Senator Uba Sani, the governor-elect of Kaduna State, campaigned for office against the backdrop of his deep understanding of the reforms that his mentor, Nasir El-Rufai, began in reshaping the fortunes of the state.
Those reforms have impacted positively the civil service, infrastructure development, education, health and other aspects of the life of the state. Having now been announced the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Sani has very large shoes to step into.
He will need woolen socks to make his feet fit in properly. No doubt, expectations will be high and he will be challenged on his campaign promises, but with woolen socks, his feet will have a firmer grip in the shoes as well as keep his feet warm and ready for the intricate details of leadership and governance in a state as polarized as Kaduna.
In his manifesto, Uba Sani developed a seven-point governance concept called SUSTAIN. Sustain represents his vision for safety and security; upgrading infrastructure; strengthening institutions; trade and investment; agriculture; investment in human capital, and nurturing citizens’ engagement.
These are the foundations upon which he intends to build his government that will lead Kaduna State into its next decade of progress.
Sani hopes to build on the foundations laid by El-Rufai. This includes strategic engagement with the federal government for deploying more troops to the state while also working with the traditional institution to build peace initiatives that would create an additional framework for a better understanding and appreciation of the social and religious differences of the people and work to turn them into positive values for the good and progress of the state. The outcome of this would translate into making Kaduna safer and livable for everyone.
Sani had also promised to “consolidate and continue the unprecedented infrastructure upgrade programme of the APC government, to enhance public welfare and accelerate economic growth”. He promised to “prioritise the implementation of long-term Kaduna State Infrastructure Master Plan (KADIMP) and the revised Kaduna Master plan” as well as “complete the master plans for Kafanchan and Zaria to guide the future development of the cities, and to work with local government councils to cascade planned development”.
This also means that he will “promote accelerated rural development by extending infrastructure development to all local government areas, with the goal of supporting rural communities to achieve rapid economic growth and development”, while also ensuring the “implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system as a cost-effective, affordable and sustainable mass transit system” and “expanding power supply from hydro, thermal and renewable sources” to serve the people of Kaduna and all who chose to live and enjoy the growing city.
He promised “a public service system with qualified and motivated staff, efficient in promoting good governance and delivering exceptional public service for citizen welfare and socio-economic growth”.
For him, therefore, to sustain growth and development there is a need for the support of dedicated public service machinery, with skilled personnel who are committed to the public good. This comes with a focus to strengthen the existing relationship between the three arms of government for effective service delivery, wherein Sani says “we will maintain the strong emphasis on training as the mechanism for continuous improvement in capacity, productivity, and efficiency in the Kaduna State public service”.
“But topmost on his priority list is his desire to drive the state fiscal, transparency, accountability, and sustainability model already in place and also, “sustain prompt payment of salaries, pensions and other terminal benefits for the state workforce.”
Sani’s focus on agriculture is to deliver “a well-developed, productive system of innovative and technologically driven agriculture, able to serve food needs and service the industrial sector”, and also to work very hard to ensure food security by encouraging investment in food production and processing, and manufacturing of agricultural implements in Kaduna State.
“This positive view also relates to human capital development wherein Sani said he is “devoted to building and empowering people for development and prosperity. We believe that people are the resource that creates, develops, or transforms all the resources that make civilised existence possible.
“It is well-educated and healthy persons that have the skills to exercise initiative and the vigour for the hard work that is required to build a strong society and a prosperous economy.”
The governor-elect also intends to expand access to education and health through massive funding, improvement in school infrastructure, improved teacher welfare and training, and improved skills development for the people of Kaduna.
On health, Sani had promised that “under our watch, the public health system in Kaduna State will consolidate and strengthen ongoing programmes to improve health outcomes: reduce maternal and child mortality, expand access to vaccines and medications, ramp up enrolment in contributory health insurance and thereby sustain care for pregnant women and children in public hospitals, support senior citizens with subsidised care, expand awareness of chronic conditions and empower citizens to take proactive steps to avoid them and to embrace disciplined action to manage them when they happen, and finally, sustain allocation of 15 percent or more of the annual state budget to health.”
These are lofty visions for someone who dreams big for the days after tomorrow. No doubt, Uba Sani’s mindset to SUSTAIN will not come easy.
However, he is lucky to have a mentor who is willing to offer his shoulders and a supportive populace that is ready to back his sincerity with his programme of action.
His first step, however, will be to build a team of equally loyal and dedicated players who share his vision to sustain Kaduna and are also ready to make the necessary sacrifices to push further the change narrative for the good of the state.
With these, El-Rufai will retire happily to either complete work on his doctorate or take a break in the Maldives or Tanganyika Island to write a sequel to ‘The Accidental Public Servant’, knowing that he landed Kaduna in the hands of a well-trained and worthy successor who is blessed with the discipline to lead and govern effectively.