Kano Banks on N1.4trn Infrastructure Spend, Rolls Out Safe Corridor as Security Experts Demand North-West Unity

By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna

The Kano State Government has unveiled a record N1.4 trillion budget, the largest in its history and in northern Nigeria, with over N1 trillion allocated to capital expenditure on infrastructure and essential services. Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Comrade Abdullahi Ibrahim Waiya, who represented Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf at the North-West Conference on Community Security Management in Kaduna, said the budget ties security governance directly to development. He described an award from the Institute of Security and Strategic Studies as “a call to action and more action,” noting that Kano, a “mini-Nigeria” and one of the world’s most populous cities, requires massive investment to meet the needs of its diverse residents.

To tackle insecurity, Waiya said the state has deployed about 2,000 trained youths under a new Neighbourhood Watch with presence in all 44 LGAs, launched the Anti-Phone Snatching Corps, and strengthened community policing through a Special Adviser. The Safe Corridor programme, the first of its kind in northern Nigeria, has profiled 340 youths previously involved in political thuggery with over N500 million released, while 1,000 others are being prepared for a 40-day rehabilitation and empowerment camp. The administration has also reinforced the Hisbah Board, backs independent community-led security initiatives, and plans to set up a forum of the eight metropolitan LGAs to support conventional security agencies.

Participants at the conference warned that isolated efforts will not end the crisis. Security expert Hon. Dr. Muhammad Ali said the seven North-West governors can end banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling within four months if they “agree never to disagree.” He described the region as the “Killing Fields of the North,” and noted that while Kano and Jigawa have recorded relative stability, nine Kano LGAs bordering Katsina including Bagwai, Gwarzo, Kabo and Rogo remain exposed.

Dr. Ali linked Kano and Jigawa’s stability to strong traditional institutions, economic opportunities and proactive policing, but stressed that no state is fully immune. He called for an integrated, community-centered framework with Early Warning and Early Response systems, harmonized vigilante groups working with police, NSCDC and military, and strengthened traditional mechanisms for land and farmer-herder disputes. To address poor funding and operational friction, he recommended unified command structures, oversight boards and sub-national security trust funds backed by legislation.

Waiya assured that the Yusuf administration will continue scaling up security and development, stressing that “it is not about spending money on ourselves as government officials but rather dedicating such resources to providing essential services.” Dr. Ali urged policymakers to institutionalize community security partnerships, enact laws defining the status and welfare of local outfits, and invest in youth empowerment, education and rural infrastructure. “Community security partnerships must be a formal leg of sub-national governance,” he said, adding that sustainable peace requires moving beyond kinetic responses to governance, accountability and prevention.