By Abba Anwar
Nigeria has 36 states and the FCT. In the national media market, only 7 of them exist. Lagos, FCT, Rivers, Kano, Oyo, Anambra and Kaduna control over 60% of all political news, entertainment news and social media trends. The remaining 29 states, including Kebbi State, share the leftover crumbs.
A 12-month media visibility audit of Nigerian states puts Kebbi State at a miserable 31st position, with a national Share of Voice of less than 0.9%. For every 1,000 stories written about state governments in Nigeria, only 6 are about Kebbi.
This is not because Kebbi is not working. It is because Kebbi is not seen. His Excellency the Executive Governor of Kebbi state Dr Nasir Idris, Kauran Gwandu has performed wonderfully well in many sectors. What he achieved in many areas, many of his colleagues are left far behind. A very progressive Governor who believes in productivity and good governance.
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But because of the weak media team around the Governor, most of his work are not as visible as they should be in the media. There is the anatomy of invisibility. We should first ask ourselves why Kebbi is so invisible? In fact there are studies and/research around that. Findings suggest that, firstly is the framing problem. When Kebbi is mentioned, it is never the lead.
Over 70% of national stories mentioning Kebbi in the last year framed it as a footnote. “Troops rescue victims in Zamfara, Kebbi.” “15 states endorse state police as Ekiti, Kebbi Assemblies pass bill.” “TCN warns residents against vandalism in Kebbi.” Kebbi is always “also”, “alongside”, “including”. It is the plus-one in Nigeria’s media party.
Second, the thematic trap. 42% of all stories about Kebbi are about banditry and insecurity, where Kebbi is added as an appendage to Zamfara. Another 28% are routine APC politics like donations of vehicles for campaign.
Only 5% are about agriculture, despite Kebbi being Nigeria’s rice capital, and less than 1% are about innovation, investment or youth enterprise. The national media has boxed Kebbi into two stories: insecurity and politics. The real development story is missing. But the fact remains, either the Governor’s Media team is less professional or too weak to perform.
Third, the source drought. Kebbi has no strong, independent, digitally-savvy media ecosystem feeding national platforms. There is no Kebbi-based online newspaper with national syndication like Anambra has. 78% of Kebbi’s national press is NAN or PRNigeria wire copy, republished without depth. There is no bureau of Channels, Arise or TVC permanently reporting live from Birnin Kebbi.
So when there is a flood in Kebbi, the nation hears it 48 hours late. When there is progress, the nation never hears it at all. But still the Governor is doing his best to deliver to his people. Yes the problem isn’t from him at all.
And this leads to the most uncomfortable truth: The incapacity of the Governor’s media team.
In what I refer to as a lion Governor with a whispering media team I came to realize that Governor Idris, is by all objective indices, outperforming more than two-thirds of his colleagues. But you would never know it watching national TV.
While many states are still struggling to pay the new minimum wage, Governor Idris pays N75,000 minimum wage consistently and clears over N10 billion in gratuities and pensions backlog, with N2.11 billion released recently for 772 retirees. Many shouting governors in the media have not done this.
While many states have abandoned schools, Kebbi under Idris has constructed, renovated and furnished over 2,000 schools, built four mega science boarding schools in Birnin Kebbi, Argungu, Yauri and Zuru with 2,000-student capacity each, procured N3 billion worth of textbooks, and recruited over 2,000 professional teachers while ending casualization. Compare this to states where teachers still write on bare floors.
While many states have one dilapidated general hospital, Kebbi has rehabilitated 16 general hospitals, including Argungu General Hospital and Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, plus 179 primary health centres, employed over 2,200 health workers, and is building what is billed as Nigeria’s largest veterinary hospital. The governor met hospitals without beds and turned them around.
While many state capitals are still single-lane capitals, Kebbi has dualized the Birnin Kebbi-Ambursa Road, Emir Haruna Road, the 6.4km Argungu Old Bye-Pass with solar lights, rehabilitated 30km of township roads, and is now constructing over 300km of rural roads including the 41km Unguwar Jeji-Diggi-Maidahini Road and the 61km Bunza-Makera Road, the 32km Birnin Lafiya-Gulma-Natsini Road and the Koko-Mahuta-Dabai Road that have linked 13 farming communities.
He also completed the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Ultra-Modern Secretariat Complex abandoned for over a decade.
Yet, all these are buried in Radio Nigeria Kaduna English and local releases. They never make Arise Primetime. So the problem in Kebbi is not performance. The problem is packaging.
The Governor’s media handlers are still operating in a 2010 analogue model: press release, protocol photo, Government House posting. In 2026, media visibility is driven by data visualization, documentary storytelling, real-time video content, infographics, strategic op-eds, influencer amplification, and deliberate national media placement. Kebbi Government House has not mastered any of these. Its media architecture cannot compete with the media machines of Lagos, Rivers, or even Kaduna.
So Kebbi suffers in the comity of states. It is good to understand that there is cost of invisibility. And the cost is heavy. When investors draw a list of states for agro-processing, they go to Ogun and Kaduna, not Kebbi that produces the rice. When national discourse on security reform happens, the voices quoted are the governors of Benue and Borno, not Kebbi who is at the frontline.
When tourists search for a festival to attend, Calabar Carnival and Ojude Oba dominate because their stories are told well, not Argungu Fishing Festival which is UNESCO-recognized but unseen.
Kebbi is geographically inside Nigeria, but narratively outside Nigeria. In the national media market, it exists as a footnote state. And in modern governance, perception is access. If you are not seen, you are not funded. If you are not heard, you are not considered.
Kebbi is working. The evidence is on the ground in Birnin Kebbi, Argungu, Yauri, Zuru and Kamba. What Kebbi needs now is not more work alone. It needs a media team that is as performing as its Governor.
Anwar writes from Kano
Friday, 23rd October, 2026
