KOWA YA TUNA BARA! — EDITION 19
A Special Investigative Report by Alfijir Labarai
INTRODUCTION
In this 19th edition of KOWA YA TUNA BARA!, Alfijir Labarai examines selected infrastructure projects, agricultural development initiatives and food security programmes associated with Kano State during the military administration of General Sani Abacha, particularly between 1993 and 1998.
The investigation draws on documents from the World Bank, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and information published by the Leventis Foundation Nigeria.
The objective is to identify projects supported by documentary evidence, establish their implementation timelines, and distinguish between initiatives launched before Abacha assumed power and those implemented or completed during his administration.
1. ROAD REHABILITATION: 413 KILOMETRES IN KANO STATE
A World Bank report titled Multi-State Roads Project Implementation Completion Report, dated April 15, 1999, documents the rehabilitation of approximately 413 kilometres of roads in Kano State under a programme implemented between August 1993 and October 1998.
According to the report, approximately 245 kilometres received asphalt concrete surfacing, while another 168 kilometres were treated with double surface dressing.
The project was designed to improve transportation infrastructure, strengthen connections between agricultural communities and major federal highways, and enhance access to Kano metropolis.
However, an important historical distinction must be made.
The project’s agreement was signed on November 11, 1992, before General Abacha assumed office in November 1993.
Consequently, it would be inaccurate to suggest that Abacha personally initiated the project.
What the available documentation establishes is that a substantial portion of the road rehabilitation programme was implemented during his administration.
Project financing involved World Bank funding and government contributions, while additional support from the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) helped address financing gaps.
The evidence therefore supports the conclusion that significant road rehabilitation activities took place in Kano during the Abacha years, although the programme originated before his administration and relied on multiple funding sources.
2. HOUSING DEVELOPMENT: 178 RESIDENTIAL UNITS AT SHARADA
Official records published by the Federal Housing Authority confirm that 178 residential housing units at Sharada, Kano, were completed and commissioned in October 1998.
The authority also indicates that the properties were allocated under a mortgage arrangement, allowing beneficiaries to acquire homes through structured payment terms.
This provides documentary evidence of a housing development completed in Kano toward the end of the Abacha administration.
Nevertheless, the available records do not fully establish when construction originally commenced or identify every source of financing.
For that reason, it would be premature to attribute the entire project’s conception and financing exclusively to the Abacha government.
What can be verified is that the 178 housing units were completed and commissioned in October 1998.
3. AGRICULTURAL TRAINING: THE LEVENTIS FOUNDATION SCHOOL AT PANDA, ALBASU
Agricultural training represents another area in which documented developments occurred in Kano during the period under review.
According to information published by the Leventis Foundation Nigeria, the Kano State Government approached the foundation in 1996 to explore the establishment of an agricultural training school through a collaborative arrangement.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 1998, and the institution commenced operations that same year at Panda in Albasu Local Government Area.
The school was established to provide practical agricultural training and equip farmers and young people with knowledge and skills relevant to modern farming practices.
Its establishment illustrates cooperation between the Kano State Government and a development foundation during the period.
However, the available evidence identifies the Kano State Government and the Leventis Foundation as the principal partners.
It does not establish that the federal military administration or the Petroleum Trust Fund exclusively financed the institution.
4. FOOD SECURITY AND AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT: THE FAO PROGRAMME OF 1996–1997
Further documentary evidence comes from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
An FAO report titled Participatory Development of a Household Food Security and Nutrition Improvement Programme in Kano State, Nigeria, authored by Charity Dirorimwe, provides details of an initiative introduced in 1996 to address household food insecurity and nutritional challenges in Kano State.
The programme received technical support through FAO’s cooperation arrangements.
An initial assessment covered 1,718 households across 12 villages in Tudun Wada, Warawa and Tsanyawa Local Government Areas.
The assessment involved local communities, technical specialists and government officials in identifying agricultural production challenges, household food insecurity and nutritional problems.
During the early part of the 1997 rainy season, approximately three metric tonnes of fertilizer and 150 kilograms of improved soybean seeds were supplied to farmers in eight of the 12 participating villages.
The report also described arrangements under which some beneficiaries would return seeds after harvesting, enabling redistribution to additional farmers.
This approach was intended to extend the benefits of the initial agricultural inputs to more households.
Programme development continued throughout 1997, with approval at the Kano State Government level reported in October of that year.
What Did the Programme Achieve?
The FAO documentation establishes that agricultural inputs were supplied and that a structured intervention was developed to address food insecurity and nutritional challenges.
However, the initial assessment also identified serious problems involving inadequate household food supplies and malnutrition.
Therefore, the evidence does not justify claiming that the programme eliminated hunger or malnutrition in the participating communities.
Rather, it demonstrates that specific interventions were introduced to address those challenges.
Importantly, the initiative involved the Kano State Government and FAO.
The available evidence does not establish that it was directly initiated or exclusively funded by the federal government under General Abacha.
5. PRIMARY EDUCATION: NATIONAL PTF SUPPORT AND THE KANO EVIDENCE GAP
At the national level, historical reports refer to Petroleum Trust Fund support for primary education development, including teaching materials and improvements to educational infrastructure.
Reports have also referenced an allocation of approximately ₦1.6 billion in 1997 for primary education-related activities across Nigeria.
However, the documents reviewed for this investigation do not provide sufficient Kano-specific evidence establishing the amount received by the state, the names of schools rehabilitated, or the quantity of educational materials delivered.
Consequently, the national allocation cannot responsibly be presented as money spent specifically in Kano State.
An allocation announced at the national level does not, by itself, establish the amount ultimately disbursed, spent or received by individual states.
Further examination of historical PTF records, education ministry documents and state-level project reports would be necessary to establish Kano’s precise share.
6. WATER SUPPLY AND HEALTHCARE: QUESTIONS REQUIRING FURTHER DOCUMENTATION
A 1998 International Monetary Fund report discussed the activities of the Petroleum Special Trust Fund, including interventions in infrastructure, healthcare, education, water supply and food production at the national level.
Additional research materials have referred to a community water supply initiative at Adaraye Quarters in Ungogo, Kano, reportedly involving PTF support and community participation in managing the scheme.
However, the investigation has not yet obtained sufficiently complete primary documentation to verify the project’s completion date, total expenditure or number of beneficiaries.
Similarly, the research has not established a specific Kano hospital that can be conclusively identified, through the documents reviewed, as having been constructed or rehabilitated under the relevant programmes during the Abacha years.
Alfijir Labarai therefore considers these areas subjects for further investigation rather than presenting unverified projects as established achievements.
CONCLUSION: WHAT DID KANO GAIN DURING THE ABACHA YEARS?
The available documentary evidence identifies four significant infrastructure and development activities associated with Kano State during the period under review.
First, approximately 413 kilometres of roads were rehabilitated under a World Bank-supported programme initiated before Abacha assumed office but substantially implemented during the years of his administration.
Second, the Federal Housing Authority confirms that 178 residential units at Sharada were completed and commissioned in October 1998.
Third, the Leventis Foundation agricultural training school at Panda commenced operations in 1998 through a partnership involving the Kano State Government and the foundation.
Fourth, an FAO-supported food security and nutrition improvement programme provided agricultural inputs to participating communities in 1997, alongside efforts to address household food insecurity and nutritional challenges.
These findings provide evidence of development activities undertaken in Kano during the period.
However, establishing that a project took place during a particular administration is not necessarily the same as proving that the administration originated, financed or independently executed it.
Historical accountability requires recognition of the contributions of successive governments, international development institutions, state authorities and other participating organisations.
The available documentation also does not establish the long-term effectiveness of every project or resolve broader questions about governance and human rights during the period.
Alfijir Labarai maintains that credible historical reporting must recognise documented achievements without overlooking their origins, financing arrangements, limitations or unresolved questions.
Further investigation will focus on obtaining Kano-specific records concerning water supply, healthcare and educational interventions associated with the Petroleum Trust Fund.
SOURCES AND REFERENCES
1. World Bank — Multi-State Roads Project Implementation Completion Report, April 15, 1999.
https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/275611468291014954/pdf/multi-page.pdf
2. Federal Housing Authority — Past Projects.
https://fha.gov.ng/index.php/past-projects
3. Leventis Foundation Nigeria — LFN School Kano.
4. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) — Participatory Development of a Household Food Security and Nutrition Improvement Programme in Kano State, Nigeria.
https://www.fao.org/4/x0051t/X0051t06.htm
5. International Monetary Fund — Nigeria: Selected Issues, 1998.
https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/002/1998/078/article-A004-en.xml
6. World Bank — Second Primary Education Project, project documentation.
https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/334211468775589200/pdf/multi-page.pdf
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