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29 November 2010 By Abdullahi Bichi Yusuf The day was Thursday, 25th
of November 2010. I was part of the huge crowd that
witnessed the unveiling of the plaque for the
Foundation Laying Ceremony for a shopping Mall centre
at the Kano Trade Fair Complex. The ultra
modern shopping centre,
which promises to expose Kano as centre of Commerce to
the business world is named after the emir of Kano,
His Highness, Alhaji (Dr)
Ado
Bayero due to his selfless
service rendered for the country. At this august
event, speaker after speaker took turn to enumerate
the essence of Ado Bayero Shopping Mall and paid
encomium on those behind the noble project.
Ado Bayero Mall project is the
first ultra modern world-class shopping Mall in
northern Nigeria.
It is a product of private sector-driven economy under
the Public, Private Partnership championed by Malam
Ibrahim Shekarau
administration through the then
Honourable Commissioner of Commerce, Industry,
Cooperative and Tourism now moved to Land and physical
planning, Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Yakasai. Incidentally,
the Commissioner was the Chairman, Organising
Committee of the ground-breaking ceremony of the Ado
Bayero Shopping Mall. The first speaker at the event
was Alhaji Ahmad Rabiu, the President of Kano Chamber
of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA).
Ahmad Rabiu noted with gratitude that the project
would not have taken off without the active
participation and encouragement of the
Kano State Government
for "facilitating and fast-tracking the lease of the
land to the Promoters and revamping the road network
around the project site." He saluted the courage of
the promoters of the landmark project and their faith
in the economic future of
Kano
State. The Chairman, Organising
Committee of the event, Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Yakasai
took his turn to make a very short, precise and
thought provoking speech about the Ado Bayero Shopping
Mall. The Mall he said will provide the lead in
commercial innovation, urban renewal, restoration and
rejuvenation for northern Nigeria. Yakasai was highly
enthusiastic about the contributions of Malam (Dr)
Ibrahim Shekarau administration
in the support and encouragement of Public, Private
Partnership by the administration, while he extended
the same gratitude to His Highness, the emir of Kano
for allowing his humble name to be emboldened in the
project. Yakasai also expressed confidence on Malam
(Dr) Ibrahim Shekarau becoming the next President of
Nigeria. General T. Y. Danjuma, Chairman
of Danjuma Holding and a core investor in the Ado
Bayero Shopping Mall commended and appreciated
Shekarau's effort in the development of Kano State. He
cautioned that the activities of the Shopping Mall
should reflect the culture of the host community. In
this respect, General Danjuma stated that the selling
of items as alcohol and pork should be prohibited in
the Shopping Mall. Also present at the occasion was
the former Permanent Representative at the United
State and the Dan Masanin Kano, Alhaji Yusuf
Maitama Sule who, in his usual
oratory speech, poured encomium on promoters of the
project especially the
Kano State Governor,
Malam (Dr) Ibrahim Shekarau for his marvelous
achievements in the growth of Kano State. In his
presentation, the Chief Executive Officer of the
Alpine Group, Alhaji Mohammed Hayatu-Deen showed a
vivid description of the Ado Bayero Shopping Mall in
Kano. He praised the Chairman Organising Committee;
Alhaji Ahmad Ibrahim Yakasai for his deep support and
commitment on the project, stressing that Ahmed
Yakasai left no stone unturned in ensuring the success
of the historic event. He however classified him into
one of the future generation leaders of the land.
Hayatu-Deen thanked the Sardaunan Kano, emir of Kano,
T.Y. Danjuma and the First Bank for their various
commitments and cooperation towards realizing the
desired goal. His Highness, Alhaji (Dr) Ado Bayero and
the Governor of Kano State, Malam (Dr) Ibrahim
Shekarau, Sardaunan Kano expressed their gratitude and
appreciations at the occasion. Over The establishment of Ado Bayero
shopping Mall is the product of the significant role
played by Public, Private Partnership since every
thing cannot be dependent on government or federation
account. It is in this spirit that Alhaji Ahmed
Yakasai, who manned the Kano Ministry of Commerce,
Industry, Cooperative and Tourism for five years took
the bull by the horn to champion the PPP in Kano for
economic growth and development. Ahmed Yakasai
strongly believes in Public/Private partnership,
perhaps due to his vast experience as a man who has
travelled far and wide. In order to meet the need of
Kano, he had to bring in the private sector,
considering the fact that he is also from the private
sector, so that together they can restore the past
glory of Kano. This was the essence why he organized
an economic summit, the first economic summit in Kano
in 2006. This gave birth to economic movement in the
state. As a result of this struggle, Kano state under
Shekarau administration was able to partner with
private sector, which culminated into receiving many
proposals especially the independent power plan, the
international Market (Kanawa Market), the ICT Park and
Shopping Malls. It is no wonder therefore that
when the issue of Organising the
Ado Bayero Shopping Mall
Foundation Laying Ceremony came
up, Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Yakasai was called to chair
the organizing Committee, because of his recognition
for hard work and his deep sense of commitment to
restore the past glory of Kano. Abdullahi Bichi Yusuf wrote
from Bichi, Kano State. Email:
abdullahibichiyusuf@yahoo.com
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