By Salihi Adamu Takai
I was at Zakir Naik’s lecture on “The True Religion on Earth,” which concluded in the last few days, standing with brothers Uzairu and Abul-Khair, medical students at King Ceasor University, Uganda. As I was standing in my full Hausa dress with a match-colour cap, an old man saw me
“Assalamu alaikum”, the man greeted me. He was interested in discussing my dress with me. He asked me, “Are you a Nigerian?” I replied, “Yes, I am.” He said, “You must be from Kano State.” Yes, I am from Kano. “Masha Allah,” he said, excitedly.
As I was fully attentive to him, he told me how he knew Kano and its relevance in Islamic history in Uganda. He told me he knew about Kano in two ways: its impact on Islamic history in Uganda and its being the centre of commerce for decades back then.
“I have constantly visited Kano for thirty years since the state retained its centre of commerce. I exported textiles from there to Uganda, which we found so cheap. In those days, there were many mills producing cotton fabrics. The Trans-Saharan trade fueled Kano’s textile industry, bringing cotton and other raw materials from North Africa”, the man reminisced.
This meeting taught me a lot of knowledge, which I could say is of non-fortune because I understood that my state has missed what can’t be recovered quickly.
Gradually, the things the state was known for started to escape from it — right from when it lacked a well-focused leader who could maintain what it had then — thinking that a title could be helpful in the future.
The headline is the “Reform Tax Bill,” which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu proposed to the National Assembly. The bill aims to favour a state with many factories. Unfortunately, Kano is no longer such a state. The industries established by colonial masters and maintained by the founding fathers have been neglected and abandoned by northerners. The textile industry has declined, relying on importation. So unfortunate!
Salihi Adamu Takai wrote via salihiadamu8888@gmail.com.