By Tijjani Sarki
Executive Director, Responsive Citizens Initiative
18th September 2025
Tears of joy, cheers of pride, and hearts swollen with gratitude such was the atmosphere across Kano State as news broke, Kano has emerged as the best-performing state nationwide in the 2025 NECO Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination.
This is not just a statistical victory, it is a seismic shift in the educational landscape a validation of hope, a moment of healing for years of neglect, and a thunderous confirmation that when purposeful leadership meets the will of the people, greatness is inevitable.
Let us pause and savour this milestone: 68,159 students in Kano State scored five credits and above, including Mathematics and English. These are not just numbers. These are the children of farmers, traders, artisans, and civil servants, who just two years ago sat on bare floors in broken classrooms, forgotten by a government that treated their future as expendable.
Today, they are champions. And so are their teachers, their parents, and every stakeholder who refused to give up on public education.
But above all, we must honour the man who dared to dream differently His Excellency, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for stepping into the ruins of a failing system and choosing the harder path reform over rhetoric.
This success didn’t fall from the sky. It was not a coincidence, nor the fruit of previous negligence. It was painfully earned, grounded in policy courage, and fuelled by a relentless commitment to restore dignity to public education.
When Governor Yusuf assumed office in 2023, he inherited a devastated sector:
Vandalized schools and classrooms converted into shops.
Over 4.7 million children without proper sitting arrangements.
A demoralized teaching workforce.
Millions in exam debts and collapsing infrastructure.
Instead of turning away, he declared a state of emergency in education and took decisive action:
₦3 billion was spent to pay NECO and WAEC fees for over 141,000 students.
₦748 million cleared inherited exam debts.
Tens of thousands of teachers were promoted, some after years of neglect.
School infrastructure began to rise from decay.
Free uniforms, books, furniture, and hygiene kits were distributed.
And critically, education received a historic 31% of the 2025 state budget the highest by any subnational government in Nigeria.
This is not politics. This is leadership. This is prioritizing the future over propaganda.
REWRITING HISTORY? NO WE REMEMBER.
It is therefore laughable no, shameful that some now attempt to claim this victory as theirs. The former Commissioner for Education, Hon. Muhammad Sunusi Kiru, in a recent statement, suggested that this glory belongs to the Ganduje administration.
This is not only dishonest, it is an insult to the intelligence of the people of Kano.
Under the past administration, the education sector witnessed its worst deterioration:
School lands were sold to private developers.
Classrooms rotted.
Teachers were denied promotion.
And the hopes of millions of children were mortgaged.
This success is not theirs to claim. You do not reap what you worked hard to destroy.
FROM VICTORY TO VIGILANCE: Sustaining the Momentum
As we bask in this national achievement, we must not fall into the trap of complacency. This is not the end of the journey,it is just the beginning.
To sustain this progress, I respectfully urge His Excellency to consider a bold but necessary next step:
Constitute an Independent Standing Committee on Education Accountability and Quality Assurance
This committee should comprise respected, non-partisan Kanawa educationists, religious leaders, civil society voices, and community representatives. Its mandate must include:
Conducting unscheduled school visits.
Monitoring the implementation of educational programs.
Evaluating teacher performance, student welfare, and infrastructure quality.
Reporting directly and independently to the Governor’s office, free from political interference.
Such a body will serve as a booster to the declared state of emergency and provide real-time oversight, ensuring that reforms are not only implemented but sustained.
INFRASRUCTURE STILL CRIES OUT.
The Governor’s eye-opening visit to Bilingual College in Kwankwaso earlier this year was a jarring reminder that many schools remain in dire condition. Crumbling walls, broken furniture, overcrowded classrooms these are not anomalies, they are widespread.
We cannot afford to let infrastructure be the weak link in this progress. Furniture provision, classroom renovations, water and sanitation upgrades must be accelerated, especially in rural communities where decay is often hidden from headlines.
A child cannot learn effectively on a broken desk under a leaking roof.
A Time for Unity, Not Bitterness
Let this moment not be tainted by bitter politics. Let us come together government, communities, and citizens to protect and build upon this fragile but inspiring progress.
To the students: You have risen from the dust. Your success tells us that poverty is not destiny, and you are more than your circumstances.
To the parents: Your sacrifices, often unseen and unthanked, have yielded gold.
To the teachers: This is your medal. You stood when the system was collapsing.
And to His Excellency, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, Thank you. Kano will remember this moment not just because we won, but because you showed us it was possible to win with integrity, vision, and courage.
CONCLUSION: The Journey Continues
As someone who has persistently advocated for deeper reform eduction sector in writings such as “Strengthening Education Through Community Engagement: A Call for Accountability” (October 2024),
VISIT OF SHOCK AND DISAPPOINTMENT: Governor Abba Kabir Yusif’s Eye-Opening Tour of Bilingual College in Kwankwaso Town (June, 2025)
“Turning a Moment of Shock into a Movement for Reform” (July 2025), I urge us all:
Let us not treat this moment as a trophy on a shelf, but as a torch lighting the path forward for generations to come.
The fight for education is not over. But for once, we know it can be won.
Tijjani Sarki
Good Governance and Public Policy Analyst
Executive Director, Responsive Citizens Initiative
responsivecitizensinitiative@gmail.com
18th September 2025