Shekarau Administration: Providing Enabling Environment for Business and ICT

1
Shekarau Administration Providing Enabling
Environment for Business and ICT

• Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa
• Director General Research and Documentation
  Directorate
• Government House Kano

2
Enterprising Culture

• Savannah zone of intense competition in the
  ancient period
• The first two Emirs of the 19th century
  encouraged merchants to settle
• The pre-colonial Sokoto Caliphate encouraged Kola
  nut trade the volume in Kano market was over
  30million in the 19th century
• Merchants integrated crafts manufacture and
  commerce Kano was the largest producer of
  leather sandals in the 19th century

3
Enterprising Culture

• Kano merchants became famous because of their
  extensive initiative and perseverance
• Kano is the center of commerce of Sudanic Africa
  Hienrich Barth the European traveler who visited
  Kano in 1854 called it the Garden of Central
  Africa and further observed that I thought it
  worthwhile with regard to a place like Kano
  (which certainly will at some future period
  become important even for the commercial world of
  Europe ) to survey and sketch

4
The Colonial State

• In the colonial period Kano maintained its
  pre-eminent position the region because of cash
  crop production during peak period 500,000 tons
  of peanuts were produced this is amongst the
  reasons that necessitated the extension of the
  railway
• Kano businessmen, established the first textile
  industry in Nigeria the Gwamaja Textiles
  established by the Kano Citizens Trading Company

5
Infrastructure in the Colonial and Post Colonial
State

• Emir Abdullahi Bayero and his son Emir Muhammadu
  Sanusi invested in key infrastructure
• Emir Abdullahi Bayero established the first Water
  works that provided 4mld in 1931 and the first
  Electricity undertaking that provided 15MW in
• Emir Sanusi established the Bompai industrial
  estate with a loan guarantee of 600,000 pounds

6
Import Substitution

• Private entrepreneurs established Import
  substitution in the 1970s
• Oil boom brought decline in cash crop agriculture
• Oil doom necessitated SAP and decline in
  investment in infrastructure especially power
  generation leading to collapse of import
  substitution industries that were not resource
  based
• Integrated Agriculture in Kano under the Shekarau
  Administration

7
Challenges

• Macro-economic policies controlled by the FGN
  which has largely been monetarist inconsistent
  agricultural policies at the Federal level
• Location of Kano unfavorable to large scale
  foreign investments in manufacturing most prefer
  to invest near the coast for easy transportation
• There is also lack of enthusiasm to invest in
  agriculture the main productive sector the Kano
  economy Foreign investors shun agric, insist on
  oil Daily Trust May 6, 2008 front-page

8
Shekarau Administration

• Societal re-orientation and Governance Reforms
• Poverty alleviation
• Economic Development Agenda
• Infrastructure Development

9
Societal Reorientation

• All societies engage in one form of societal
  re-orientation or the other including
  industrialized that are confronted with the great
  disruption marines engage in special
  re-orientation programs for youth, in China
  special military training for delinquent youths

10
Societal Reorientation

• In Kano societal re-orientation is aimed at
  harnessing the available human capital for
  sustainable growth through instilling sense of
  mission and moral purpose. The societal
  re-orientation program was inaugurated in the
  first tenure and it has been well received and
  some level has been achieved.
• Zauren Shawara a public forum has generated input
  for reforms at the state and societal level
  similar spirit with NEPAD/APRM

11
Governance Reforms

• Projects Monitoring and Evaluation at will before
  the Due Process enforcement by the FG
• Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption
• Drafted one of the first anti-corruption policies
  in Nigeria
• Participatory Approach to Governance through
  Constituency Projects initiative

12
Governance Reforms

• External benchmarking exercise assessed Kano as
  one of the best managed states
• Kano also assessed as one of the least corrupt
  states
• Accountability and Transparency in Government
  Good communication appropriation law now
  available from 2003

13
Governance Reforms contd

• Kano State is one of the shining examples of Good
  Governance in Nigeria as acknowledged by one of
  the UNDP resource persons who noted
• Budget monitoring and evaluation appears to have
  the greatest potential for improvement in Kano
  State. during 2003-2005, the states
  procurement procedure was largely in tandem with
  the due process mechanism the state government
  made concerted effort to eliminate fraud there
  was evidence that the Public Accounts Committee
  of the State House of Assembly scrutinized
  audited accounts. There was also some evidence of
  feedback mechanism for assessing user
  satisfaction of public services

14
Poverty Alleviation

• Special Mass Food Production Program Increased
  agricultural productivity from less than 1.7mt in
  2003 to 2006 over 2.9mt the target is 3.3mt
  total capital expenditure in agriculture from
  2003 to 2007 was 11,354,605,25145
• Smallholder farmer groups in 2003 1,050 by 2006
  such groups have been increased to 11,560 by 2006
• Over N1 billion expended in other poverty
  alleviation schemes in Women Affairs, Zakat and
  Hubusi Commission, Youths, Almajirai and others

15
Infrastructure 2003 to 2007

• Expended over N20 billion on Roads, Bridges and
  Buildings.
• Constructed, reconstructed and rehabilitated over
  90 km of urban roads and over 400km or rural
  roads
• Expended over N11 billion on water projects
  inherited 180 motorized and solar powered
  boreholes in 2003 and the administration drilled
  271 and provided 228 handpumps between 2003 to
  2007 15 regional water schemes and 150MLD Water
  works
• Over N3.7 billion on 170 health capital projects
  

16
Education Infrastructure 2003-2007

• According to Taiwo, I. O 2008 Case Studies of
  Fiscal Management Kano State UNDP Capacity
  Building Initiative State Workshop
• Kano State completed more secondary schools than
  any other state p. 13
• It formulated more projects in the education
  sub-sector than any other state in Nigeria it
  completed more primary schools than any other
  state p. 15

17
Economic Development Agenda

• Optimizing IGR
• Integrated Agriculture
• Investing in Quality Education
• Providing Enabling Environment for Commerce
  Manufacturing and ICT
• Providing Jobs for Women and Youths

18
Investment Opportunities in ICT

• Kano States strategic position
• Business opportunities in Kano
• Government incentives and opportunities in
  e-governance as well as in the Economic
  Development Roadmap

19
Kanos Strategic Position

• According to a report by Philip Park, titled The
  2006 Economic and Product Market Databook for
  Kano, and published by ICON Group International,
  INC, Kano s influence is not only demographic,
  but also economic. This is because it represents
  an area of dominant influence over markets in
  adjacent areas. This influence varies from one
  industry to another, but also from one period of
  time to another.

20
Kanos Strategic Position

• As noted by Philip Parker Kanos influence is
  related to its dominance over market. For several
  centuries merchants troop to Kano purchase wares.
  Kanos hinterland is made up of over 100 million
  Hausa speakers across West Africa and up to the
  Republic of Sudan.
• Kano businesses are contributing more than 20 to
  the Nigerias non-oil export revenue.

21
Business Opportunities in Kano

• With several business establishments especially
  in the commodities export the largest grains
  market in WA, there are opportunities for ICT
  companies in the area of software designs for
• Export oriented companies that need information
  about global market for their trade
• Accounting and market analysis by foreign
  exchange dealers and traders as well as managing
  their resources

22
ICT and the Economic Development Roadmap

• Develop and Launch e-applications
• Install Internet Gateway and provide connectivity
  to all govt establishments
• Develop and Launch e-education
• Develop and Launch e-commerce
• Develop and Launch e-governance
• Develop and Launch Telemedicine
• Develop and Launch e-Agriculture

23
ICT and the Economic Development Roadmap

• As the Economic development roadmap is designed
  to spur economic growth and create wealth
  indirectly it shall provide opportunities for ICT
  business
• The Economic Development Roadmap 2008-2011 is
  expected to cost about 1 billion

24
E-Governance

• IGR automation a necessity to follow the current
  assessment of the tax base and tax system of the
  state
• Schools continuous expansion of schools and
  growing need for new records and management
  systems, manpower development
• Other social service sectors with the largest
  population are poised to become electronic