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John Maxwell is considered an authority in the discourse on leadership. In one of his classic thoughts about leadership and succession, he said “a leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.”
This thought may have guided and defined Nasir El-Rufai’s succession recruitment process for Kaduna State, which has zeroed in on Senator Uba Sani, who represents Kaduna Central in the Senate of the Federal Republic. This is because no leader counts him/herself a success if he/she fails to recruit a worthy successor, one with the competence and capacity to carry on with his/her positive visions.
In encouraging Sen. Uba Sani to succeed him as governor of Kaduna State, el-Rufai only explored the advantages that democracy offers in consulting with his leadership circle, his political party and the generality of the people and also getting all to agree to point their fingers in the same direction.
This is, however, not the same thing as the single-handed imposition by some governors of persons who, in both academic and leadership credentials, have no reason to aspire to lead any society. Therefore, in encouraging Sani’s journey towards the leadership of Kaduna State, the incumbent governor made a projection into the life of the state after him. For him therefore, Sani fits the criteria listed by the Kaduna leadership recruitment process for a worthy successor.
Sani has been in the Senate for only four years. He was elected in 2019 to replace Sen. Shehu Sani. Between then and today, Sani has used his time in the upper legislative chamber to prepare himself through active but silent involvement in the lawmaking process. For instance, rather than take to social and traditional media to voice his displeasure about the security situation in Nigeria and pass the buck, like many of his colleagues would do, Sani went ahead to seek the restructuring of the policing system in Nigeria by introducing a bill, which seeks to unbundle the police structure and pave way for the creation of state police. To date, he remains the only senator who is pushing such a bill in the Senate. Many Nigerians would want to see the 9th Senate reinstate its people-centric nature by passing the bill in its lifetime.
His displeasure with the present police structure in Nigeria is, however, not something that came to him by accident or one meant to attract popular mention. His days as an activist against military rule in Nigeria prepared him for his decision to seek the use of the instrumentality of the law to cause major changes in Nigeria rather than just talk about it.
As national vice chairman (North) of Campaign for Democracy and deputy national chairman (North) of the Joint Action Committee, Sani played a major role in the process that forced the military back to the barracks and enthroned the current republic.
Working on those platforms for the good of Nigeria, “he deployed his organisation and networking skills in creating a strategic base for the pro-democracy movement in northern Nigeria and also made ample use of his civil society organisation, the Movement for Freedom and Justice, to champion the rights of the underprivileged and offered them unfettered access to justice,” said a report.
This aspect of his life seems to have prepared him for some form of legislative activism where, in less than four years, he has sponsored 23 bills, of which five have been passed in the Senate while two have been assented to by the President. Some of the bills include those on the Federal College of Education, Giwa, Kaduna State (Est. etc), Bill, 2019; Federal Medical Centre, Rigassa, Kaduna State (Est., etc.), Bill, 2019; Firearms Act, Cap. F28, LFN (Amendment) Bill, 2020; Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021; and the renowned Banking and Other Financial Institutions Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which have been signed into law.
Sani did not just happen to el-Rufai as a desperate power-seeker. He went through some level of pupilage under the governor and seems to have a better understanding of his development mindset. He worked very closely with el-Rufai when he was minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) as an advisor. There must be some qualities that el-Rufai discovered in Sani, which endeared him to the man who he would later, as governor, appoint him as his Special Adviser, Political and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Despite the long-standing support from el-Rufai, Sani has not taken anything for granted. Though he is worthily being recruited into the leadership of Kaduna State, the senator, who will be 52 on December 31, has actively engaged with the Kaduna electorate through meetings with strategic segments of the state, elite and non-elite, including the traditional institution and religious groups, selling his vision and programme of action for the good of their state.
Through these strategic engagements, he has been able to develop a compendium of needs by the different constituencies, which have now enriched his programme of action and vision for the next phase of the development of the state. The meetings have also greatly wormed him into the people’s embrace, making him, as it stands, the most liked aspirant for the governorship of the state.
However, governance of a state as strategic to the North-West and many parts of the northern divide of Nigeria as Kaduna State is not about being liked or loved by the people. It is more about competence and capability. Competence is developed from previous leadership engagements that help build leaders for the challenges ahead. It is for this reason that most people in Kaduna see Sani as a man of integrity who is coming prepared to address problems they confront daily.
At his recent meeting with councillors from his party, Sani was almost drawn to tears as he listened to the councillors pour encomiums on him over his stewardship to the state thus far from the Senate chambers. Each of the councillors left the meeting promising to become his campaign driver in each ward of the state.
This was a huge endorsement for him given that the councillors are the closest to the grassroots in the political hierarchy. For Sani, having the councillors in his support was a huge boost to his aspiration to lead Kaduna State into its next development dispensation. For most people in the state, too, Sani represents hope for something greater than what el-Rufai has achieved.
He attends to his campaign with a level of vigour that convinces everyone that he is ready for what he has been prepared for.
Sani’s eventual crowning will also be El-Rufai’s gold cap on his tenure as governor. It may also become the new normal in the country’s political succession and leadership recruitment process. While it is true that democracy affords every citizen the right to aspire to leadership, not every citizen is, however, called to serve like Sani.
