By Hamza Ibrahim Chinade

The Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in collaboration with Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) has sensitized community members from Karaye, Kabo, Kano Municipal Council, Nasarawa, Gaya and Rano local governments of Kano state. It could be recalled that CITAD with support from ActionAid International Nigeria began implementing the Strengthening Community Engagement in Electoral Process (SCEEP) project in eighteen communities across Kano state before the 2015 general elections in an effort to equip the communities with knowledge of being part of governance process by way of making tangible inputs in the budgetary allocation of governments at different levels which in essence will positively reflect on their livelihood.  

Unveiling the objectives of the Open Budget Forum, the Executive Director of CITAD who was represented by Training Coordinator Malam Ahmad Yakasai hinted that part of the reasons for convening the forum is to help the government by educating citizens on how they can identify their needs and forward to government for consideration in the yearly budget as well help track, monitor and supervise projects in their different communities. When people are made to feel some sense of belonging in the governance process, the government will have no or less problems, because people can assist the government in checking implementation or otherwise of projects, Malam Ahmad added.

Also giving remarks, representative of ActionAid International Nigeria at the forum, Mr. Kenneth Okoeneme observed that coming together of people to talk about governance is very important for the development of the country and in particular for the development of Kano state, Kano state has taken a lead in the process of involving citizens and different stakeholders in the budgetary process and the process needs to be strengthened and institutionalized, and ActionAid will continue to support forums like these because of the role they play in engaging citizens.

Papers presented at the One Day Open Budget Forum are: Understanding the Concept of Open and Participatory Budget by Isah Garba of CITAD, Importance of Stakeholders Collaboration in Budget Process by Yunusa Hamza of Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL), Role of CSOs and Community Members in Ensuring Successful Budget Implementation by Tayyib Isyaku Na’abba of Kano State Ministry of Budget and Planning and Analysis of Budgetary Allocation to SCEEP Communities by Kabiru Sa’idu Dakata of CITAD.

All the papers presented treated relevant concepts and engaged the participants in general discussion with questions, comments, observations and recommendations on the way forward which resulted in issuing a communiqué at the end of the event. Some of the participants observed that even though they have vital inputs to forward to the legislature they can’t get into its premises as policemen usually block access to the assembly, therefore the lawmakers should undertake periodic visits and consultations with their constituents on important matters such as budget preparation instead. To make the budget document easily accessible, some participants recommended that Kano State Government should upload a soft copy of its yearly budget on a publicized website and the Open Budget Forum should be held on a quarterly basis to provide a platform for continuous engagement between citizens and government institutions responsible for budgeting in the state. This would also serve as a platform to provide feedback on monitoring and tracking by citizens.

Giving a closing remark, Director, Community Development in the Ministry for Local Government Affairs Alhaji Mukhtar Isyaku Minjibir said the open budget forum has quite been a success considering the interactivity of the forum and promised to forward the proceedings of the event to the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs.

By Hamza Ibrahim Chinade

Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the immediate past governor of Kano state and presently  the senator representing Kano central at the Senate, is by some measures the most outstanding governor in terms of recording tangible achievements that are of immense benefit to the people of Kano, the entire north and somewhat to the country at large. That is so, taking into cognizance the different sectors he heavily invested in: education, health, engineering, agriculture, science and technology, human development, societal reorientation, women and youth empowerment, trade and commerce etc. From whichever angle you take a look at his legacies you must surely be amazed and probably start thinking about what informed his foresight especially at a time when most political leaders have less concern for long term projects and investments.
No doubt, that in just four years Senator Kwankwaso has succeeded in swiftly transforming the ancient and commercial hub of West Africa into a modern day glittering and flashy city, giving it a new look that nobody anticipated will happen in such a near future. Kano has now become a tourists’ destination for northerners and other Nigerians who have never seen flashy flyovers and underpasses, pedestrian bridges that reduce accidents and ease traffic flow.

I can still remember when the Kofar Nasarawa flyover was launched it almost became a tourists center for attracting jubilating fellows who pose to take pictures of all kinds, courtesy of Kwankwaso.
Kwankwaso has succeeded in decongesting the boring hold-ups of Kano by creating numerous alternatives such as flyovers, underpasses, and other roads. Having established the Northwest University, sponsored hundreds of Kano indigenes to pursue their Master’s and Doctorate degrees in science and technology, engineering, medicine, etc abroad, and rehabilitated thousands of youths and employed them in various government initiatives and programmes, Kwankwaso now stands unbeatable in Kano and northern polity, his thousands of landmark achievements will remain indelible in the eyes and minds of ‘Kanawa’, no matter what!
When search for his successor was ongoing, there have been skepticisms, doubts and uncertainties as to who the cap best fits, and eventually his then deputy Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, emerged amidst series of concerns about his capability with some questioning his boldness, foresight, and endurance but Kwankwaso altruistically put hope and confidence in the man that now wants to play the betrayal game. For whatever reason Ganduje chose to crackdown on his boss, the Hausas have an adage that says ‘Yaro bar murna karen ka ya kama zaki….’ roughly translated as “boy, stop celebrating your challenge that your dog has captured a lion”, so much still lies ahead.

The recent dramatic decision of the Kano State House of Assembly ordering that all Kwankwaso’s capital projects carrying inscription of ‘Kwankwasiyya’ be erased shows an obvious derailment from important legislative duties, to a rather partisan sycophancy aimed at pleasing the very authority, that ordinarily should be policed by them. The danger here is, pleasing as the action may sound to the government and its friends, but every sensible person knows that the state legislature is fueling and supporting the Kano state government to crackdown on an icon who laid the foundation and structures that the government now enjoys. While Senator Kwankwaso maintains his statesmanship and humility by saying nothing even as sometimes condition warrants that he does so, Governor Ganduje has on various occasions publicly accused the past administration of certain wrongdoings, a stance which many public commentators deem as a poor judgment or rather shooting himself in the foot.
Rename or erase the word ‘Kwankwasiyya’ on hundreds of public structures or not, in hundred years to come people will still remember and testify that Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is a legend that must be cherished and emulated. Funny enough as the drama goes, Kwankwaso in his humanitarian and selfless service to the society assisted hundred men and women with all the necessary logistics to get married, but, when the wedding ceremony was scheduled, Kano state government stopped the ceremony from holding, I still wonder what the motive of this silly decision might be.
I find it outrageous that a government which claims to be serving people will stop a donation that will rid the society of its problems. Ordinarily it should warmly embrace and support all kinds of interventions from generous and well meaning individuals such as Kwankwaso. Perhaps Kano state government or the police wouldn’t have stopped Dangote, Isiyaka Rabiu or Shekarau if they attempted doing what Kwankwaso had wanted to do, then why Kwankwaso? A stream that crosses a path cannot be stopped (Ashanti Proverb), a word is enough for the wise.

Chinade is of the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) Kano, hamza4ib@gmail.com 08039467382.

 

http://www.blueprint.ng/2016/09/16/kwankwasos-legacies-are-indelible/

By Bashir Mohammed
Kano

Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has cautioned politicians in Kano state to desist from creating chaos capable of scuttling the upcoming bye-election of the Minjibir local government House of Assembly constituency.
The position had remained vacant following the death of the member representing the constituency, late Tahir Hamisu Gurjiya, early this year and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) slated April for election to fill the position, but later declared it inconclusive after it was disrupted by fierce violence.

Hence, the electoral body had rescheduled the bye-election to be conducted on Saturday, July 30, 2016, the situation that drew the attention of government, security agencies, civil society groups and NGOs towards ensuring a violence-free poll.
CITAD at a press conference in Kano yesterday, called on the politicians in the state not to make the election an avenue for revenge on their grievances, advising them to preach free and fair electoral participation to their supporters.
Addressing newsmen, CITAD’s programme officer (peace and conflicts), Isah Garba, urged the politicians from all political parties to accept defeat and throw their weight on the back of the winner, noting that violence would not augur well to the nascent democracy the country and the state are enjoying.

He added that “the security operatives in the state should be more vigilant and have their ears to the ground to snipe any possible violence and address early warning signs to avoid recurrence of violence in the election.”
He also appealed to the INEC to ensure free and fair conduct of the election, calling on the general public, especially those in the constituency to learn from the experience of the cancelled election and fear the possibility of them not having a representative in the House of Assembly till the end of this tenure.

 

http://www.blueprint.ng/2016/07/28/kano-bye-election-ngo-cautions-politicians-against-violence/

Following the recurring fire incidence in Kano markets metropolis, the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has organized a policy intervention lecture with a view to proffering tangible solutions to devastating fire outbreaks. The lecture which was themed ‘’GIS Based Fire Incident Emergency Response: A case study of Kano urban markets’’ draws various stake holders in order to develop a robust framework towards salvaging the markets from fire outbreak.

Giving his welcome remarks, Executive Director of the center Dr. YZ Ya’u noted that fire incidences especially of recent are quite alarming while ways of averting their occurrence can be effectively developed using technology and functional equipment, and geographical information system (GIS) can be utilized to achieve that. YZ Ya’u recounts how some relevant scholarly researches conducted can help prevent fire incidences but were not being used because either they policy makers did know about them or they were simply not interested in applying them. He added that this dialogue had purposely brought the research community, the policy makers, the trader communities and the civil society groups so that a collective strategy could be developed in preventing future occurrences of such devastating fire incidence.

Also commenting, the chairman of the occasion Prof. Mustapha Hassan Bichi of Civil Engineering Department BUK maintained that the lecture came at the right time saying fire incidence is one of the many natural disasters that requires emergency response, and to have a very good response you need to have a good plan, functional necessary tools, and make sure there are adequate trained personnel to execute the plan.

The paper presenter, Malam Nura Rabiu of KNUPDA observed that in the last five months Kano has witnessed four devastating market fires which included GSM Market, Kurmi Market, Singer Market and Sabon Gari the most recent and devastating in which 3,800 shops were burnt with properties worth N2 trillion. Nura Rabiu regretted that the loss suffered is touching and therefore requires collective effort as well as deployment of technology such as GIS to prevent future occurrence and provide quick emergency response. He said while southern states have been using GIS technique in terms of crime management and fire disaster, the north which has greatly suffered from fire outbreaks is yet to benefit from the technology. Application of GIS can simply give location of the fire, quick route to the scene, the available fire station around, hydrants to use and also sticking to the three minutes international standard response time, Nura added.

The presenter also noted that distribution of the fire stations within the metropolis has a higher concentration in the core city. However, it is clearly envisaged that the spatial relation between the markets and the fire stations is virtually nonexistent as only Sabon Gari Market is provided with the facility (fire station). He recommended that:

1. Kano state fire service should build a database management system for effective fire incident emergency response and other rescue operations.
2. Where the resources are limited to meet the international standard, fire hydrants should be provided. This covers reactivating the existing ones within the markets (e.g. Sabon Gari Market Plan).
3. Planning authority should consider emergency issues for Market layout design to ensure quick response.
4. Development control measures by the planning Authority should be more proactive so as to ensure compliance with the approved plans.
5. Single Power Source should be provided and be controlled by market management.

Some of the challenges highlighted during the lecture included:

• Barriers created either by the merchants or authorities which easy passage of the fire service vehicles.
• Hydrants are no longer functional.
• Fires are not discovered at the early stage.
• Fire service lack adequate and up to date firefighting equipment.
• Traders lack basic sensitization on fire occurrence and safety measures.
• Some people smoke and drop cigarette filters within the markets.
• Many roads are completely blocked.
• Impunity on the side of KNUPDA by allowing illegal structures.
• Absence of emergency and safety measure within the market vicinity.

Recommendations made during the lecture also included:

• Government should use relevant researches conducted in the past aimed at ending fire outbreak and providing emergency response and safety measures.
• KNUPDA should be impartial in the discharge of its duties, stop illegal structures accordingly.
• Short emergency numbers need to created, made available as well as get well circulated or disseminated.
• Traders need to be sensitized on switching off electrical appliances while closing their shops.
• Sustainable plans must be in place and executed.
• The model/lecture should be designed in native language and particularly Hausa in order to target a number of traders and the populace in general.
• Fire service should have a unit dedicated to strategic positions/locations.
• People must develop attitudinal change.
• Fire service should stick to the three minutes international standard response time to fire outbreak.
• Fire service should also develop a database, not wait for anybody to report fire outbreak but use GIS to monitor and receive alarm of fire incidence.
• There should be collaboration between fire service, planning and development agency, and other related bodies.
• Markets security personnel must be trained and go on daily/routine patrol to ensure prevention of sad occurrence.
• Real nature of the markets need to be studied in order to develop functional solutions.
• The markets need to be decentralized in order to ensure decongestion.
• Politicians, civil servants should stop interfering in the operations of KNUPDA.
• Traders must stop illegal and unnecessary extensions.
• There should be strong laws on illegal extensions.
• Every shop should have a fire extinguisher.
• People need to be security conscious.
• The water board should have a raw water network for firefighting, direct it to appropriate places like the hydrants in the markets.
• Government should provide reservoirs that use natural gravity to get water into appropriate pipes.
• Government should implement the necessary recommendations.

The lecture was attended by academics, civil society groups, traders form various markets, fire service personnel, SEMA, KNUPDA, media and many other guests.

 

 

Deputy Governor of Kano state, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, has called on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and notable development partners to join hands in developing critical sectors of the government for better result.

Speaking at a quiz competition organised by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) in collaboration with the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) held in Kano yesterday, Abubakar said  what was needed most in an ideal democratic setting was service to humanity and the ability to live above board.
The deputy governor, who was represented by the Special Assistant on Special Duties, Alhaji Idriss Hamisu Rogo, said the Ganduje administration had accorded top priority to education for the young school children to know their worth  in shaping the destiny of the nation.
On her part, the Programme officer , Centre for Democratic Development, Mrs. Abibatu Barry, stressed the need for creating awareness among school children for them to under the nitty-gritty of democratic leadership, adding that the quiz was conceived to ginger the resolve of the children academic pursuit in that regard.

He said the political class must be accountable to the electorate since they were given the constitutional mandate to lead people for everyone to enjoy the much pronounced dividends of good governance, stressing that the NGOs were indispensable partners in progress.
Also speaking, CITAD Programme officer, Malam Kabiru Dakata, said  the issue of election was not the end in itself, but concentrating on the required indices of development which  the political class must strive to uphold.
He pointed out that the quiz was an eye-opener to students willing to excel in their chosen field, affirming that non-government organisations, like CITAD, would be up and doing in creating easy avenues for young school children to forge ahead.

 

Source: http://www.blueprint.ng/2016/03/16/kano-dep-gov-urges-ngos-to-develop-critical-sectors/

REPORT OF THE WOMEN APP DEVELOPER JAM ORGANISED BY CITAD DURING THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN DAY IN KANO ON

 

Metrics

How many turned up in total     : 47

Male Attendees                            : 13

Female Attendees                        : 34

 

 

Summary:

Introduction

On Saturday, 14^th March, CITAD as part of its celebration of the International Women’s Day held a one-day training for girls on mobile apps development. The event, code named Women App Developers Jam held at the main training lab of CITAD and was attended by 34 girls from Bayero University, Kano and other nearly institutions.

Topics for the Event:

Introduction to android

History and architecture of Android

Android market share

Building App i: Android Make-up (App Fashionista)

Building App ii: Recipe App

Entrepreneurial Talk

Monetizing App: Google pay and ad mobs

Overall Objective:

As one of the leading organizations advocating for digital inclusion, we intended to bring more women into mobile apps development as their representation in ICT is so low that serious intervention is required. The event was thus to introduce them to android architecture and the potential marketplace for their android apps. As a way of exposing them to entrepreneurial component of App development, we gave them entrepreneurial talk during the event and also exposed them to the best way they can monetize their apps using ad mobs and android pay.

 

Success Highlights:

With this event, we were able to reach out to a reasonable number of female enthusiasts, raised their interest in IT (App development in particular), raised their level from mare technology users to technology inventor, and above all clear away the stereotype that women cannot be technologist /inventors. As an outcome, we were able to develop two Apps in an interactive mentoring style with them. A team of women enthousisast was formed with the aim of creating a forum for mentorship in app development.

Challenges:

One major challenge faced was the background of the attendees, many of them were eager to learn, but they had no previous adequate knowledge that could be built on which made the core part of the programme sounded gibberish to them, making some leave before the end of the programme as such, making the programme not as successful as planned.

 

Key Learning:

One new thing that served as a lesson after the event was that it would always be a good idea to first sample the participants knowing their background in programming before actually going into it, so as to enable facilitators come lower to their understanding.

 

Follow-up Actions:

The two android apps developed during this event would be made available to the participants so that those interested could build on them and improve on them. We also intend to create a forum where participants could ask questions in order to solve problems they encountered during practice. In addition, CITAD is planning to have a more women centered apps development event series in order to further enlighten those interested in apps development.

 

 

Miss Oge Okeye, the National Endowment for Democracy, (NED)’s Assistance Program Officer for Africa, paid an official visit to Centre for Information Technology and Development, (CITAD), on 3rd- April-2008. Miss. Oge had a meeting with the Executive Director, CITAD, Y.Z. Ya’u as and other officers of the centre.

Issues discussed at the meeting involved; CITAD activities in promoting political awareness especially in Jigawa State, women participation in politics, CITAD’s contribution to the development political participation, it’s execution of NED program, accountability among others.

With regard to promoting political participation, the Executive Director, Y.Z. Ya’u unveiled that CITAD has formed a political sensitization team, which actively participated in creating political awareness through holding comprehensive discussions and lectures with the mass populace of Jigawa State. “Through activities like these,” according to Y.Z. Ya’u, “there has been a large turn out of voters in Jigawa State especially in contrast to with previous elections.” Further, the Director informed Miss Oge that due to the positive impact of CITAD’s team in eradicating political apathy in Jigawa State, the government in the plan to replicate the same so as to reinforce CITAD’s effort and create a democratically advantaged populace in Jigawa State.

On the gender issue and women political participation, Mrs. Fatima informed the NED’s Assistant Program Officer for Africa that in Jigawa State there is still the problem of inadequate political participation of women in politics. She added that CITAD has been trying very hard to ensure that women come out and cast their votes. Says Mrs. Fatima:

“We have been going to every nock and corner in Jigawa State, reaching out to women, educating and sensitizing them on the dividends of democracy and the important role they can play especially with their large population. Culture in this part of Nigeria does not promote women mixing freely with men, but with more sensitizations, people are now understanding the responsibilities tied around their neck, and so in the recent time there is improvement in the number of women who come out to cast their vote. The effort of CBO’s like CITAD contributed a lot.”

Miss Oge Okeye, went around the various CITAD’s units and saw their activities with satisfaction.

The employability programme began in Kano 5th May 15, 2008 with 124 trainees. Who have satisfactory attended the five –days work-shop organized by the LEAP Africa, and delivered at the Auditorium Hall, School of Technology Kano.

The training which is to be provided by the Centre for Information Technology (CITAD) has been categorized into three: The first category is for the trainees who are totally not computer literate, and therefore, must under go a basic certificate in Information Technology (CIT) in this category there are one hundred (100) who are currently undergoing the CIT programme. To ensure the successful conduction of the CIT, CITAD has divided the 100 trainees in to four groups of 25 trainees each. Group “A” is the morning session starting from 9-11am, Group “B” is the afternoon session beginning from 2-4pm, Group “C” is also an afternoon session starting from 11-01pm, while Group “D” is the last, beginning from 2-4pm  every Monday to Thursday respectively.

The  next category for the trainees who are already computer literate but wishes to extend their knowledge.Centre for Information Technology and Development has identified 24 trainees who satisfactory been place either in Diploma Information (DIT) or Diploma in (DCMR). Out of these 24 trainees 14 are currently undergoing the DIT programme while the remaining 12 are receiving the DCMR training. Like the CIT trainees, the DIT and DCMR trainees, receive their training four days a week (mon-thursdays). The morning session begun between 9-11am and is for the DIT trainees while the evening session beginning from 4-6pm is for the DCMR trainees.

A two- day International Workshop titled: The Kano ICT Park: from concept to reality was conducted at Tahir Guest Palace, Kano. The workshop which took place between Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th May 2008 was an official declaration for the opening of the Kano State Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Park.

The occasion witnessed the attendance of international representatives from Malaysia and Ghana, representatives of International Organization such as DFID, top governmental officials, academicians, professional ICT companies, various non-governmental organizations from all part of the nation. A number of papers were presented dealing with the Conception of the ICT Park in Kano, its development, sustainability, entrepreneurship, man power supply among other important issues. The Deputy Governor of Kano state Engineer Abdullahi Tijjani Muhammad Gwarzo who represented the Executive Governor of Kano Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau declared the ICT Park open after expressing the state government appreciation on the workshop. Engineer Abdullahi Tijjani stated that the entire world socio-economy is moving faster due to Information Communication Technology [ICT] which is the driving force behind it. He added that Kano State Government, in its effort to catch up in the race for ICT and socio-economic developments, establish the office of the Special Adviser on Education and Information Technology under the leadership of Dr. Bashir Galadanchi which eventually metamorphosed into the Kano ICT Park from concept to reality. The Deputy Governor concluded that even though the ten storey building popularly known as investment house was not build for ICT purpose, it is now an excellent decision by the state to convert the structure into an ICT park.

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