From Division to Unity: How Gov Uba Sani Is Rebuilding Kaduna Under Tinubu’s Renewed Hope

By Tom Garba

Three years after assuming office, Kaduna State stands transformed. Once synonymous with ethno-religious tensions, banditry, and developmental stagnation, the state is now experiencing a remarkable shift toward peace, unity, and inclusive progress.

Leading this turnaround is Governor Senator Uba Sani, whose compassionate, strategic, and people-centred leadership has become a shining example of governance aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda.

When Senator Uba Sani took the mantle on May 29, 2023, he inherited a deeply polarised state. Decades of mistrust, violent conflicts in southern Kaduna, banditry in Birnin Gwari and other areas, and widespread infrastructure deficits had left many citizens disillusioned.

Yet, through deliberate policies of inclusion, transparency, and results-driven governance, Governor Sani has steadily rebuilt confidence across divides and repositioned Kaduna as a model of unity and development in northern Nigeria.

A defining feature of his leadership is the successful and peaceful conduct of the APC gubernatorial primaries ahead of the 2027 elections.

The process was remarkably smooth and consensual, with Governor Sani receiving overwhelming affirmation votes — over 459,000 — across all 255 wards and 23 local government areas.

This seamless exercise reflected the deep trust and confidence the people of Kaduna have in his leadership.

Party members and stakeholders across the state believed strongly in his vision, choosing consensus over contestation as a mark of political maturity and genuine belief in his ability to deliver more dividends of democracy.

The unity displayed during the primaries underscored how Governor Sani’s inclusive style has healed old wounds and fostered a cohesive APC family in Kaduna.

Central to the state’s transformation is the Kaduna Peace Model — an innovative, non-kinetic approach that combines community dialogue, reconciliation, intelligence-led operations, and socio-economic interventions.

Banditry has declined significantly, southern Kaduna is far calmer, and farmers are returning to their fields. Schools that were once closed due to insecurity have reopened, and citizens now sleep with greater confidence.

This model has earned national and international recognition as a template for addressing complex security challenges.

In infrastructure, Governor Uba Sani has delivered at an unprecedented scale. His administration has embarked on approximately 150 road projects covering over 1,345 kilometres across all 23 local government areas.

Many of these roads have been completed, opening up rural economies and improving connectivity between farming communities and markets.

The state has also revolutionised public transportation with the launch of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system featuring CNG and hybrid buses, while securing federal approval for a modern light rail network — a first for any state outside Lagos. These initiatives are easing mobility and stimulating economic activities.

The health sector has witnessed groundbreaking upgrades. Kaduna became the first state in Nigeria to elevate all 255 Primary Healthcare Centres to Level II status, vastly improving access to quality care, especially in rural areas.

Thirteen General Hospitals are undergoing rehabilitation, and the long-abandoned 300-bed Specialist Hospital (now named Bola Tinubu Specialist Hospital) was completed and commissioned by President Tinubu in 2025, ending a 16-year abandonment.

These investments have strengthened the state’s capacity to handle disease outbreaks and improve maternal and child health outcomes.

Education remains a top priority. The number of out-of-school children has dropped dramatically from around 550,000 to approximately 187,000.

Over 1,000 classrooms have been constructed or rehabilitated, tuition fees in state-owned tertiary institutions were reduced significantly, and new vocational training institutes have been established to equip youths with market-relevant skills. These efforts are laying a strong foundation for human capital development.

Agriculture, the mainstay of the state’s economy, has received transformative attention. Budgetary allocation to the sector rose sharply from ₦1.48 billion in 2023 to over ₦74 billion in 2025 and more than ₦100 billion in 2026, surpassing the Malabo Declaration benchmark.

This has boosted food production, supported value addition, and created opportunities for youths and women in agribusiness.

Economically, Governor Sani’s fiscal prudence stands out. Without contracting new loans, his administration has repaid over ₦90 billion of inherited debts while substantially growing the state’s Internally Generated Revenue.

Kaduna has attracted over $3.51 billion in investments, including landmark projects such as Nigeria’s first lithium processing plant. Social interventions include non-interest loans for civil servants, massive food palliatives, and skills acquisition programmes.

The 2026 budget of ₦985.9 billion, with over 70% allocated to capital projects, further demonstrates commitment to infrastructure, education, health, and rural transformation.

Governor Uba Sani’s inclusive governance style — regularly engaging traditional rulers, religious leaders, youth, and women across all senatorial zones — has fostered genuine unity.

His administration promotes transparency through open contracting and maintains strong respect for press freedom and civil liberties. As a Renewed Hope Ambassador appointed by President Tinubu, he continues to align state programmes with federal objectives, delivering visible impact despite national economic headwinds.

From a history of division to a future of unity and shared prosperity, Senator Uba Sani is not merely administering Kaduna State — he is rebuilding it with vision, integrity, empathy, and unwavering commitment.

His leadership proves that with purposeful governance, even the most complex challenges can be overcome. As Kaduna advances under his watch, it offers compelling evidence that Renewed Hope is delivering real change in the lives of ordinary Nigerians.