By Abbas Ibrahim
Radio Kano, Uwa Ma Bada Mama.
For a radio station that recently clocked 80 years, Radio Kano is more than just a broadcasting institution. It is an institution that has shaped generations, produced erudite and respected broadcasters, informed the public, promoted culture and served as a training ground for countless professionals.
But beyond its celebrated history and legendary broadcasters is another story that deserves equal attention, the story of workers who spent years serving the public as casual employees, living with uncertainty while hoping that one day their service would be recognised.
Wednesday, 22 July 2026, became a day of fulfilment for 51 of such workers, as they were engaged as full-time government employees.
For many, it was simply an administrative decision. For the 51 workers, however, it was the culmination of years of sacrifice, endurance, loyalty and resilience.
I am particularly qualified to speak about the life of a casual worker.
Although I am now a pensioner, having retired after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 60, my history is incomplete without Radio Kano, the prestigious station I have always cherished and will forever cherish.
I voluntarily left the station at a point in my career, but later returned to start afresh. My return began with an engagement as a casual worker.
That experience taught me lessons that cannot be acquired in any classroom.
A casual worker learns resilience. A casual worker learns adaptability. A casual worker learns to give his best even when the future appears uncertain.
But there is a significant difference between casualisation in a public institution and casual employment elsewhere. In a public institution, the casual worker is often conscious that his service is ultimately a sacrifice for the public good.
I remember vividly when, during my return as a casual worker, Radio Kano workers joined other civil servants in a strike to demand better pay and improved conditions of service.
My then Manager, News and Current Affairs, Malam Ali Lawal Umar, spoke to me in a reassuring tone. He cleverly explained how I could continue to work unhindered as a casual worker while my colleagues were on strike.
I did so wholeheartedly.
After some time, I was engaged as a fresh worker.
I remain grateful to Almighty Allah and to Alhaji Gali Sadiq, who was the Managing Director of the station at the time.
That experience remains one of the most important chapters of my professional life.
Today, I look back with gratitude. I am done with active service, but the memories of Radio Kano remain alive. The station is permanently woven into my personal history.
I remain a proud former staff member of Radio Kano.
And to the 51 newly engaged workers, I say: your years as casual workers were not wasted years.
Those years were years of service to the people.
History will remember that you served when your employment status was uncertain. History will remember that you continued to work, contribute and sacrifice. History will remember that you remained committed despite the absence of the security enjoyed by permanent employees.
Your journey should also teach you an important lesson, know the rules of the service.
Now that you have become full-time government employees, you must familiarise yourselves with the Civil Service Rules and other regulations governing your employment. Knowledge of the rules will protect you from avoidable pitfalls and help you navigate your careers responsibly.
I salute the Managing Director of Radio Kano, Comrade Abubakar Adamu Rano, for his commitment to the cause of the casual workers, and indeed the Honorable Commissioner of Information and Internal Affairs, Comrade Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya for pushing further to make the process work.
The personal experience of the Managing Director, makes his intervention particularly significant. He proudly acknowledged that he was once a casual worker at Pyramid Radio before rising to the position he occupies today.
Such is life.
No one can tell what tomorrow holds.
The person who is a casual worker today may become a manager, director or even head of an institution tomorrow.
The engagement of the 51 workers is therefore not merely an employment decision. It is a powerful reminder that people should not be permanently defined by their present circumstances.
I commend Comrade Abubakar Adamu Rano for relentlessly pushing for the absorption of the casual workers.
I also commend the administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for absorbing casual workers from various sectors of the state public service.
However, the media constituency still deserves further attention.
Many media workers remain on the queue.
The story of the 51 Radio Kano workers should therefore be seen as a beginning, not an end. It should inspire renewed consideration for other casual workers who have spent years serving government institutions and the public without the security of permanent employment.
Casual workers are workers too.
They deserve dignity. They deserve recognition. They deserve a fair opportunity to build a secure future.
The Radio Kano experience has shown that resilience can eventually meet recognition.
To the 51 newly engaged workers, congratulations.
Your new status comes with greater security, but also greater responsibility.
You must live up to expectations. You must justify the confidence reposed in you. You must remember where you started and never forget the years of sacrifice that brought you to this point.
As the saying goes, one good turn deserves another.
May your new journey be marked by dedication, professionalism and service to the people.
And may the story of Radio Kano’s 51 newly engaged workers become a source of hope for thousands of other casual workers still waiting for their own moment of recognition.
