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Many Nigerians who have been observing governance in Kaduna State since May 2023 when Governor Uba Sani took the reins of power, can attest to his undiluted passion for the overall well-being of the state, particularly the socio-economic prosperity of the people of the state.
He adopted a multi-sectoral approach to development, considering the urgent, peculiar needs of the people, especially the insecurity and ethno-religious crises that have widened the development gap in the state. Looking inward, the governor who fought for the rights of the people for many years as a human rights campaigner, believes that people must be at the centre of government decisions. So, Kaduna State people are actively engaged in the development process through regular consultations with stakeholders using different fora, including town hall meetings.
Both foreign and local investments in the critical sector are a major pillar of his government. Last year, the governor in partnership with the Office of Vocational Training and Employment Promotion, Morocco, and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), initiated the construction of the Kaduna State Vocational and Technology Skills City in Igabi. The centre which would produce skilled artisans in mechatronics, welding and fabrication, ICT, plumbing, and automobile engineering, among others, would be replicated in the other senatorial zones.
Likewise, he initiated the construction of a $50 million soya bean oil refining plant owned by Sunagrow International Oil Ltd and located in Kutungare, Igabi local government area, with an expected production capacity of 500,000 litres per day.
On the background of the governor’s antecedence, the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Kaduna State government and Huawei Technologies Company in faraway China, will obviously produce tangible results.
The governor of the state, Uba Sani, signed on behalf of the state in the presence of Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, governors, ministers and other senior government functionaries who had joined the delegation to China.
The project is a partnership on Kaduna Smart City Project that will further enhance the socio-economic and security infrastructure of the state. Succinctly, it is geared towards “enhancing security, efficiency and transparency in public service, competitiveness, city management, and attracting talents and investments. The ultimate goal is the establishment of a safer and smarter Kaduna State,” the governor revealed in a statement.
Giving more details on the project, the governor said, “As the strategic partner of the Kaduna State government, Huawei will provide comprehensive leading solutions and professional technical support for Kaduna State in the following areas: (i) State-Level Unified Command Centre (ii) Enhanced Security (iii) Intelligent Traffic System (iv) E-Government and Office Automation (v) Smart Education (vi) Smart Healthcare (vii) ICT Talent (viii) Renewable Energy, and (ix) Public Transportation.
“Today’s ceremony demonstrates our solid commitment to the effective and efficient use of digital and telecommunications technologies to improve Kaduna State for the benefit of our citizens and businesses. Our administration recognises the strategic place of ICT in driving economic growth and improving the lives of citizens. The Kaduna State Directorate of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) has been playing a crucial role in implementing various key ICT services, e-Government solutions, and digital economy initiatives.
“We have ramped up the implementation of our “Bridging the Last Mile Initiative 2024 – 2027.” This initiative aims at increasing and achieving digital inclusion in Kaduna State. We want to ensure that our people effectively utilise digital tools to enhance their businesses and livelihoods. I signed into law a Bill to Make Provisions for the Development of Tech-Enabled Start-Ups in Kaduna State, and Other Related Matters, 2023. The key objective of the law is to position Kaduna State’s startups ecosystem as the leading digital technology centre in Nigeria having excellent innovators with cutting edge skills and exportable capacity,” he said.
The China landmark pact is in furtherance of the ongoing local economic reforms and activities that will ensure that the state witness real development across all sectors. The governor had aggregated the needs of the people and set implementation in process on the ultimate goal of transforming the state.
The well-thought interventions that are addressing the real and urgent concerns of the people. One of them is the intervention of the governor on the popular Pantakers market in Kaduna State. It is the hub of skilled workers in the informal sector. Artisans like painter, electrician, plumber and the rest are in their number in the state. To harness the huge potential of the enterprising youths, who form the largest percentage of the skilled workers in the market, the government of Kaduna State set out on an ambitious plan of remodelling the market to become a skill incubation centre for upskilling, in line with global development trend.
For the people to also own the process and the project, the governor initiated a joint venture between Kaduna State government and the Old Panteka Market Development Association (OPMDA). The governor said, while the market association will develop the shops, the government “will construct a clinic, fire station, outdoor public toilets, incinerators, two transformers, security posts, places of worship, and ICT Centre.”
“The state government will construct a clinic, fire station, outdoor public toilets, incinerators, two transformers, security posts, places of worship, and ICT Centre in the remodelled market located in Tudun Wada, Kaduna,” Governor Sani said. “The Old Panteka Market Development Association (OPMDA) will handle the construction of shops.
“When completed, the market will be a major centre for skills acquisition and creation of thousands of jobs. It will be the biggest technology hub in Northern Nigeria. It will contribute to our economic revitalisation drive. Youths will be trained in carpentry, welding, painting, roofing, plumbing, electrical work and other trades”, the governor added.
The state government, in partnership with NBTE, had also completed plans to make the trained artisans globally competitive through certification of the Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF), which enhances their prospects of getting jobs locally and abroad.
The market is reputed to be the largest informal tech market in Africa, with about 38,000 artisans and apprentices receiving training in different skills at the market.
The executive secretary of NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, noted that “Panteka is a heritage site with a vibrant history linked to the building of the city of Kaduna, the former capital of the Northern Region. Panteka is now a brand, well respected across the nation and even in many Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries. Panteka has finally become an institution. The transformation of Panteka at this time is very appropriate.
Therefore, notwithstanding the MoU with Kaduna Polytechnic, Panteka has now been granted, by the NBTE, the status of a full-fledged training centre. We hope they will apply the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to get more of their apprentices certified.”
These are the local human capital that will drive the process, through backward integration. Aside from the socio-economic and security benefits the state will get, there is also technology transfer to the locals who will go on to enhance the growth prospects of the state.
–Adamu sent this piece from Kaduna State.
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