AA Zaura Foundation Rallies Stakeholders to End Thuggery, Drug Abuse in Kano

In a bold, citizen-driven push to restore peace, dignity, and opportunity to Kano’s youth, the AA Zaura Foundation has launched a major rehabilitation campaign tagged “From Street to Straight Project: Ending Thuggery Crisis in Kano State.” The initiative brought together traditional rulers, security chiefs, religious leaders, and civil society actors for a stakeholders’ consultative meeting held in Kano.

Founder of the initiative and renowned philanthropist, Abdulkareem Abdussalam Zaura (AA Zaura), emphasized the apolitical and humanitarian nature of the gathering, describing it as a rescue mission to reclaim the future of Kano’s youth and the state’s declining social values.

“This project is purely for the children of Kano, for your generation and mine,” Zaura declared passionately. “It is a mission to give life back to those society has abandoned. We want to take our youth off the streets and ignite hope in their lives. We want them to understand they are not forgotten.”

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Zaura lamented the growing menace of thuggery and drug abuse, which he said has taken root among youth as young as 13. He called on royal fathers, religious leaders, community leaders, and security agencies to take ownership of the project and commit to rescuing the state from the looming social catastrophe.

“This initiative is not just about talk. We’ve engaged youths, ulemas, professionals and the grassroots. This foundation has set the ground running. No one is exempt—we all have a duty to bring our youth back from the brink,” he added.

The project, according to Zaura, is already yielding early success. “Since we began this engagement, no single life has been lost to street violence. This alone should give us hope,” he noted, reaffirming the foundation’s commitment to vocational training, digital literacy, and economic reintegration of vulnerable youth.

In his remarks, the Kano State Commissioner of Police, CP Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, commended the initiative, stating that it aligns perfectly with the community policing strategy being implemented under the directive of the Inspector General of Police.

“Since my assumption of duty two months ago, the command has arrested 357 individuals for thuggery, drug dealing, and related crimes. However, arrests alone are not enough. We must address the root causes—poverty, lack of opportunities, and social neglect,” CP Bakori said.

He stressed that rehabilitation, not just enforcement, is crucial, urging stakeholders to support sustainable frameworks including economic empowerment and grassroots sensitization. “This non-kinetic initiative is exactly the intervention we need at this critical time,” he added.

Similarly, the Kano State Commandant of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Abubakar Idris, hailed the project as a “historic and singular” private sector effort in the region.

“This is the first time a concerned citizen—not a government actor—is bringing stakeholders together to confront this monster head-on. We assure you that law enforcement agencies will give full support. We must reach the roots of this menace and uproot it completely,” Idris stated.

He pledged NDLEA’s unwavering commitment to the rehabilitation and reintegration of drug abuse victims, describing the initiative as a major boost to national security and community wellbeing.

The consultative meeting concluded with unanimous calls from various stakeholders for unified action, strengthened community involvement, and sustainable reintegration programmes.

The “From Street to Straight” project has already trained youths in digital agriculture and artificial intelligence in collaboration with the University of Sunderland and London Academy Business School, with over 450 more youths targeted in its next phase.

Observers see the AA Zaura Foundation’s approach as a model for non-kinetic community security efforts, combining local wisdom, strategic partnerships, and grassroots mobilisation to address the root causes of youth delinquency.

As Kano seeks to reclaim its legacy as the commercial, intellectual, and moral heart of Northern Nigeria, the From Street to Straight project appears to be laying the foundation for a generational turnaround—one youth at a time.