The heart of Kano beats slower these days, weighed down by fear, grief and the unsettling reality that violence has become part of our daily lives.
This is not the Kano of my childhood, nor the Kano our elders speak of with pride. Streets that once carried the laughter of traders, students and children are increasingly haunted by gangs, many of them allegedly driven by drug abuse, who prey on innocent residents with little fear of consequences.
The recent killings of Sadiq Gentle, a popular social media influencer, and a promising Bayero University Kano (BUK) student in separate attacks should not be treated as isolated tragedies. They are symptoms of a worsening security and social crisis — a crisis that is no longer creeping upon us quietly but screaming for urgent intervention.
The killing of Sadiq Gentle was not simply the loss of a social media personality. It was the silencing of a young voice that inspired thousands. His death should have been a turning point — a moment when the government, security agencies and the wider community collectively said: enough.
But it was not.
Within the same period, another tragedy struck when a promising BUK student lost his life in another violent phone-snatching incident.
These are not merely crimes of opportunity. They represent a growing threat to the future of Kano.
Every time we bury a young person lost to thuggery, we are not only burying an individual. We are burying dreams, potential and a part of Kano’s future.
Yet the response follows a familiar script: news breaks, outrage spreads across social media, statements are issued and, after a few days, silence returns.
Until the next killing.
We must confront the uncomfortable truth. Thuggery and phone snatching in Kano cannot be explained solely by poverty, unemployment or greed. They are also linked to the growing problem of drug abuse.
From vulnerable communities across the metropolis, drug abuse is destroying young lives and contributing to a climate in which criminality and violence can thrive.
Substances such as tramadol, codeine, cannabis and other illicit drugs can impair judgment and contribute to aggressive and reckless behaviour. But we must also be careful not to reduce every violent crime to drug abuse alone. Criminal networks, unemployment, weak community structures, poor policing and the absence of meaningful opportunities all contribute to the problem.
That is why the response must be comprehensive.
A hungry person may steal to survive, but organised street crime requires a different level of intervention. We need to understand who is recruiting young people into gangs, who supplies illicit drugs, who finances criminal networks and why perpetrators repeatedly believe they can escape justice.
Drug abuse in Kano is not merely a youth problem. It is a community problem.
It damages families, undermines education, fuels criminality and destroys the productive capacity of young people.
Therefore, the fight against street crime cannot be separated from the fight against drug abuse.
But enforcement alone will not solve the problem.
The Kano State Government must strengthen programmes for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of people struggling with drug dependency. Security agencies must improve intelligence-led policing and respond rapidly to violent street crime.
Community policing must also become more meaningful, with residents able to communicate directly with trusted security personnel and report threats before they escalate.
Traditional and religious leaders have an equally important responsibility.
Every sermon, community meeting and public platform should reinforce the message that drug abuse, thuggery, robbery and violence are unacceptable. Communities must also reject the practice of shielding criminals simply because they are relatives, friends or members of the same neighbourhood.
We need local structures that identify young people at risk before they become deeply involved in criminal activity.
Our communities should support credible neighbourhood watch initiatives, mentorship programmes, vocational training and youth development schemes. But such initiatives must operate within the law and in cooperation with security agencies. Vigilantism cannot be the solution to criminality.
Civil society and the media must also maintain pressure.
We cannot allow every killing to become a trending topic for 48 hours before disappearing from public consciousness. Every victim has a family. Every victim has a story. Every victim represents a loss to society.
We must continue asking difficult questions.
Who killed them?
Why were they killed?
Were the perpetrators arrested?
Were they prosecuted?
What happened to the case?
What measures have been introduced to prevent another family from experiencing the same tragedy?
Accountability cannot end with a press statement.
The authorities must also recognise that street crime is not merely a security issue. It is an economic and social development issue.
A young person who cannot safely travel to school, work, a business premises or a place of worship is living in a society where development is already being undermined.
We cannot continue losing our youth to the streets.
We cannot allow mothers to live in fear every time their children leave home.
We cannot normalise phone snatching, gang violence and thuggery as an inevitable part of life in Kano.
And we cannot wait until another prominent victim is killed before demanding action.
This is not a call to arms. It is a call for unity, responsibility and sustained pressure on those entrusted with protecting citizens.
The government must act.
Security agencies must act.
Traditional and religious institutions must act.
Communities must act.
Parents must act.
Civil society must act.
And young people themselves must recognise that the street culture of violence offers no future.
We owe it to Sadiq Gentle. We owe it to the BUK student. We owe it to the countless unnamed victims whose deaths barely make the news.
Most importantly, we owe it to the young people who are still alive and deserve the opportunity to build meaningful lives.
Kano is worth saving.
Our young people are worth saving.
Our streets must belong to law-abiding citizens, not gangs.
And I will say it again, as loudly as I can:
Enough is enough.
Zainab Nasir Ahmed is a youth advocate based in Kano.
