There is something deeply troubling about the contrast between the Kano being built in concrete and the Kano being left behind in the classroom.
The Kano State Government is investing heavily in roads, flyovers, bridges and other visible infrastructure. These projects are important, and a growing city certainly needs modern transport infrastructure. But development cannot be measured only by the number of flyovers constructed or roads rehabilitated. It must also be measured by how much government improves the lives and future prospects of ordinary citizens.
This is where the Kano State Government must answer some difficult questions.
How can a state aspire to modernise its cities while some of its children still struggle to find a decent classroom in which to learn?
A PUNCH report in June 2025 highlighted the situation at Sabon Garin Jido Primary School in Talatar Jido, Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area, where pupils were reportedly taking lessons under trees because only four of the school’s eight classroom blocks remained usable. The school was said to be more than 55 years old.
Such a situation should be unacceptable in the 21st century.
This is not an argument against flyovers or other infrastructure. It is an argument about priorities and opportunity costs. When a government has limited resources, it must determine what requires urgent attention and what can wait.
Kano’s education sector is not without government investment. The state allocated N205.9 billion to education in its 2025 budget, alongside announced interventions to renovate schools and improve learning facilities. But if children are still learning under trees, then the question is no longer simply how much government has budgeted for education. The question is how effectively is that money being translated into functional schools and better learning conditions?
The same concern applies to the government’s mass wedding programme. Supporting economically disadvantaged couples is not inherently wrong, and such programmes have supporters who consider them socially beneficial. But the government must still confront the question of competing priorities. Kano earmarked N2.5 billion for mass weddings across the state’s 44 local government areas in 2025.
At a time when Kano continues to face challenges in education, unemployment, poverty, healthcare and access to basic services, citizens are entitled to ask whether such expenditure represents the most urgent use of public resources.
The government has also reported an impressive scale of infrastructure development, saying that 1,508 projects valued at N928 billion were executed during the first three years of the administration. This makes the need for transparency and prioritisation even more important.
Kano does not have to choose between roads and schools. It does not have to choose between infrastructure and social welfare. What it needs is a development strategy that recognises that human development must remain at the centre of physical development.
A flyover may ease traffic for thousands of motorists. A properly equipped classroom can transform the life of a child for decades.
A mass wedding may help couples begin a new life. A quality public school can give thousands of children the knowledge and skills to build their own futures.
The government should therefore prioritise the elimination of classrooms under trees, the rehabilitation of dilapidated schools, the provision of learning materials and the improvement of basic educational infrastructure across the state.
The real symbol of a modern Kano should not simply be magnificent structures dominating the skyline. It should also be children learning in safe, properly equipped classrooms—whether in the metropolis or the most remote community.
Kano must build its infrastructure. But above all, it must build its people.
