When Kano sought answers to its economic challenges
By Yusha’u A. Ibrahim, Ibrahim Musa Giginyu & Richard Ngbokai, Kano
The concept of the Kano State Economic Summit was conceived in 2006 by the administration of former Governor Malam Ibrahim Shekarau. The motive for organising the summit was to unveil business opportunities for the people of Kano and boost the economy of the state.
The maiden edition of the summit had led to various economic transformations in the state, including the establishment of the over N11billion Ado Bayero Shopping Mall, which was commissioned four years after the summit.
When the issue of the second economic and investment summit came up, the present government took it up and ensured that such a historic event has been used to restore the glory of Kano as a commercial hub of the sub-Sahara region.
The second summit, with the theme, Transforming the Economy of Kano: Turning Challenges into Opportunities, was aimed at generating perspectives, best practices and strategies that would showcase the various investment opportunities in Kano State and the country in general.
At the opening ceremony of the summit, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, represented by the Minister of Internal Affairs, General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (retired), said the second Kano economic summit would complement Federal Government’s agenda of revitalising the nation’s economy.
Osinbajo appealed to participants to come up with recommendations that would galvanise the economy of the state and the nation in general. He advised the Kano
State Government to ensure proper implementation of the recommendations in order to move the state to the next level of economic growth.
The chairman of the Technical Organising Committee for the summit, Dr Shamsuddeen Usman, said Kano State had a lot of investment opportunities that needed to be explored by investors, adding that the state was safe and conducive for businesses.
Usman, a former minister of budget and planning, said all the presumed barriers that were affecting business activities in the state had been addressed. He said the North was gradually waking up in terms of economic activities, noting that, “So far, Kaduna has conducted first and second investment summits, Katsina held its first investment summit, and Kano has organised its second economic summit after the first one in 2006. This is a sign of development.’’
Speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udoma Udo Udoma, disclosed that in the 2017 budget, the Federal Government had made provision for the revival of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) in the state to attract investors.
Udoma explained that the World Bank indices in assessing growth took Kano into cognizance in ascertaining whether Nigeria’s economy was in good shape or not.
In a paper titled, Optimising Growth Potentials of Key Economic Sectors of Kano State: A Value Chain Approach, Professor Murtala S. Sagagi of Bayero University Kano (BUK) focused on the need for human capital development as the basis for achieving economic growth and development.
Professor Sagagi said that at least 342, 000 jobs were needed for the over 3.3 million unemployed youths in Kano to achieve sustainable economic development in the state.
In his paper on security challenges, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Bashir Albasu, called on the Kano State Government to adopt modalities for ensuring adequate security in the state, adding that security was the bedrock of achieving successful economic growth.
Albasu recalled that when the Boko Haram insurgency penetrated into Kano, more than 30per cent of businesses was compelled to close down.
“Presently, Kano needs additional police personnel to restore the confidence of investors. Government should put a special request to the Federal Government for more policemen. This will help the state to woo more investors.
“The state should also establish a security trust fund like the one in Lagos. At a point, Lagos State generated over N70billion through the fund and invested the money in developmental projects,” he said.
A former Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NAHOTOURS), Dr Munzali Dantata, who delivered a paper on the possibility of converting tourism attraction sites in Kano to sources of revenue, attributed the decline in commercial activities in Kano to the failure of the state to modernise and adjust its traditional socio-cultural practices in tune with the modern way of doing business.
“Kano is obsessed with its Islamic and Hausa culture and has failed to modernise, both in infrastructure, markets and what have you. The old city of Kano still remains as it was more than 500 years ago. If you go into the old city, you will see narrow alleys, which neither human beings nor vehicles can pass through. So we have to come to terms with the past to move to the future,’’ he said.
The summit ended last Wednesday, with 10 private companies signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kano State Government for investment in various economic and business subsectors in the state. The companies include Brains and Hammers; Milestone International; Arewa Solar PV Synergy; Black Rhino and Dangote; Broad Base Nigeria Limited; Eighteen Engineering Company (EEC); Multi Vission Nigeria Limited; Shara Dukiya Nigera Limited; Dangote Rice and Qingduo St Marry Solar Energy.
Three out of the 10 companies - Arewa Solar PV Synergy, Black Rhino and Qingduo St Marry Sola Energy - are to construct a 100mwts solar energy power plant each.
The two solar power plants to be constructed by the Arewa Solar and Black Rhino would cost $150 million each. However, Kano State Government would contribute 13per cent to Arewa Solar and 20per cent to Black Rhino, in addition to provisions of land and other facilities.
The third company, Qingduo St Marry, had agreed to invest $120 million for the construction of another 100mwts capacity solar energy plant in the state, and which it would finance100 per cent.
The Brains and Hammers would construct Kanawa Economy City at the cost of N146bn. Already, the Kano State Government had provided 121 hectors of land at Dangoro town for the project.
The Milestone International would establish a tricycle assembling plant in the state at N630million. The company was expected to invest 80per cent, while Kano State would contribute 20 per cent.
The Broad Base would establish optic fiber at the cost of $200 million while the EEC had agreed to construct a light rail in the state at the cost of $1.8bn with 85 per cent of the total amount coming from the company while 20 per cent from Kano state government.
Also, the Multi Vision Nigeria Limited would invest N2bn to provide license and smart cards for effective vehicle security, while Dangote Rice would construct rice mill in the state at the cost of $30 million.
The last company, Shara Dukiya Nigeria Limited, entered a $100 million agreement with Kano State Government to convert refuse into wealth through recycling processes. The company had agreed to invest 80per cent of the total contract amount while Kano State would contribute 20per cent, in addition to provisions of land and other facilities.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the summit, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said it had become a yearly event, while the committee would be made permanent.
Ganduje said, “With this development we are expecting to meet again by next year to showcase our achievements and challenges related to the economic growth of the state. I am, therefore, calling on the companies that have entered agreement with the Kano State Government to sit up in order to meet our expectations.
“If you have any problem in the course of doing your work, you should not hesitate to come to me. If I can solve the problem at my own level, fine, and if it is related to the Federal Government, then I will approach Mr President to help us address it.
“We organised the second economic summit with a view to exploring ways of modernising business in Kano. With the construction of the Kanawa Economic
City, Kano will turn into a mega city that can compete with other cities around the world.
“We have discovered that our major challenge in Kano, as far as business is concerned, is electricity. That is why we invited three companies to construct a 100mwt capacity solar energy each so that we can have enough electricity for our industries to thrive. We have already provided them with the required lands to commence work. We will ensure that everything goes smoothly so that by next year we will gather again to assess ourselves.”