allocate new layout to the residents, who were affected by the construction free of cost and out the compensation money that would be given to them.
He gave the assurance during a meeting with stakeholders and leadership of Tal’udu communities at the Government house in Kano. He had invited the stakeholder for a dialogue over their claims and development interest of the state.
“All of you would be reasonably compensated in cash through your designated bank accounts. We will also agree with you on the time frame for you to move out of the project site and we would also give plots free of charge as many of you may want to build another houses” Governor Yusuf also explained his administration’s Urban renewal drive to meet global standard of a mega city. He stressed the plan to set an infrastructure performance bar at high level to meet the status of the most populous city in Nigeria.
The Governor recalled the multi-layer critical infrastructural project at Tal’udu along side the Underpass Bridge at Kofar Dan’Agundi, both in Municipal and Gwale Local Government Areas were flagged off in 2024 to enhance free flow of vehicular movements.
He posited that capital project costing about N30 billion were intended to achieve multiple purposes of urban beautification, decongestion of traffic and urban renewal. His comments came after the Chairman of the Community Association, Alhaji Abba Aminu Imam, expressed delight over government’s acceleration of development as spread across the state.
The leader of the community, however, appealed to government to facilitate the settlement plan of members of the community whose properties were affected by the ongoing construction. He is not about constructions and infrastructural development alone. The governor is also focused on the youth in the state.
He affirmed his resolution to safeguard the future of youth and security of the state through conversation of thuggery activities and drug abuse among younger generation. This was disclosed by the Director General Special Services Directorate, AVM Ibrahim Umar (rtd) at the end of the special meeting with para-military agencies for collaboration held at Kano Government House, recently.
Yusuf said the collaboration was aimed at unifying government effort in order to ensure the security of lives and properties as well as healthier and peaceful environment for the citizens to progress.
According to the Director General the rising of violence in the state was being attributed to several factors such as unemployment, poverty, drug abuse and weak community structures among others.
“We therefore stand united in our commitment to addressing drug abuse which threaten the health, safety and well-being of our communities. “The proliferation of counterfeit and fake pharmaceutical products which poses significant threat to the society, does not only endanger the lives of our citizens but also undermine the integrity of our healthcare delivery.
“It is imperative that we take decisive action to combat these challenges and protect our future,” the director general assured. He said efforts of the NDLEA and NAFDAC in the crusade against drug abuse, fake, counterfeit and substandard pharmaceutical products are indeed appreciated. For Governor Abba Yusuf therefore, the mission to transform Kano is holistic.
It is a mission borne out of a clear vision by an experienced hand, who has been a keen observer of the affairs of the state for a long time. He came prepared.
