When on 29th May, 2023, the light was extinguished over the government of Mallam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, Senator Uba Sani was inaugurated as the governor amidst the usual allegations of electoral malpractices by the opposition.
After the legal fireworks that took many months to resolve, Sani forced his political foes to kiss the dust at the Appeal Court in November 2023, while the Supreme Court in January 2024 finally upheld his victory at the poll. Without mincing words, Senator Sani made it clear early in the day that he was poised to erase footprints of discriminatory practices that were hallmarks of his predecessor. In attempting to change the trajectory of the past that was anchored on non-inclusiveness, Sani made it clear that a new dawn was about to break in the state.
Destroying Past Rubbles
When in 2024, during a town hall meeting in Kaduna, Governor Sani told the people that the state was suffering from the heavy burden of debt repayment, thus making it impossible for the state to live up to its financial obligations, not a few were shocked. More painful was the monthly deductions from the State Federation Accounts and Allocation Committee (FAAC) for the repayment of the $350 million World Bank loan that was procured by the el-Rufai administration. Added to the state financial afflictions was another loan facility of N20 billion obtained from Zenith Bank in the twilight of the immediate past government that compounded an already strangulating financial status of the state.
Under the old system, the anti-people policies of el-Rufai entrapped and unleashed a heavy burden on the citizens and impoverished the electorate. The previous government, devoid of human compassion, subjected the people to draconian policies that resulted in mass disengagement of civil servants, heightening a sense of insecurity among public workers. Demolition of market stalls and properties belonging to political foes earned el-Rufai the ill-famed sobriquet: ‘Mallam Rusau’. The hope that the el-Rufai-led government would end the problem of Kaduna State immediately fizzled out as the administration’s ominous legacies portrayed it as the problem that had wreaked havoc on the people.
Candle Of Hope
Unlike the past when the state was always in the news for the very wrong reason, the footprints of Senator Sani in the sands of governances have clearly shown that Kaduna State people have walked past their midnight of despondency once unleashed on them in the past. More than ever before, more platforms are being created to unify the state across ethnic and religious divides for good governance. Trust in governance that was once at its lowest ebb, is gradually returning to the people, as the irresponsible fuss of the past is being replaced with a compassionate leadership genuinely interested in the promotion of peaceful dialogue and equity for all.
The governor has destroyed the North-South dichotomy that was weaponised in promoting a toxic atmosphere that worked against the unity of citizens, as he strides in inviting all to join in a constructive dialogue for unity and growth of the state; thus prompting a new song of unity that was alien under the el-Rufai years. Apart from ensuring the completion of the double lane in urban Kafanchan that was the relic of rejection of the past, Kafanchan now wears a new look, equipped with streetlights that transform the night into day. The new Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, and the Federal Medical Centre, Kafanchan, by the Bola Tinubu-led administration, supported and facilitated by the Sani-led government is now the metaphor of inclusiveness.
New Inspiring Outlook
Within two years of being in the saddle, no fewer than 255 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in the state are being upgraded to Level 2 status, with already 153 attained that status. Currently, 33 General Hospitals are now being rehabilitated and equipped, just as the completion of the 300-bed Specialist Hospital commissioned by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his recent visit demonstrates Sani’s determination in resuscitating the health sector. In just two years, 78 road projects were awarded, and 21 of them completed. Projects inherited from the previous administration, for instance, the Kaduna Bridge from Kabala Costain to Aliyu Makama Road and the Rabah-Road-Rigasa Train Station Expressway, among others, have been completed. Over N25 billion was injected into the water sector, which raised the capacity utilisation to over 30 percent, just as the government paid salary arrears of N800 million to staff members of Kaduna Water Corporation, including settling outstanding electricity bill of N1.3 billion incurred by the corporation.
Agriculture has not been forgotten in the state, as Sani, in August 2024, flagged off distribution of free 500 trucks of fertiliser at the Murtala Square for the benefit of smallholder farmers in all the 23 local government areas of the state. The budgetary allocation witnessed an increase from N22.54 billion in the 2024 budget, as the figure was quadrupled in 2025 with the sum of N74.2 billion for the agric sector that represents 9.36 percent of the total budget.
More than the physical projects achieved within the last 24 months under review, Governor Sani has not only delivered dividends of democracy; he also banished the notoriety of the past administration that was fraught with inequitable practices that violated the rights of citizens. Senator Sani may not have not tackled all the problems to the satisfaction of all, but has shown devotion in ending toxic relationships among the people. He has left no one in doubt of his commitment to serve the people devoid of demagoguery.
