Uba Sani: Accolades for A Constant Northern Star

At the THISDAY’s 30th commemoration awards held recently in Lagos, to honour institutions and individuals for their resilience and grit in their respective fields, Senator Uba Sani, Governor of Kaduna State, was named Nigeria’s Governor of the Year. Ogheneuvde Ohwovoriole, examines what stands him out. 

According to planetary scientists, the Northern Star, also known as Polaris, is unique. Positioned at a point in the sky above the North Pole, as the earth rotates around its axis, it does not appear to move through the sky like other stars. Since the Northern Star is so fixed, sailors are able to count on its light to guide them in the correct direction.

The famous Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar (as captured by William Shakespeare in his play, Julius Caesar), while asserting that he was ‘’constant as the northern star,’’ basically affirmed his commitment to justice and law and that he was not swayed by the fleeting persuasions of others. He was also underscoring the fact that he was the one person who could guide Rome to her greatest heights.

The Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani is far from being an Emperor. But like Caesar, Uba Sani, the young and ebullient transformational leader is guiding his State and its people to great heights. In less than two years in office, Sani is speedily restoring the dignity and pride of Kaduna State as the leading light of northern Nigeria, in all ramifications. Not surprisingly, the world has noticed. 

At the THISDAY’s 30th commemoration awards held on Monday, 27 January, at the Convention Centre of the Eko Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos, to honour institutions and individuals for their resilience and grit in their respective fields, Senator Uba Sani was named Nigeria’s Governor of the Year in a category that was glaringly the most competitive of the night. He shared the honour with Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta) and Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), respectively.

“Our efforts at resetting Kaduna State and placing it on the path to peace and prosperity has received a major boost as I accept the prestigious ‘Governor of the Year 2024’ award. I am particularly elated that this honour is from two outstanding media organizations that have set very high standards in Nigeria. This recognition is not just a testament to my administration’s efforts, but also a validation of the trust and confidence the people have placed in me,” an elated Governor Uba Sani said moments after picking up his plaque from the representative of the President at the well-attended event.  

“We are fully committed to running a pro-people, pro-poor, and all-inclusive government, with equity, justice and fairness as the foundation for peace and progress. Some of our notable achievements in 2024 include aggressive implementation of our Rural Transformation Agenda, tackling insecurity, healthcare reforms, boosting of the agricultural sector, revitalization of the educational sector, and infrastructure upgrade. I thank my team in Kaduna for their dedication, commitment and sacrifices. They have been working tirelessly to implement our policies and programs in spite of huge financial difficulties,” the Governor added. 

Long before he won the gubernatorial election and assumed office as the Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani knew that the job would be challenging given that he was bound to inherit the seemingly intractable problem of insecurity in the state. Also, Kaduna State, historically, contended with ethno-religious tension. Knowing the State so well, Uba Sani was unfazed; he was thoroughly prepared for the job and committed to returning Kaduna to its long-acclaimed status as the economic, educational, social and political power house of northern Nigeria.

Uba Sani’s assumption of office as governor instantly brought relative calm to the hitherto tensed Kaduna State. In just a matter of days the state started enjoying the dividends of peace, safety and security. What was the trick? Senator Uba Sani mounted the saddle with a clear, and measurable mission – to be a servant-leader, a unifier with his sights set on the economic empowerment of overwhelming majority of the citizenry irrespective of their places of abode, ethnicity or religious persuasions. His plans were easily understood and welcomed with relieve by the populace. The people quickly keyed into his agenda, which was unambiguous – an inclusive governance that is calibrated to leave no one behind. 

Working very closely and relentlessly with the President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and the leadership of the nation’s Armed Forces, the Police and other security agencies, Governor Uba Sani, very early in his administration, began deepening peace, safety and security across Kaduna State. The results of his efforts became instantly evident: The Kaduna – Abuja express way, once notorious for the nefarious activities of bandits and kidnappers, received a deserved respite and travellers, in their numbers, began plying the road regularly without fear or anxiety. The rail service between Abuja and Kaduna which was momentarily halted after a heinous attack that led to the abduction of several passengers, resumed in earnest. Previously traumatized farmers began returning to their abandoned farms.  Even the worst critics of Governor Uba Sani readily attest to the fact that Kaduna is today, by far, the safest state in northern Nigeria. 

Governor Sani who is a staunch believer in the combination of both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches in curbing banditry and other forms of criminality, is aggressively opening up rural and underserved communities across the state for development and access to economic empowerment. Indeed, the Governor traces the security challenges in most States in northern Nigeria and the country at large, to poverty, unemployment and poor leadership or governance at several tiers of the people’s being.

“What are the factors that have brought about this unfortunate state of affairs? Hopelessness, lack of education and lack of economic prosperity. As at 2023, when we took office, over 85 percent of the people in the North West were either not educated or financially excluded,” Senator Uba Sani opined in a chat. “We are reversing this ugly trend”, he assured.

The governor also bemoaned the huge number of out-of-school children in the North-western part of the country, especially in Kaduna State. “In Kaduna State, when I assumed office, we had over 600,000 out-of-school children. This, of course was, and still is unacceptable, in fact, I view the situation as a ticking time bomb.” 

The governor was however quick to inform that since assuming office, his administration has been deploying very effective measures to stem this unpleasant tide, an example being the proactive collaboration between the Kaduna State Government and the Kuwait Fund. He said the Fund is currently supporting the State with $28million to return hundreds of out-of-school children back to school under the Qatar Sanabil Project.

Pursuant to the Sanabil Project, Qatar has also commenced the construction of 500,000 housing units for less privileged residents of Kaduna State. The Mega Economic City project was officially inaugurated by Governor Uba Sani and Qatar’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Ali Bin Ghanem Al-Hajri in Kaduna in August 2023.

The project aims to improve the living conditions for underprivileged families in the state. Aside from the construction of the housing units, Qatar Charity is undertaking an array of interventions and empowerment programmes for the less privileged across Kaduna State. These programmes, many of which have commenced, include scholarships for orphans and children of the poor, distribution of sewing machines, welding machines, irrigation pumping machines, salon kits, and drilling of hundreds of boreholes across the 23 local government areas of Kaduna State.

According to Governor Uba Sani, “The Economic City will provide world-class infrastructure and make Kaduna a reference point in modern and affordable accommodation with adequate security and a conducive atmosphere for business activities,” 

“It will facilitate international trade while serving as a platform for local entrepreneurs and traders. It will also harness product value chain opportunities and improve economic growth,” he added. The governor said the project extends beyond housing, it also provides clinics, shops, poultry farms, and farmlands for the rainy season and irrigation farming.

A firm believer in good governance being the most potent weapon against insecurity, Governor Uba Sani has tailored his administration to bring sustainable development to every nook and cranny of Kaduna State. Undeniably, the governor’s topmost priority areas are the rural and underserved areas of the State. “The central policy thrust of our administration is Rural Transformation. We are committed to revitalizing our rural economies through massive infrastructural development,” Governor Uba Sani reiterated.

“Our people have been struggling to stay afloat in this harsh economic climate. As a government, we have been unrelenting in fashioning and implementing policies, programmes and projects to bring succour to the poor, underserved and the vulnerable. We are speedily reversing the negative development indices of Kaduna State. We are creatively and innovatively addressing the challenges of poverty and youth unemployment. We are prioritizing women and youth empowerment,”  the governor said.  

Very conscious of the fact that the nefarious activities of bandits and other criminal elements, in especially rural communities in the State, will all-too certainly imperil his vision of aggressively curbing poverty and underdevelopment in underserved parts of the State, Governor Uba Sani has in addition to his administration’s fruitful collaboration with nation’s armed forces and other security agencies, revitalized the Kaduna State’s Vigilante Service (KADVS). He beefed up the Service with thousands of able-bodied persons who were trained by the Nigeria Police Force and he has since procured assorted security assets for the rebooted Service.

The recruitment and screening of the trainees were in collaboration with critical stakeholders including local government chairmen, traditional and religious leaders. Governor Sani has also affirmed that the initiative, apart from being a major step towards restoring security and development in the state, is also geared towards providing jobs for the teeming youth population in the State.

Poised to give needed financial muscle to several security efforts his administration is undertaking, Gov. Uba Sani has since signed into law, the Kaduna State Security Trust Fund Bill, created to provide funding support to the efforts being made towards degrading terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements. The new law repealed Kaduna State’s Security Trust Fund Law No. 22, of 2018. The Kaduna State Governor believes that the legislation would help to raise funds for the acquisition and deployment of security equipment, personnel and materials, as well as their training.

Interestingly, the Federal Government and other States are keying into Governor Uba Sani’s long-running advocacy to alter Nigeria’s constitution to enable States to establish and run their respective police forces or services as is the case in most developing and developed countries of the world. It is on record that as a vibrant lawmaker in the 9th Senate, Uba Sani sponsored series of bills seeking to have the nation’s constitution altered to accommodate State Police. 

Indeed, these Bills scaled the requisite hurdles in the Senate and were referred to the 9th National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Constitutional amendment. Their enactments into law suffered mainly due to the apparent lack of national consensus or political will at the time, to have the States establish their respective police outfits. However, now that the Federal and State Governments seem to be finally coming to terms with the imperative and even the urgency of altering the nation’s constitution to enable the 36 States of the Federation to establish and run their respective Police Force or Service, to complement the efforts of the Federal (Nigeria) Police Force, the vast knowledge of Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State on this score is very crucial. In general, it is becoming apparent that both the Federal Government and other sub-nationals in Nigeria may have to study, understand and harness Governor Uba Sani’s well-thought-out panacea for insecurity in Kaduna State in particular and the country at large.

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