PROTECTING KANO’S FUTURE: AN OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR ABBA KABIR YUSUF ON THE URGENT NEED TO REGULATE PRIVATE HEALTH AND BASIC EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN KANO STATE
By Tijjani Sarki
Your Excellency,
Abba Kabir Yusuf
Executive Governor of Kano State,
I write this open letter with deep respect, sincere concern, and genuine hope for the future of our dear Kano State.
First and foremost, Your Excellency deserves appreciation for the visible commitment your administration continues to demonstrate toward healthcare, education, and human capital development. Across the state, many citizens have acknowledged your efforts in improving public schools, supporting healthcare delivery, expanding opportunities for young people, and prioritising the welfare of ordinary citizens. These are important investments because no society can truly prosper without investing in its people.
However, while these efforts are commendable, there is a growing challenge that urgently requires your administration’s attention before it develops into a deeper social and public health crisis.
Across Kano State today, there is an alarming proliferation of private Colleges of Health Technology and various private nursery, primary, and secondary schools operating under questionable conditions, particularly within densely populated and low-income communities. Almost every neighbourhood now appears to host a newly established “health institution,” often operating from buildings never designed for academic or professional training.
This reality raises painful and unavoidable questions, are all these institutions genuinely accredited? Do they possess qualified lecturers, standard laboratories, libraries, practical training facilities, and the required approvals from regulatory authorities? Are proper inspections being conducted before licenses are issued? Or are we gradually normalising a dangerous decline in educational and professional standards?
Your Excellency, the concern becomes even more serious because these institutions are not simply offering casual lessons. Many claim to be producing future healthcare personnel, individuals who may someday handle patients, administer medications, conduct medical procedures, and participate directly in saving lives. Poor training in the health sector does not merely affect certificates, it threatens human safety and public confidence in healthcare itself.
Equally troubling is the unfortunate culture that has persisted for years in the private nursery, primary, and secondary education sector. Across several communities, children continue to learn in overcrowded classrooms, poorly ventilated buildings, and environments lacking basic educational and sanitary standards. In many cases, schools operate with inadequate teaching personnel and insufficient learning facilities.
Yet many parents continue enrolling their children in such schools, not because they are satisfied with the quality, but because they are left with limited alternatives.
This is why the solution to this challenge must not only focus on enforcement and closure of illegal schools. It must also include expanding access to quality government-owned institutions across Kano State. The increasing demand for education and healthcare training among our rapidly growing population requires stronger public investment and long-term planning.
Your Excellency, Kano’s growing youth population is full of energy, ambition, and dreams. Many young people seek education as their only pathway to dignity and opportunity. But when education becomes poorly regulated, society risks producing graduates without competence, confidence, or proper professional foundations.
This concern is not theoretical. In previous years, Kano State reportedly shut down several illegal health training institutions operating without proper accreditation and approval after investigations revealed serious irregularities in their operations. Similar concerns continue to emerge regarding unregulated institutions operating across different parts of the state.
Kano State, with its rich educational heritage and historical position as one of the leading centres of learning in West Africa, must continue to protect the integrity of its educational and healthcare systems.
In the spirit of constructive advocacy and support for your administration’s developmental vision, I respectfully recommend the following measures:
1. Establish an independent verification and monitoring committee for all private health training institutions operating within Kano State.
2. Publish a transparent list of fully accredited institutions to guide parents and students.
3. Intensify routine inspection of private nursery, primary, and secondary schools to ensure compliance with educational and safety standards.
4. Shut down institutions operating without due process or under dangerous and unsuitable conditions.
5. Expand government-owned health institutions, secondary schools, and technical colleges to meet growing public demand.
6. Strengthen collaboration with professional regulatory bodies to ensure proper accreditation and monitoring.
7. Introduce stricter penalties against individuals exploiting education purely for commercial gain without regard for quality or public safety.
Your Excellency, these recommendations are not intended to discourage private investment in education or healthcare training. Rather, they are aimed at creating a stronger, safer, and more credible educational system that will benefit Kano State for generations to come.
A better Kano is possible when access to education is matched with quality, accountability, and proper regulation. A stronger Kano is possible when every child learns in dignity and every health worker is trained with competence and integrity. A safer Kano is possible when the government remains firm in protecting standards that safeguard public interest.
History will remember leaders not only for projects commissioned, but also for the difficult decisions they made to protect the future of their people.
I remain hopeful that under your leadership, Kano State will continue to rise as a model of educational excellence, human development, and responsible governance.
May Almighty Allah continue to guide and strengthen you in the service of Kano State and its people.
Tijjani Sarki
Good Governance Advocate and Public Policy Analyst
responsivecitizensinitiative@gmail.com
