By Salisu Ibrahim
The Executive Director of the Global Improvement of Less Privileged Persons Initiative (GIOPPINI), Alhaji Mohammed Ali Mashi, has offered an official clarification regarding the number of street urchins reportedly living in an “unsafe environment” in Kano metropolis.
Mashi told journalists in an interview on Tuesday, that the story credited to him aimed at drawing government attention to the social challenge. It wasn’t about the figure and it was not intended to malign the government.
He said, his remarks were not intended to belittle any individual or target the state government or any of its institutions.
GIOPPINI, has been a long-term partner with Kano State Government on various issues pertaining social and environmental challenges and when it offered any information, verified or yet to be verified, it always do so to draw the attention of authorities to the issues that need government attention and were never intended to cause disaffection, he said.
“Our efforts are always to draw the attention of the State Government and its various agencies to the challenges, he said.
A figure was quoted, yes, but our aim as a functional organisation was to help Government address the social challenge. We came to realize the social challenge in the State and we indicated that some of these street children spend their nights under bridges and wander the streets, and the situation was exposing them to serious health risks, Mashi said.
“My concern personally and that of the organisation were deeply rooted in our passion and genuine commitment towards improving the welfare of vulnerable children and in assisting Kano State Government and not to the misrepresentation of official statistical information through unauthorized statistical activities. “We have been acknowledging Government efforts in this regard and we will continue to do so”, he stressed.
It could be recalled that when the report was published in some online publications, the Kano State Bureau of Statistics (KSBS) dismissed the executive director’s claim as misleading and inconsistent with its verified data, hence demanded for a retraction.
A statement signed by the Bureau’s Director General, Dr Suraj Sulaiman, on Monday said its attention had been drawn to the publication attributed to Global Improvement of Less Privileged Persons Initiative (GIOPPINI), which alleged that more than two million street urchins sleep in unsafe and unhygienic environments across Kano metropolis.