Peace is back in Kaduna after decades of insecurity —Information Commissioner 

Kaduna State Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Ahmed Maiyaki’ speaks with Northern Bureau Chief, MUHAMMAD SABIU, on the Kaduna peace model and why he feels the APC government, led by Senator Uba Sani, will be re-elected in 2027. Excerpts:

Over the years, Kaduna State has been known for crisis but since the inception of this government, we have seen relative peace. Can you tell us more about it?

Well, I represented the governor at the NUJ press week, where I told the audience that since 2023 at the inception of this administration, we have not had one conflict, whether religious or ethnic.

 And that did not happen by accident. Of course, we pray that God should protect us but then we have to consider that peaceful atmosphere, peaceful coexistence is a product of a deliberate strategy; a product of justice, a product of inclusion, a product of consultation and engagement. 

The Kaduna peace model is a community-based strategy that involves community members, religious leaders, traditional rulers, and other key stakeholders in ensuring that we have a proactive process and one of the proactive measures we have taken is the early warning signs that have been created to identify conflicts at a very initial stage. 

Because when you involve community members and you have a very functional strategy, people will identify at a very early stage where they’re signs of conflict. Let me give you an example, some people were attacked on their way to a function outside Kaduna, and about eight of them were killed. 

The governor, proactively, knowing that if government did not take proactive measures, there could be retaliation. The governor thus reached out to where the victims were attacked and also to the community where these people came from and personally went to pacify the community and assure the community of justice and also led the process of ensuring that justice is achieved. 

That the kind of leadership we are talking about. If he just sits down only to issue statements of condemnation and to commiserate with the people as the usual tradition, that is not good enough. But the action of the governor made the relatives of the victims and community happy and that was how the matter was downplayed.

Again, the governor travelled one day to Southern Kaduna and on his way, he stopped at Kagoro, he sat down with the Fulani and the people of the area and had conversation with them, where he urged them to promote communal harmony and live in peace with one another. 

That is the way to go. At an appropriate time, I will give statistics on the number of conflicts addressed through this early warning system.

Looking at the state for the past two years can we therefore say peace has been achieved in Kaduna?

Interestingly, you have worked in a state where we can conveniently refer to the state as a theatre of banditry attacks in recent times. You can compare because you still have contact with the state. So, you can compare whether we have peace in Kaduna or not. But you will agree with me that before now, it is very difficult to travel from Kaduna to Abuja or from Kaduna to Birnin Gwari, or from Kaduna to Giwa or from Kaduna to Chikun or Kajuru. It was very difficult travelling along these routes, but today it is a different ballgame as you can travel to these areas unhindered without any fear of being attacked or being harassed or kidnapped. This is because government has taken steps to address the security challenges in these areas or even beyond. For the past two years under the government of Senator Uba Sani, Kaduna has been able to recover from such fear.

The government has proved that people can live without fear of being attacked as the case maybe before we came. Kaduna has shown that resilience over time. 

With the strategy we adopted, people have returned to their homes, farmers have returned to their farms. Over 500,000 hectares of farmlands have been recovered and our farmers are back in the farm. Over 500 schools have reopened. Remember, these schools were initially closed due to insecurity and the children are back in schools. Over 300,000 who were initially out of school are now back to school because of the peace and security attained. 

Over 200 health centres closed are now reopened. People have access to health facilities; we have better health coverage now. The high rate of maternal deaths has been reduced across our state. So, peace is back in Kaduna again. 

The unity that we have lost over time is returning fast. There is trust among the people. The atmosphere now is that people are ready to be united by unity of purpose and to promote what God has created; whether you are a Christian or a Muslim, you are created by God Almighty.

The main focus of Governor Uba Sani’s government is on developing the rural areas, why is this so?

Rural development is also a strategy to address the insecurity bedeviling the state in order to have peace. If you don’t provide development in the rural areas, there will be an increase in urban crime. A lot of people from the rural areas will move to the urban centres, and when they come, the infrastructure in the urban centres is overstretched. 

Crime in urban centres rises very fast when those in the rural areas come to the urban centres. You know when they come to the urban centres, they don’t have shelter and where to live. Usually, they live under the bridge and slumps. So over the years, Kaduna has witnessed development within the cities, leaving not just the rural areas, but even rural-urban communities that are not in the rural areas.

For instance is the Rigasa Millennium City, where you have Danhonou and other suburbs that are coming up. There is also Karatudu around Unguwar Romi area, television, Rido,Hayin Mallam Bello, etc. if you don’t provide development, you defeat the aim these communities are set up for. 

The strategy adopted by the state government is not just for vehicular purposes because the 785kms of roads that have been constructed across these communities, including the urban centres, are addressing key issues of challenges. These roads are not just there but you are providing the means and access to the farmers. 

You are also providing access to health. You are reducing the distance people take to reach communities and connecting communities. Providing infrastructure is also addressing educational challenges. One of the reasons we have the problem of school dropouts is the absence of roads that the children will use to get to the schools.

Do you think the level of development witnessed in the state in the last few years can guarantee the re-election of the governor in 2027?

This is 2025. We don’t want to even talk about politics. We are trying to see that we deliver the mandate given to us by the electorate. You are a living testimony that the governor, Senator Uba Sani is delivering on this mandate. Even if we want to talk about politics, if today, INEC decides to bring the election to 2026, I can assure you His Excellency has a good chance of winning because there is no clear challenger.

If the election will be carried out on the basis of performance, if elections are done on the basis of delivering dividends of democracy, our governor has done credibly well that if he declares his intention to contest he will get the support of the people. 

Because in the last two and half years, he has turned Kaduna from a society of despair to a society of hope. He has changed the narrative from the leadership of fear and loss to that of achievements and celebrations. He has delivered in education. 

A number of our children who have dropped out of school because of higher fees in tertiary school are now back in school following the reduction of school fees by 50 per cent. The governor has paid over N500m in scholarship for our students, both pursuing their education in the country and abroad. In the health sector, the governor has rehabilitated close to 15 general hospitals out of the 34 that we have in Kaduna to grade standards. 

The governor had upgraded our primary health centres, over 290 hospitals have been upgraded from level one to two. Our primary health centres 255 have been upgraded and they have been provided with solar system. A 300-bed hospital has been completed. 

The state has increased the salary of health workers, doctors and nurses. Today, Kaduna has become a hub where every medical officer wants to come and work. Also, the governor has given approval for the recruitment of over 9,000 health workers. That is the recruitment of 1,800 health workers for the next five years. Today in agriculture, the governor has supported over 200,000 small-scale farmers with 900 trucks of fertilizer.

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