Of Kano ghost workers and kindergarten wives.

By Sam Ibemere …
Kano, the great city of the red-cap wearing Kwankwasiyya troupe is in the news. I do not know what else newspapers live for if not gossip about the affairs of men, and women too! Gossips taste delicious when spiced with plenty of scandal except that this one is guaranteed to make your tommy churn. No jokes.
I hear that a certain department saddled with the responsibility of cleaning Kano City has raked up a mountain of controversies. In particular, it is reported that Kano State Refuse Management and Sanitation Board had housed ghost workers numbering 1,830 every day for three years. This would seem a trivia but not when compared with a total workforce of 2,490.
Instinctively, one can tell by the figures that three-quarter of the entire population hired to clean the streets of Kano never existed! In other words, less than 30% of the town received any serious attention on a given day. Now, we know why Kano ranks miserably low in hygiene and its citizens prone to avoidable diseases.
The smelly mound of rubbish in Kano is further worsened by the street value of all that has gone wrong. Every month the state lost a princely sum of N18.1million to the pen robbers at the stinking Sanitation Board. Sad as it is, the hard fact is that in three years a whopping N6.5billion went into private pockets, denying the toiling masses access to genuine development.

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One shudders at the thought of only six directors being arraigned for this mess. At least that was what the State’s Commissioner for Information gleefully told a bewildered people. We know better not to swallow this bait. The rot goes deeper than anyone of us can imagine. Let’s show courage here and put the blames squarely where they should belong. Someone held the reins of authority, ain’t it?
You bet that governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano is driving at something. It takes more than guts to dig up a three-year old file on your mentor and rub it in his face. Who cares if there is some hidden motive for this as has been alleged? If this perceived tango between father and son means well for Kano, then so be it.
Former governor Rabiu Kwankwanso must answer for the over N6billion that went down the drain and not pretend that it wasn’t his show. Ganduje will take his turn in due course.
It’s not all smelly stuff in Kano though. The Emir, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, is giving the people something to cheer about. Soon the Talakawa will line up the dirty streets to welcome an eighteen-year old Adamawa princess as the latest addition to the bursting harem of the Emir. This story is still under wraps. Be sure to share it without too much fanfare lest this renowned whistle-blower changes his mind.
Four wives, and still counting. There is no better way to live life in retirement! Congrats Sanusi! Hope this doesn’t become too much of a distraction as there are heaps of scandals to clear at the backyard.

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