By Nasir Abdulkadir, PhD
In the space of 48 hours, Governor Uba Sani delivered two contrasting but equally telling demonstrations of governance in Kaduna State: a ₦178 billion federal road project that is redrawing the security map of Birnin Gwari, and a personal act of compassion that put roofs over the heads of two families shattered by insecurity.
THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE BIRNIN GWARI ROAD
On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu flagged off the reconstruction of the 122-kilometre Kaduna–Birnin Gwari road, with Governor Sani representing the President at the ceremony. The figures tell their own story:
- 122 kilometres of road under reconstruction
- ₦178 billion approved for the project
- 5 states, from the North-West to Lagos in the South-West, connected by the corridor
- 21 armoured vehicles earlier deployed to secure the axis, a legacy of the late GOC 1 Mechanised Division, General Taoreed Lagbaja
Sani noted that the project fulfils a promise President Tinubu made during a December 2022 campaign visit to Birnin Gwari — a trip he made against security advice at a time the town was the epicentre of banditry, kidnapping and insurgency in the state. Today, Sani said, residents can move between Kaduna and Birnin Gwari, and within the town itself, without a police escort — a marked shift from the security realities of just a few years ago.
The Governor also disclosed that reconstruction of the Eastern Bypass, another critical artery, is expected to resume within months, and reaffirmed Kaduna’s political loyalty to the President ahead of 2027.
TWO HOUSES, TWO FAMILIES, ONE PROMISE KEPT
Days later, the Governor turned from federal infrastructure to a far more personal register of governance. At Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Sani handed over two houses to the families of Ven. Edwin Achi, the Anglican priest killed after being abducted by kidnappers, and Malama Ummulkhairi Aliyu, an Islamic teacher lynched by a mob at Maraban Jos in June.
The gesture drew swift commendation from both faith communities. Arch Bishop Timothy Yahaya of Kaduna Province and Sheikh Haliru Maraya, Northern Coordinator of the Global Peace Foundation, jointly described Sani as a leader who keeps his word — citing this as one of several promises fulfilled since he assumed office.
READING THE TWO STORIES TOGETHER
Taken side by side, the ₦178 billion Birnin Gwari road and the two housing units at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House sit at opposite ends of the same governance agenda: one measured in kilometres and billions, the other in individual families made whole. Both, in Sani’s framing, are anchored in the same idea — that security and its human cost are inseparable from Kaduna’s development story, and that promises made against that backdrop are being kept, at scale and at the individual level alike.
Dr. Nasir writes from Kudan Street, Anguwan Dosa, Kaduna State
