Kano Visit Day Two: Mukhtar Drives Digital Innovation, Leather Value Addition

The Honourable Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, has reaffirmed the Federal Government's commitment to accelerating the transformation of Nigeria's livestock sector through digital innovation and strategic investments that promote industrialisation, value addition and private sector-led growth across the livestock value chain.

The Minister stated this on Saturday 4th July, 2026, during the second day of his working visit to Kano State, where he officially unveiled the Kano State Livestock Information Management System (LIMS) at the Gwale Model Veterinary Hospital, after inspecting the KANOTAN S.A. Tennary Industry as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen livestock governance, improve animal health services and unlock greater value from Nigeria's livestock resources.

He described the digital platform as a landmark innovation that aligns with the Federal Government's drive to modernise livestock administration through technology, data-driven planning and efficient service delivery. 

The platform integrates livestock registration, veterinary health management, disease surveillance, vaccination monitoring, licensing, farmer support services and digital medical records into a single online system accessible to both government and the public.

Mukhtar disclosed that once the national platform becomes operational, both systems would be interoperable, enabling seamless information sharing between the Federal Government and sub-nationals.

"On behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I congratulate Kano State for taking this bold step. This is a model worthy of emulation, and we will continue working together to ensure that digital innovation strengthens livestock development across Nigeria.

"When we launch our national digital infrastructure, there will be connectivity between the national platform and what Kano has developed. That synergy will strengthen livestock governance, improve planning and provide reliable data for policy formulation," he said. 

The Minister further urged Kano State to continue expanding the platform to capture comprehensive information across all livestock value chains, including dairy, poultry, hides and skins, meat production, livestock markets, processors, veterinarians, animal scientists and other industry stakeholders.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association, Dr. Mubashshir Mustapha Umar, demonstrated the platform's data-mining capabilities, and it's ability to provide reliable data for policy formulation. 

During the inspection visit to the KANOTAN S.A. Tennary Industry where he toured the company's leather processing facilities and held discussions with industry operators and stakeholders, the Minister described the scale of operations as impressive and a clear demonstration of Nigeria's untapped industrial potential.

"I am really amazed at what I have seen today. What we have witnessed here confirms that Nigeria possesses the capacity not only to process its leather locally but to compete globally. This is a pointer to economic diversification driven by our livestock resources."

The Minister noted that although Nigeria possesses one of Africa's largest livestock populations and produces over 50 million hides and skins annually, much of the country's leather value has historically been lost through the export of semi-processed materials.

He stressed that the Ministry is determined to reverse the trend by promoting complete local processing and manufacturing, adding that "The future of this industry lies in value addition. We must move beyond exporting semi-processed leather to manufacturing finished products such as footwear, bags and other leather goods that create significantly more jobs and wealth for Nigerians."

According to him, the global leather footwear market alone is projected to exceed $628 billion by 2033, while leather goods will account for hundreds of billions of dollars in additional value, creating substantial export opportunities for countries that invest in manufacturing.

Citing Kano State's estimated population of over 3.5 million school-age children and the company's planned production of 200,000 pairs of locally manufactured leather sandals before the end of the year, the Minister called on governments at all levels to prioritise the procurement of Nigerian-made school footwear to stimulate local manufacturing, create jobs and strengthen the leather value chain.

"If every child wears sandals produced in Kano from Nigerian leather, it will trigger an economic revolution. Such deliberate procurement policies will stimulate production, expand employment and strengthen local industries," Mukhtar noted. 

Responding, the management of the KANOTAN S.A. Tennary Industry led by its Chief Executive Officer, Bashir Dankulu, commended the Federal Government for prioritising livestock development and informed the Minister that the company currently processes up to 50,000 skins daily, sources raw materials from across Nigeria and neighbouring countries, employs about 1,000 permanent staff, and provides seasonal employment for thousands more.

In addition, President of the National Leather and Leather Products Association of Nigeria (NALPAN), Mustapha Nabegu, appealed to the Federal Government to facilitate the establishment of strategically located skin collection centres across livestock-producing areas of the country. 

He noted that organised collection centres would improve the preservation, grading and aggregation of hides and skins, reduce post-slaughter losses and quality defects, ensure a steady supply of premium raw materials to tanneries, and significantly enhance the competitiveness of Nigeria's leather industry.

Henrietta Okokon
Deputy Director, Information and Public Relations 
4th July, 2026