MAKING KADUNA SAFER
Uba Sani’s inclusive leadership has turned the state on the path of progress, writes SEUN AWOGBENLE
If the Governor of Kaduna, Sen. Uba Sani had said three years ago that Kaduna would go from chaos to become the subnational model for peace it could have been deemed ambitious. Lest we forget, in May 2023, Kaduna was under the siege of violence, banditry, kidnapping, and insecurity. Several people displaced from their lands, communities deserted, schools and hospitals closed, and major markets shut.
Today, even his harshest critics agree that Kaduna is better off than it was three years ago. Uba Sani’s calm and level headed leadership has turned the state away from years of drift and placed it firmly on the path of progress. In less than three years, more than 500 schools that were closed are now open, about 300,000 children whose education were affected are back in school, farms, hospitals and major markets have also reopened.
In September 2025, the UK government reclassified Kaduna from red to amber, in recognition of the tangible improvements in the security situation and by the same token an endorsement of Sen. Uba Sani’s led effort through the much-vaunted Kaduna peace model. Indeed, a lot could be said about the reinvigoration of our security forces and their renewed effort to rid Kaduna of insecurity, but an important part of the conversation which must never be lost on us is that Kaduna now has a Governor who understands that development is only achieved when no one is left behind. For a long time, segments of Kaduna had felt overlooked, ignored and left in the proverbial lurch.
Today, Minority groups that once felt marginalised feel recognised and important again. An example is how Sen. Uba Sani, though a Muslim continues to attend the annual Christmas carol organised by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna since 2023. Communities like Makarfi, Kudan and majority of southern Kaduna that have lacked government presence for about a decade now enjoy visible government impact. The Governor has restored a sense of fairness; ethnic and religious minorities that once felt alienated are back in the scheme of things. This is a reflection of Sen. Uba Sani’s strength of character, who has remained a shining example in leadership.
In less than three years, Uba Sani has laid the foundations of good governance and established Kaduna as a sub-national example in efficiency, innovation and development. From record investments in education and health, skills development, social protection, jobs, MSMEs, infrastructure, to record FDIs, jobs, and MSMEs, he is delivering for the people of Kaduna.
Sen. Uba Sani’s understands that to improve the prosperity of Kaduna people, it must make deliberate investment in their productive capacities. This is why the government has committed more than 25 percent of its annual spending to education and 15 percent on health, making it the most ambitious human capital investment in the history of Kaduna. So far, more than 62 new schools have been completed, 736 classrooms constructed and 1,220 renovated. Through its Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) project, it plans to return over 100,000 out of school children to the classroom within a four-year period.
The state is currently upgrading more than 255 Primary Healthcare centres from Level one to two, completed the Bola Ahmed Tinubu 300-Bed Specialist Hospital and plans to employ 1800 health workers annually for the next five years to improve access and delivery of quality healthcare. As part of its broader poverty reduction strategy, it has established the Kaduna State Ultra-Poor Graduation Programme that is providing a lifeline of support to those in extreme poverty. In its first phase, more than 2,400 individuals would be receiving up to ₦300,000 in business funding. It has also established three modern vocational institutes in Rigachikun, Soba, and Samaru Kataf, that are providing young people with lifelong technical skills.
Kaduna Light Rail Transit (KLRT) and the Kaduna Bus Rapid Transit project (KBRT) are some of the infrastructure projects that demonstrate Sen. Uba Sani’s bold vision. The Kaduna Light Rail Transit, the first in Northern Nigeria, is a 30-kilometre Red Line and 20-kilometre Yellow Line, that connects different parts of the city. The Bus Rapid Transit project with 30 modern stations and 120 buses, is expected to move 160,000 people daily covering about 24-kilometre. The government has also since deployed 100 CNG buses for free which has transported more than 1.4 million passengers in less than five months and saved Kaduna residents an estimated ₦1.39bn in transport costs.
More than 140 road projects totaling about 1,335 kilometres are under construction and about 60 percent already completed. The government is also remodeling the Ahmadu Bello Stadium into a sports infrastructure that meet global standards, the first major upgrade since 1965. Kaduna is also one of the few subnationals that continue to attract direct investments both foreign and domestic. It has so far attracted over $3.2 billion in foreign direct investments in key sectors such as power, agro-industrial, solid minerals and other sovereign and development finance inflows.
There is a reason the drafters of our constitution in their wisdom made provision for a two-term period of eight years for elected Governors. They have a keen awareness that if the first four years in the life of any government is devoted to laying the foundations of good governance the next four years could serve to consolidate progress. There is therefore no doubt that on account of his performance in just three years, Sen. Uba Sani deserves the resounding support of Kaduna people for a second term.
Awogbenle, a Development and Public Policy Professional, writes from United Kingdom. He can be reached via seunawogbenle@gmail.com.
