From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
There is no doubt that Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State is humane with gentle disposition in his dealings with the high and low persons in the society. Perhaps, his human rights activism background gives him this credit over the years, especially now that he is the governor of one of the most popular states in the country.
Indeed, it was this human rights activism background that led him to fight for the return of democracy from the military rule in the early 90s where he was arrested and detained along with some prominent Nigerians who were also clamouring for the return of democracy in Nigeria.
Interestingly, one of the things going for Governor Sani is the fact that he doesn’t believe in running his mouth and speaking big grammar before implementing beneficial projects for the people. In other words, he believes in pragmatism rather than theoretical showmanship in governance.
Daily Sun gathered from reliable sources that Governor Sani had recently met with three past governors of the state, namely; Nasir El-Rufai, Ramalan Mukthar Yero and Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi to appeal to them, “to come, and let us work together to move our state forward”.
Based on this background, Daily Sun authoritatively gathered that instead of him attacking his predecessors, in particular, the immediate past governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on pages of newspapers, on Radio and Television, Governor Sani took the path of peace and understanding to confront his ‘enemies’ in the state for the good of the people.
It was gathered that the governor was badly devastated over the financial position of the state he inherited from El-Rufai where it was alleged that El-Rufai blamed part of the financial recklessness on the administrations before his own tenure.
The Kaduna State House of Assembly ad-hoc committee had earlier in July, last year, probed the financial dealings of the eight years administration of El-Rufai and indicted him and some key members of his cabinet for alleged corruption in the awards of contracts and management of both domestic and foreign loans obtained by his government.
It was not the best of times for El-Rufai, who had sued the state House of Assembly over the allegation by the lawmakers that his administration embezzled N432 billion.
Interestingly, armed with facts and figures in midst of accusations against El-Rufai’s administration over alleged misappropriation, the governor was said to have stormed El-Rufai’s hideout in Abuja without any publicity, Daily Sun exclusively learnt.
However, our source refused to disclose what was El-Rufai’s reaction to the governor’s visit at a time he (El-Rufai) was all over the media denying the sitting governor as his friend and political associate. But the source was quick to add that, “El-Rufai was just making political denial because till tomorrow he remains godfather of Uba Sani”.
Nevertheless, Governor Sani, after meeting with El-Rufai decided to pay similar fact-finding and supportive visit to two of the past governors of the state; Alhaji Yero and Senator Makarfi respectively in their Kaduna homes.
“And Governor Uba Sani’s meeting with these former governors was fruitful because they cooperated with him and gave advices on how to solve the financial mess and other biting issues in the state”, the reliable source told Daily Sun.
Interestingly, the former governors have decided to keep mute over their separate meetings with the governor because of the respect and honour he accorded them over the affairs of the state.
“You can see that there is high level of stability and calmness in the political atmosphere of Kaduna. So, credit must go to Uba Sani for not playing the Rivers State kind of politics which has led to declaration of State of Emergency,” the source added.
Daily Sun further gathered authoritatively that Governor Sani did not find governance easy in the first 100 days in office, as he was globe-throttling to meet creditors, appealing to them to stop instant deductions from external loans obtained by the administration of his predecessor.
“People did not know why Governor Sani was always going outside the country, it was because of the World Bank loan earlier taken by El-Rufai government. They started the deduction as soon as Governor Uba Sani assumed office, and it became a source of worry and the governor said why now. He had to travel out to meet with the bank officials. He had to also use the influence of our own Amina J. Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group. So, it was not easy for Governor Sani in the first 100 days in office,” the source said.
However, the source further said that with funds coming into the state coffer from allocation committees and from impressive internally generated revenue, Governor Sani’s administration is gradually overcoming some of the teething problems regarding the finances of the state.
So far, the state is enjoying calmness and stability because Governor Sani has deliberately adopted an inclusive governance style in the state, reducing partisan politics with the aim of unifying the state, promoting peace and development.
Daily Sun recalls that upon assuming office in May 2023, Governor Sani found Kaduna State plagued by insecurity, ethno-religious tension, and criminality, but through his inclusive governance, he has been able to unify the state, healing wounds and mending fences.
He promoted good governance, considering the interests of all citizens, transformed Kaduna into a model state, where good governance surpasses petty politics
Barely two years into his tenure, Governor Sani has successfully turned Kaduna State into a single, large, happy, and prosperous family, speaking with one voice and acting in unity.
“Governor Uba Sani does not believe in taking state projects to the Twitter handle, he does not believe in showmanship and speaking big grammar before according the people the progress and development that they deserve,” a strong supporter of the governor, said.
Acknowledging the good work that the governor is doing in Kaduna State, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Dioceses, and Pro-Chancellor of Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, lauded the governor for going beyond the call of duty in making the establishment of the university a reality.
Kukah made the commendation recently when he led the management of the university on a courtesy call on the governor at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna.
Responding, the governor said he had been working closely with Kukah, noting that the clergyman is a pillar of support.
Sani said his doors were always open for consultation amongst the diverse people of Kaduna State, irrespective of their ethno-religious or party affiliations, adding that his developmental strides in the state were made possible because of the prevailing peace in the state.
He said peace was achieved because of his administration’s policy of taking development to every part of the state, irrespective of whether or not the area voted for him.
Meanwhile, political observers have noted that unseen hands of political enemies are trying to pull down the governor despite his commitment to implementing educational development programmes as enshrined in his 7-Point Agenda.
It was gathered that machinations by disgruntled politicians and saboteurs are working hard to give the government a bad name.
For instance, a senior government official who was reacting to the recent strike declared by the state University (KASU) described the action as rash and bore the imprint of people who did not wish the government well.
“The first action the present administration took on coming to office was to slash school fees payable in state-owned tertiary institutions by over 40 percent, including Kaduna State University (KASU), Kafanchan College of Education, Gidan Waya and Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic.
“This far-reaching decision which brought relief to parents and guardians in the state was followed up by the massive injection of funds into these institutions to enable them meet the cost of accreditation of extant and the introduction of new programmes which have been successfully accomplished,” he further said.
The official who craved anonymity cited the case of KASU which he said has 58 running programmes, 34 of which currently enjoy full accreditation status, 15 have newly matured and had been verified by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and are now awaiting results; while 13 new programmes introduced in 2024 by the institution have been successfully verified by the NUC.
“All these efforts would not have been possible without the serious attention paid to the institution by the present administration. To say that education in that institution or the state was in a state of ‘collapse’ shows either lack of understanding of the university system or a deliberate mischief to antagonise government in order to derail it from its focused course of action.
“I am happy the governor is perceptive enough to know where some of the critics are coming from and where they are going in their desperation to distract him from attaining his goals of delivering development in the state. For ASUU to rush to embark on strike on demands, some of which dated from 2016 and which government is looking into is a pointer to the ulterior motive in the action aimed to embarrass the government.
“All the same, government will sit down with the Union in the spirit of harmony in worker-employee relationship to iron out whatever issues there are, but I can assure you that there is nothing in the demands of the union that could not have been resolved with patience if some of the leaders did not succumb to extraneous instigation by some politicians.
“Come to think of it, the present administration has since inception built over 2,326 new classrooms, renovated 707 others and provided 3,704 and 30,742 furniture for teachers and pupils respectively, efforts that along with improved teachers welfare and other policies have raised the state’s learning outcomes. This has resulted in rise in WAEC, NECO and NABTEB performances from 54 percent before the present administration came to 67 percent currently, ” the official stated.
This is even as he urged the public to judge if such efforts in the education sector convey the picture of a “collapse” as some of the detractors would want the public to believe.
From all indications, political analysts believe that Governor Uba Sani is already ahead of his political rivals for the 2027 elections, especially for the fact that it was his political structure in the state that the immediate past governor, Nasir El-Rufai used to gain relevance and acceptability while entering the state politics in 2014 for the governorship race. The governor is therefore expected to tighten his grip on his political structure and even expand it the more, now that he has been receiving defectors from the opposition into the fold of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state.