The last time I checked as a journalist, Kaduna State governor, Senator Uba Sani and the immediate past governor, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai jetted to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj. Before travelling out, the political godfather and his godson, spent more days in Abuja than in Kaduna visiting some Embassies of their interest particularly those of the middle East countries. Reasons are yet unconfirmed and facts sketchy that they were looking for grants or some form of partnership arrangement for Kaduna State.
Since taking oath of office as the Executive Governor of Kaduna State on 29th May 2023, there has been no major action of succour or mitigation taken by his new administration to exude an ambience of a ‘new sheriff in town’, with regards to audacious killing in Southern Kaduna. As Uba Sani and his political godfather junkets around, terrorists are having field day abducting, killing and wreaking havoc on innocent citizens of several communities in the State and it appears the new governor is immune to the happenings and never bothered.
Unfortunately, the height of criminalities, not only in Kaduna, but anywhere are as a result of bad governance. As it were, Kaduna State was worst hit in the last eight years as a result of the obvious leadership failure and that was the reason, the people yearned for change in the last general election which could be deciphered from the way votes were cast, but for imperfect system, the governorship election in the State ended at the election petition tribunal.
El-Rufai left Kaduna worst than he met it. He cannot walk around proud of being ex-governor of the State as his administration has reduced the State to a miniature of ‘Afghanistan’, and as somebody who would not repent, he daily dishes out utterances that polarizes the state the more.
L-R; Malam Nasir El-Rufai (3rd) and Governor Uba Sani (4) in a photograph with other pilgrims in Mecca
On the eve of leaving office, El-Rufai in a video which has gone viral, he was seen addressing a group of Islamic Clerics, stating that, “he with others, was determined to ensure the Muslim-Muslim ticket was sustained for another 20 years to ensure Christians come to terms with the indispensability of the same faith ticket as a panacea for peace in both the State and the Federal level.”
If this is not a hate speech, was there peace in Kaduna State throughout El-Rufai’s eight years as governor of the State? Kaduna has been an urban city being the former headquarters of Northern Nigeria which expectedly, it ought to have been more developed with economic viability than the way it is with attendant calamities due to mis-governance particularly in the last eight years.
Having become a hub for bandits and terrorists, the State posed a national security risk to the Federal Capital Territory because of the common boundary with FCT and if the former President Muhammadu Buhari had gotten his acts right, he would have declared state of emergency in Kaduna State with a view to restore sanity as it is common knowledge that the brain behind banditry cannot at the same time, solve banditry problems.
Bandits have again stepped up attacks on the Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna state, as Sabon lay community was raided on Thursday last week led to killing of three farmers and kidnapping of travellers.
The kidnapped farmers and travellers were taken into the forest and were still in their custody till this day.
At midnight of the same day, a community leader who identified himself as Sallau Ibrahim, revealed that bandits attack led to the killing of Anas Sabonlayi, Abubakar Dankibiya, and Harisu Unguwar Lemu without a word from governor Uba Sani before he travelled out to Hajj with El-Rufai
As unacceptable as it is, attacks in Southern Kaduna cannot continue under Uba’s watch given that he has responsibility under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended to protect lives and property of citizens.
Uba Sani who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the ninth National Assembly before El-Rufai tipped him as his successor has no political tentacle on his own all these years of his political sojourn. His political fate has ever been supplanted in that of El-Rufai being his former aide.
It is recalled that Sani in his inaugural speech vowed to consolidate on the legacies of Malam Nasir El-Rufai and to that extent, he has lost the gut to put resources in place based on his vision for the state, but chose to toe the path of his godfather in appointments he has done so far.
Among his first appointments, the new governor retained El-Rufai’s Secretary to the State Government (SSG), and former senior government officials, including Mr. Samuel Aruwan who was Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs.
The undoing of Senator Uba-led administration is when he would not keep El-Rufai at arms length and allow him to lord over him in guise of political godfatherism. He should remember that his days in office has started counting when he will account to the people of Kaduna his stewardship in office.
Usman is a journalist and a public affairs analyst at: ateko2007@gmail.com
