Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf: Surmounting Educational Decay with Strategic Resource DeploymentBY Hassan Sani Tukur

In the spectrum of governance, few sectors demand as much precision, compassion, and foresight as education. For Kano State, the scars of neglect under the horrors of Ganduje administration ran deep—particularly in the provision of qualified teachers and the structural integrity of basic education. The decay reached such a digree that His Excellency, Governor Abba K Yusuf upon assuming office on May 29th, 2023, declared a state of emergency in the education sector. It was a call to action.
Among the most pressing challenges was the fate of thousands of facilitators trained under the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA), a World Bank initiative aimed at reintegrating out-of-school children into the learning fold. These facilitators, deployed across hundreds of Tsangaya schools, had gone unpaid for months. Their allowances—amounting to a staggering ₦450 million—had been withheld, leaving them in limbo despite their critical role in delivering basic literacy to Kano’s most vulnerable learners.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf did not flinch. Within five months of his administration, he surmounted the financial backlog and settled the ₦450 million owed to these facilitators. But he didn’t stop there. Recognizing the degree of their training, experience, and the urgent need for more educators in Kano’s primary and secondary schools, he made a bold and strategic move: he promised to absorb these BESDA-trained facilitators into the state’s civil service as permanent and pensionable teachers.
The State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) was swiftly directed to screen and document the facilitators. Today, that promise has materialized. Governor Abba has distributed permanent employment letters to 4,315 former BESDA teachers—transforming casual labor into dignified, secure careers. This act has restored hope to thousands of homes and also injects experienced manpower into the heart of Kano’s educational reform.
This is not just resource deployment—it is resource optimization. Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has demonstrated a leadership pedigree that understands the value of human capital and the urgency of educational equity. By converting a neglected workforce into a revitalized teaching force, he has expanded the spectrum of opportunity for both educators and learners
Hassan Sani Tukur
SSA New Media