Uba Sani’s stroke of statesmanship

Inside  Bola Tinubu’s Gulag, or one of its anterooms, where Nasir El-Rufai has found himself, the former governor of Kaduna State, will definitely be grappling with thoughts about life and the transience of power.

Solitude, even where imposed, has its values, though. It offers something remarkably different from the kinetic schedule of a top politician, which rarely gives him room for introspection. Entrapped as they often are in the absorbing grips of power and its accoutrements, with the impetuosity it breeds, not many in prime political stations pulse to consider the rounded perspective of their actions and utterances. It is always about throwing power around, and asserting who the numero uno is. There is nary consideration for the enduring implications of their actions and policies.

It is possible that trapped in confinement, perhaps harshly, El-Rufai’s present circumstances may provide him an uncommon opportunity for introspection. There are many long hours for him at the moment to reflect on his actions in the prime political stations he has been exceptionally lucky to occupy. He is an intelligent man. Did Socrates not say that an unexamined life is not worth living. There is so much about the life of the former Kaduna state governor that he must be examining at the moment. Who knows? He may even come around to some level of contrition on a number of his actions.

It is worth noting that a fortnight ago, without much noise, and with a stroke of statesmanship, Uba Sani, the present occupant of the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna, moved to diffuse one of the needless bombs that his predecessor, El-Rufai pertinaciously planted in the state. To imagine that there was no good reason for what El Rufai did on the issue in reference, other than to show that he could do whatever he wanted.

In the 59 years since it was created as a state out of the Northern region, Kaduna has been governed by no less than 20 chief executives. Most of these, whether military or civilian, exhibited utmost sensitivity to the diversity of the state and the cosmopolitanism of the city. The temperament served Kaduna remarkably well.

With no less than seven linguistic groups and ethnic nationalities inhabiting the state, and Nigeria’s two dominant religions robustly present, Kaduna thrived with a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect. For a very long time in the history of post independent Nigeria, Kaduna occupied a mythical place in the power dynamics of the country. Indeed, Kaduna was a critical variable in the equation of power and politics in Nigeria.

The powerful and the influential who inhabited the city and the state clearly understood the necessity of wielding power deftly. Then Nasir El-Rufai arrived in 2015, elected as governor under the banner of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Kaduna lost its innocence.

Shaken at its very base, as it were, by a new political leader that seemed determined to accentuate rather than manage its fault lines, the state lost the sense of accommodation that has served it over the years. El-Rufai whimsically toppled the unwritten order that promoted religious harmony through consciously having a Muslims and a Christians in a joint political leadership ticket.

With that unilateral act of imposing a one religion hegemony in place, recrimination set in. Similar insensitive actions did not help matters. Ethnic tension flared up. Hostility and suspicion among the constituent peoples steadily expanded. Soon, insecurity pervaded the once proud melting pot that Kaduna was. 

For so long, the political leadership of Kaduna State had retained the inclusive arrangement of Muslim-Christian joint ticket in governance, very much like Nigeria at the federal level. The arrangement was not written down in ink. It was etched in the consciousness of the people as a covenant for the good of the State. The iconoclast in El-Rufai toppled the peace. As at the end of his two terms as governor, Kaduna state had become everything it was not a decade back. Inter-ethnic bitterness and insecurity had sprouted all over.

On July 28 2026, in a statement he personally signed, Governor Uba Sani took a huge step to restore harmony and confidence among the peoples of Kaduna State. The governor nominated Jerry Adams, the Chairman of Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service, a Christian, as his running mate for the 2027 election.

According to the governor, Kaduna is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural state. This diversity, he said, should be a source of strength and not a source of division. He further explained that his decision to pick Adams to run with him “reflects the values of justice, fairness and merit”, as well as his commitment to inclusiveness, equity and good governance.

Uba Sani could so easily have continued with the same religion ticket that was handed over to him. He could conveniently have argued that it was not of his making, that it was not him that toppled the order that prevailed and served the state so well for a long time. 

Had he elected to play Pilate and washed his hands off a troubled policy he did not initiate, Kaduna would surely continue to exist as a state, even if suspicion and rancour hobble it. The governor would have continued to wield power as a state governor, irrespective of the smouldering fire around the state. Afterall, in Nigeria, all that matters to a politician in a prime political office is the seat he occupies, with the appurtenances thereto. Every other thing is secondary, including the lives of the citizens.

Governor Sani did not act under any compulsion. That is what makes his decision worthy of commendation. He has proved himself an uncommon politician, one propelled by values beyond parochial considerations. It is not difficult to understand why he appears so easily to be a trusted, rallying figure in the forum of governors, in spite of his gentle mien.

Statesmanship does not express itself in hollow rhetoric that is far removed from reality. Statesmanship proves itself in the values and manifest integrity of the acts of a leader, decisions that elevate the human condition in the society. One decision by Governor Uba Sani in Kaduna, against the backdrop of a costly pig-headed act by his predecessor, has spoken a volume about who he is. He has shown himself to be a political leader propelled by concern for harmony and the progress of his state. Many other policies of his government affirm his vision.

It will be unrealistic, of course, to expect that the shattered cohesion of Kaduna will be restored by a single decision by Governor Sani. It doesn’t work that way. However, by moving to rebuild the shattered bricks of a harmonious Kaduna state, one stone at a time, the governor has proved his courage and vision in governance.