By Louis Achi
According to the legendary organization expert and pioneer of modern leadership principles, Warren Bennis, “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” Visionary leaders execute strategies that transform ambitious goals into tangible outcomes.
Bennis’ insight highlights the imperative for leaders to inspire, guide, and act on their ideas to achieve real-world results. This encapsulates the story of northwestern region’s Sokoto State under the administration of youthful Governor Ahmed Aliyu, who has leveraged bold visioning to transform the ‘Seat of the Caliphate.’
From the outset, it’s important to state that the massive development changes that Governor Aliyu has accomplished in his two years in office came without borrowing a kobo, a scourge many governors cavalierly indulge in. This clearly stands him out as a frugal, strategic thinker and innovative problem-solver. His innate ability to navigate complex, tough governance environments and make bold decisions also clearly recommends him for future higher leadership responsibility.
Youthful Governor Aliyu also covets knowledge-driven innovations, proactive, inclusive engagement with stakeholders, relevant institutions, policy makers and more importantly, sure-footed action. These dimensions have been boldly mirrored in actualizing his nine-point SMART agenda despite the overarching challenges.
Governor Aliyu’s nine-point SMART agenda include – education, health, water, agriculture, security, youth empowerment, local government autonomy, religious affairs, and economy. He significantly recognizes the necessary complementarity and synergy between his administration’s first agenda – education – and the imperative transformation of Sokoto State.
For instance, Sokoto State’s 2025 budget of “Transformation and Infrastructural Sustainability,” notching N526,882,142,484.39 targets consolidation of achievements of the 2024 budget. The state’s 2025 budget has a recurrent expenditure of N176,295,602,130.14 billion and a whopping N349,386,540,354.25 billion for capital expenditure, a 34:66 percent recurrent to capital ratio.
As in the 2024 budget which gave education over 30 per cent, next year’s budget also unapologetically prioritises education. According to the former Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon. Sambo Bello Danchadi, “Some key areas of focus for the 2025 budget include: Education: with 25% allocation; devoting substantial portion of the state’s budget to education is a significant commitment to improving the sector. This move will help address infrastructural deficits, fund educational programs, and ensure the effective delivery of teaching and learning.
By surpassing UNESCO’s recommended benchmark of 15-20%, the administration has demonstrated its priority for education, which is critical to achieving sustainable development.
From the basic to tertiary levels in the state, the governor’s premium on education is obvious from the re-accreditation of several courses in its tertiary institutions and the massive construction of schools, renovation of dilapidated buildings, provision of furniture, and instructional materials, the prompt payment of examination fees for students writing the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations, and the payment of outstanding scholarships for students undergoing various degree programmes.
Governor Ahmed Aliyu’s vision for educational transformation is mirrored in various specific interventions. His APC-led administration has prioritized education as a cornerstone of societal progress.
A significant highlight of his tenure is the intervention for 88 Sokoto State medical students affected by the crisis in Sudan. Rather than allowing these future healthcare professionals to languish in uncertainty, his administration facilitated their transfer to Usmanu Danfodiyo University Medical College, ensuring their education remained uninterrupted.
This bold initiative underscores his administration’s commitment to nurturing human capital and fostering resilience in the face of challenges.
Moreover, the government has invested heavily in educational infrastructure and teacher training programmes. By creating enabling environment for both students and educators, the administration is building foundation for a more enlightened and competitive youth population in Sokoto State.
Hon. Danchadi also revealed that over 800,000 children in the state have been enrolled into basic education schools, marking a drastic increase in the number of enrolments into public primary schools and attributes the increased enrolment to the efforts of the state governor to improvement of education infrastructure across the state.
Significantly, the administration accomplished these feats without borrowing a kobo from any bank or financial institution within or outside the country.
More, there is little debate that within two years of Governor Aliyu’s administration, there have been several viable projects executed under the State Universal Basic Education Board, Sokoto, with the help of its Executive Chairman, Alh. Umar Nagwari Tambuwal who assumed office along with his lieutenants on 28th May 2024.
As part of strict commitments to revive the state’s basic education sector, within two years, huge amount of resources were injected in the provision of infrastructures and other necessary facilities to 2,115 pre-primary and primary and 296 junior secondary schools across the state.
From March, 2024 to January, 2025, the State UBEC Board, Sokoto constructed 161 blocks of 2, 3, and 4 Compartment classrooms, offices, children’s restrooms, and veranda across the state.
There was also construction of 128 modern toilets, drilling and reticulation of 32 boreholes as well as procurement of 35,369 furniture and renovation of 169 blocks of 3, 2 and 4 Compartment the classrooms with office and verandah across the state.
In the meantime, the abandoned UBEC/SUBEB Smart Model School Maituta Road was successfully completed on the approval of N90,981,433 and construction of new primary school with construction of Blocks of 2 and 3 classrooms toilet verandah office and children restroom at Bada Bada village in Kware Local Government.
Two months ago the administration initiated a digital training programme designed to transition participants from digital illiteracy to digital literacy and provide extensive training in computer literacy, graphic design, video editing, social media marketing, and AI for productivity. This critical project is anchored by the State’s Ministry of Innovation and Digital Economy (MIDE) flagged-off by the Commissioner, Hon. Bashar Umar Kwabo.
Governor Aliyu further announced the state government’s plans to train further 10,000 individuals across the state, aimed at enhancing digital skills and promote self-sustainability. Participants, drawn from all 23 local government areas in Sokoto State have reported significant improvements in their digital skills since the program’s inception.
The training covered essential courses, including Digital Computer Literacy, Social Media Marketing, Graphic Design, Video Editing, and Artificial Intelligence for Productivity.
This initiative is a key component of Sokoto State’s proactive strategy to prepare its citizens for digital transformation. MIDE remains dedicated to advancing digital literacy, technological advancement and fostering innovation across all sectors of the economy of Sokoto State.
By its deliberate, heavy investment in educational infrastructure and teacher training programmes, the government is creating enabling environment for both students and educators. The administration is in effect building foundation for a more enlightened and competitive youth population in Sokoto State.
As Sokoto ‘weaponizes’ the crucial tool of education to achieve accelerated transformation in a development-hungry milieu, Governor Aliyu has also scaled-up the place of technology to explore diverse development models in the world and settle for the best “Next-Level” option. Technology unquestionably is a key development facilitator.
Governor Aliyu’s administration’s fiscal discipline which has significantly enabled it execute numerous developmental projects besides education without resorting to loans as well as maintaining a debt-free status with contractors. This circumspect approach ensures long-term sustainability and reflects a governance model rooted in accountability and financial responsibility.
In conclusion, three agenda arenas of Sokoto State’s current administration must be touched – agriculture, security and workers’ welfare – although they don’t exhaust the wide scope of Governor Aliyu’s governance play-book.
Agriculture certainly grabbed the governor’s attention. Agricultural production was boosted through the provision of very affordable inputs – fertilizer, farming equipment, improved seedlings, chemicals such as herbicide pesticide and other items for irrigation.
The governor is also working on the rehabilitation of dams for dry season farming. Water supply has also improved, with the completion of several water projects. The governor’s determination is regular supply of water to projects.
While many states curiously struggle with dealing with basic human imperatives, Governor Aliyu would have none of that. His dedication to workers’ welfare, particularly retired civil servants, is unmatched. Pensioners in Sokoto State, for years, endured hardship due to unpaid gratuities and pensions.
Sokoto’s current humane administration took decisive action to address these issues, clearing arrears and ensuring timely payments. This commitment has resonated positively with his statewide constituency and restored dignity and financial stability to thousands of suffering retirees neglected by the previous administration.
Like most states in the North-Western zone, Sokoto State is faced with insecurity ranging from terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and others. The need to confront the challenges of insecurity with the seriousness it deserves did not escape Governor Aliyu’s attention. In this connection, about 150 well-equipped security patrol vehicles were procured and donated to the security personnel to ease their task in fighting the disruptive enemies of the state.
Additionally, Governor Aliyu also established Community Guard to assist the conventional security in tackling the challenge by providing intelligence to them. As a local entity, the Community Guard knows the locality more than the conventional security personnel.
Just two years in the saddle, unassuming Governor Ahmed Aliyu has certainly altered the development trajectory of the conservative North-Western Sokoto State. And without borrowing a kobo.
That is the difference quality governance vision makes.