Kawu Sumaila Laments Failing PHCs and Alarming Doctor Shortage Across 16 Kano South LGAs

Kawu Sumaila laments failing PHCs across rural communities in Kano South, revealing a shocking deficit where fewer than 10 medical doctors served an estimated population of over seven million residents when he took office.

The Senator representing Kano South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Abdulrahman Sulaiman Kawu Sumaila, PhD, delivered the scathing appraisal while reviewing the deplorable condition of public basic healthcare inherited across 16 local government areas and 171 political wards.

Speaking at a media accountability forum organised by the Kano Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the lawmaker presented his stewardship scorecard covering three years of targeted grassroots interventions.

Kawu Sumaila Laments Failing PHCs and Dilapidated Facilities

Beyond the severe deficit of licensed medical personnel, Senator Sumaila described how dilapidated physical structures, missing diagnostic tools, and obsolete equipment crippled local clinical centres across the senatorial district.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Downstream Petroleum noted that pregnant mothers, infants, and vulnerable elders in remote settlements were routinely denied primary emergency triage due to systemic decay.

He disclosed that within the past three years, his legislative team mobilised federal capital interventions to complete comprehensive structural rehabilitation for eight primary healthcare centres (PHCs).

To upgrade clinical capacity, the intervention delivered 110 automated hospital beds, essential surgical consumables, and modern maternity monitoring devices across beneficiary wards.

Scholarships Mobilised to Counter Acute Personnel Shortages

Recognising that physical structures alone cannot save lives without certified clinicians, the lawmaker launched a community-based human capital program targeting indigenous youths.

Under this capacity-building initiative, 1,737 candidates, drawn equitably from the 171 wards, were shortlisted for specialised scholarship grants to study medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and allied health sciences.

Currently, 437 selected beneficiaries are undergoing advanced professional training in accredited tertiary institutions, creating a sustainable pipeline of personnel for primary health posts.

According to field proceedings documented by The Guardian Nigeria, the strategic human development plan aims to guarantee that every ward retains resident healthcare practitioners.

Border Security Operations and Irrigation Interventions

Turning to regional safety, Senator Sumaila detailed joint kinetic operations carried out in coordination with federal security forces to flush out armed criminal syndicates terrorising borders near Bauchi, Kaduna, and Katsina states.

The lawmaker recalled that widespread kidnapping and extortion cartels previously paralysed agrarian communities, subjecting vulnerable families to catastrophic ransom demands running into millions of naira.

Sustained counter-banditry sweeps over the triennial period have neutralised active hideouts and restored civil peace to frontier farming hubs.

To bolster food production and rural wealth, the constituency rolled out extensive irrigation investments:

• 6,090 Tube Wells: Drilled across farming clusters to facilitate reliable dry-season cultivation.
• 6,090 Water-Pumping Machines: Distributed directly to smallholder farming cooperatives.
• 300 Hand-Pump Boreholes: Installed in remote villages, primary schools, and community worship centers.

Classroom Expansion and Public Accountability

Educational infrastructure received substantial legislative attention, targeting the eradication of makeshift learning centres and classroom congestion across Kano South.

Sumaila highlighted the distribution of 3,000 durable three-seater student desks, 1,000 instructional whiteboards, and extensive teacher refresher training workshops alongside the construction of modern classroom blocks.

Delivering remarks during the forum, respected Islamic scholar Sheikh Mohammed bin Usman commended the lawmaker, noting that protecting public health, safeguarding food supplies, and providing education constitute sacred civic covenants between leaders and citizens.

Convening the review, Kano Correspondents’ Chapel Chairman Murtala Adewale emphasised that the scorecard exhibition fulfilled the constitutional mandate under Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution, which tasks the free press with upholding transparency and public accountability.