Cobwebs brushed against my face and dust covered my shoes as I was
taken around the Gaskiya textile plant, a ghost factory since its
closure in 2005.
Kano used to be one of Africa's great commercial
hubs. The former emirate was famed for its fabrics drawing merchants
from across the Sahara.
But in recent decades, the winds of global trade have blown through the city, leaving devastation in their wake.
Gaskiya employed 5,000 people who churned out African prints and school and military uniforms until it shut.
In
the face of competition from China, large-scale smuggling and high
production costs, dozens of factories were forced to close their doors
and tens of thousands of workers lost their jobs.
'Things need to change'
In
one section of the factory stood row upon row of weaving looms - more
than a hundred in total. They took up a floor the size of a football
pitch.
A former worker, who did not want to be named, showed me
around the building and told me the dilapidation left him feeling
devastated.
"When I was working here my country had a future, it had hope," he said.
"I'm a product of this factory, I got an education here, I got married here and my children are from here."