A PLEA FOR DIGNITY: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF KANO STATE ON THE URGENT PAYMENT OF OUTSTANDING GRATUITIES

Your Excellency,

I write with profound respect and sincere appreciation for the steps your administration has taken to address the long-standing issue of unpaid gratuities and pension arrears owed to retired civil servants in Kano State.

Your recent efforts to settle part of the backlog have rekindled hope among thousands of retirees who devoted the most productive years of their lives to serving the state. Public reports indicate that your administration inherited an estimated ₦48 billion backlog of unpaid gratuities and death benefits, and that over ₦22 billion has already been released in several tranches, bringing long-awaited relief to many former workers and their families.

This intervention deserves commendation. It sends a powerful message that the sacrifices of public servants are not forgotten.

Yet, beyond the encouraging figures are human stories that rarely make the headlines. Many retirees still wait anxiously for the benefits they earned through decades of service. For them, gratuity is not merely an entitlement, it is their final safety net after a lifetime of modest earnings.

Retirement for many civil servants in our state is often accompanied by sudden financial uncertainty. Without personal savings to rely on, they face rising medical expenses, family obligations, and the daily struggle to maintain basic living standards.

What should have been a period of rest and dignity sometimes becomes a painful season of hardship and silent endurance.

Even more heartbreaking are the cases of those who passed away before receiving their entitlements. Today, their widows, children, and dependents continue to wait, hoping the state their loved ones served faithfully will honour that service by releasing the benefits due to them. For these families, the payment of gratuity is not just financial support, it is recognition of a life spent in service.

Your Excellency, it is in light of these realities that I humbly appeal to your compassionate leadership to sustain and, if possible, intensify the pace of gratuity payments so that the remaining backlog can be cleared with greater urgency.

Expanding the current effort would bring immediate relief to thousands of elderly citizens and grieving families who have waited far too long.

Completing this task will not only restore dignity to retired public servants but will further strengthen public confidence in your administration’s commitment to fairness and humane governance.

History will remember leaders who protected the dignity of those who once carried the burden of public service.

By ensuring that every retired worker and the families of those who are no longer with us, receives what is rightfully theirs, your administration will leave a legacy defined not only by development, but by compassion and justice.

May Almighty Allah continue to guide your leadership and grant you the wisdom to serve Kano State with fairness and empathy.

Tijjani Sarki

Good Governance Advocate and Public Policy Analyst

March 8, 2026

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