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Killing Kano with Darkness Recent visit to ancient Kano, after a hiatus, presents the picture of a city dying. If care is not taken, Kano will become a huge symbol of failure from which the whole nation will bitter drive lessons. What will ultimately kill Kano is darkness and not the mass number of reckless youths making living out of Achaba as result of lack of more decent jobs. For so long, over 200 industries were closed in Kano and more are closing and sacking staff as a result of lack of electric power. Every business now depends on generators which adds costs extended to consumers of goods and services. Throughout the days my visit lasted, i have never seen any part of the city with lights on. In the night, i took my time to run around and find out if there is any part that exclusively enjoys power from PHCN, but i ended up without seeing any. The bright lights around Government House, i was told, was courtesy of huge generators. Along the central business area that stretched form Ibrahim Taiwo Road upto as far as one can go, there is nothing expect unimaginable permanence of darkness. At a point, one may imagine as if walking in a deep jungle. Pity for this situation came to the fore when a friend told me that in over thirty days they have not seen light except one Friday night. It was around 3:30 pm, and to his amazement his wife wake up at that hour and started ironing her cloths and that of her child. My friend said tears almost roll from his eyes when within 20 minutes the light goes and the usual darkness resumes. He watched his wife struggling to find her way to back to the bed in silent disgust. The people of Kano it seems took this situation lightly on the assumption of so many of them that, they were deliberately deprived of light from the national grid because of their staunch opposition to the government in the centre (afterall they have a record of stoning the president). So many people gave this theory much credibility because, the level of darkness is much more than can be attributed to the poor and irritating failure of the nation's electricity supply system. It must be deliberate they assume, and aimed at making them to regret being politically different. The case of Kano should bother every well meaning Nigerian because of the large and swelling population and the increasing poverty. Everyone living in Kano today will have the menace of Achaba as one of the things to worry about. Apart from making movement dangerous, emissions of smoke from their exhausts makes the air thick and suffocating. Breathing may be a difficulty, especially in areas where traffic is always heavy. People install and operate generators without minding issues like safety. The noise from generators inside markets and around tailoring shops deprives one of his sanity. At times, one may experience great difficulties in communicating with the next person. This darkness is contributing to increase in the already high level of poverty manifest in even the unexpected quarters. The dirt poor roads around the city evidence failure of a city that has lost its soul. More amazing was the fact that even the influential sons of the city were only bothered about crafting how to win the next governorship elections. The apolitical ones were dodging the problem by taking refuge in their abodes in Abuja and other cities. The present government in Kano state is ignoring the problem and wasting its time on making sure that former governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso's image is dented forever. Kano symbolises the dimness of vision of our leaders at all levels. Public funds are mismanaged and crucial problems ignored. if the Federal government we have cares for the nation, a period of eight years is enough to find a lasting solution to the darkness that envelopes the whole nation. But all we are having are empty talks of reform and more darkness. Not even Abuja where those responsible of this darkness live enjoys stable power supply. Everyday they talk about billions put into power sector that always becomes more powerfull at ensuring that the people of Nigeria live in darkness. The list of shame is endless. Darkness and more darkness will indeed characterize our nationhood for a long time to come. Isa Sanusi, lives in Abuja, Nigeria.
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