The Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, has been slammed for empowering women with goats in a bid to combat poverty and promote economic self-reliance in the state.

Yusuf distributed the goats himself when he inaugurated the second phase of the Livestock Fattening Programme under the Kano Agro-Pastoral Development Project.

His spokesperson, Sanusi Dawakin-Tofa, said the initiative involves the distribution of livestock to women across the state’s 44 local government areas.

Speaking during the flag off, the governor revealed that 7,158 goats would be distributed to 2,386 women in the current phase, with each beneficiary receiving three goats.

Yusuf also revealed plans to distribute 1,342 cows and 1,822 rams to women and youths in subsequent phases.

The gesture by the Kano governor has been criticized on social media by many who believe that the state is above such a project.

On X, @Sarki_sultan said, "How can you add feeding responsibility to someone who is crying of hunger?

This is my opinion take it or leave it, but our people need education and security more than all these scam projects."

Another X user, @JaafarSJaafar, said, "We all laughed, mocked and jeered at the Kaduna PDP governorship candidate, Isah Ashiru’s plan to boost red goat production if elected governor of Kaduna State. Therefore, I’d be a hypocrite if I keep mum on Governor Yusuf’s red goat empowerment initiative.

"To start with, there are certain events/activities that do not require a governor’s presence, at least for optics.

"A single controversial decision can blur public vision from seeing other achievements of a politician, thereby becoming a poignant epoch that defines his entire political career.

"We mostly remember President Obasanjo for allegedly spending $16 billion (it was actually $3.5billion) on power sector, but we don’t remember him for building 10 new power stations under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs).

"Gov. Yusuf should remember that we are in the 21st Century, the era that sired AI-driven technologies, compact drones, reusable rockets, big data, driverless cars, blockchain technology, gene editing for enhanced crop production, etc.

"Kano always admires Lagos for its policies and programmes, but when our leaders implemented some policies, you’d think they are implementing the peasant economic edicts of an Iron Age potentate.

"With local government autonomy in effect, livestock empowerment and wheelbarrow distribution should be left for local government chairmen to handle.

"We have a duty to tell Gov. Yusuf the truth because we told the people that he would be different."

Former presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad, supported the programme but criticized the governor for participating in the distribution of the goats.

He said, "I 100% support this initiative as it is undoubtedly an effort that will greatly benefit many rural women, who are informally skilled in goat rearing. However, my issue, and I believe same with that of many critics, is that the governor of a populous and potentially state like Kano, with over 20 million people, should not be personally involved in distributing the goats. Such responsibilities should be delegated to representatives, as we expect our governor to focus on more complex and economically impactful initiatives that will have a broader impact on us, the good people of Kano."