Kano State Governor Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf has lamented that many people are living in misery, starvation, and acute hunger in the state, which resulted in the death of many residents who cannot afford food.
In an emergency meeting with the business community in Kano on Monday, Gov Yusuf decried the current hardship and starvation faced by the residents.
His words: “There is hunger in Kano and we must find a solution to stop people from dying and falling sick. We know you are doing your best as a businessman but, you are not doing enough.
“We should join hands to salvage the situation, as governor and my deputy, we do not need a penny from anyone. All we need is for you to come and help us assist the poor people.”
Governor Yusuf urged all the renowned business moguls to complement the effort of the government. “I urge you to come up with a solution on how to crash the prices of commodities to make life meaningful for our people.
“Kano has been the center of commerce in Nigeria after Lagos. It is such that the state has gone down on the graph today.
“Formerly, business people used to come to Kano to buy whatever from other neighboring states and neighboring countries. But all these have now deteriorated.
“All major business people from Niger, Cameroon, Chad, and others have made Kano their home. But today all these have changed. The patronage has been reduced.
“In the past, there were a lot of employment opportunities for people from Kano with the available industries which had provided a livelihood for many. All of these are no more. This has led youths into drug abuse, kidnapping, and banditry.
“People are facing hardship such that a measure of rice cannot be afforded by a lot of families. Locally produced rice is now N65,000, maize is N52,000, millet N56,000, and groundnut oil is N4,500. Where will the people place themselves and what will the salary earner survive on?
“I will meet with Tinubu to inform him that people are hungry in Kano. The Federal Government should give preferential assistance to the highly populated state,” the governor said.
Some of those who spoke on behalf of the business community, that include moguls like Alhaji Sabiu Bako, Alhaji Salisu Sambajo, Muhammad Adakawa, and Sammani Elsamad among others, called on Gov Yusuf to lead other Governors of the Northwest in finding a solution to the economic problems of the region.
They explained that they don’t raise the prices of their products, it is the producers that increase the prices, they only purchase and sell accordingly.
They lamented that 70 percent of businesses have closed down due to the devaluation of the naira and the scarcity of dollars. This has also affected the retail prices of goods.
They also want the government to ensure that the gas pipeline construction is completed to ease the supply of the products to industries. They lamented the extortion by traffic officials that is adding to the problem of transporting goods to and from Kano.
Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano
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