By Zubair Abdurra’uf Idris
Ibrahim Modibo Sanusi’s article is a familiar exercise in political rebranding, where debt is dressed up as “strategy” and abandonment is repackaged as “legacy.” But Kaduna’s reality is not built on headlines; it is built on numbers, obligations, and consequences.
Yes, Nasir El-Rufai built it. But he also borrowed, aggressively and extensively. Kaduna State’s debt profile reportedly ballooned from about $105 million in 2015 to over $600 million in external debt alone by 2023, alongside substantial domestic liabilities over 89 billion naira. That is not merely a development blueprint, it is a long-term mortgage on the future of Kaduna.
Many of the so-called “completed and operational” projects celebrated today were financed through loans stretching repayment obligations well into the next decade. Governor Uba Sani did not choose debt servicing over new projects, he inherited a system where debt servicing was already the first line charge. A blueprint that incapacitates the next administration is not visionary, it is fiscally reckless.
Sanusi calls Governor Uba Sani “incoherent” for unfinished projects. But the real incoherence lies in initiating projects, pushing them to 30–70% completion, and abandoning them without sustainable funding plans.
Take for instance:
– Kabala Costain-River Kaduna-Aliyu Makama Road: Left at and abandoned at 30%. Today, Governor Uba Sani has re-awarded and funded its completion in no distant time under tight fiscal constraints.
– Kaduna Light Rail Project: Budgeted, $11 million Dollars funds reportedly disbursed, yet no visible rail infrastructure on ground. BRT project worth 10 billion naira pocketed by cronies of El-Rufa’i now refunding the money through anti-graft agencies. Investigations have since drawn national attention. To ameliorate the transportation deficit, Governor Uba purchased CNG vehicles and deployed them to commuters free of charge.
– El- Rufa’is eight years administration only produced window dressing roads projects of a decimal 300 kilometres. But, Uba Sani administration Kickstarted 150 asphalted road projects in various communities that were neglected spanning almost 1,400 kilometres with a record 60% completed and commissioned.
– The prestigious Ahmadu Bello Stadium is solely Governor Uba Sani project being demolished and a new construction underway with an expanded capacity of 32,000 seats World Class Capacity.
– Kangimi Irrigation Project: Backed by international financing, yet years later, farmers in Igabi LGA are still waiting for water to reach their fields.
– Zaria Water Expansion & Galma Dam: Contracts executed, payments made, yet persistent water scarcity remains the lived reality.
This is not continuity, it is crisis management.
Governor Uba Sani is not only completing inherited projects; he is also servicing the debts incurred to initiate them. That is governance under duress.
Even signature projects reveal troubling inconsistencies:
– The Kawo Flyover, initially projected at under ₦3 billion, reportedly escalated to over ₦7 billion by completion.
– The much-publicized KSMC Elephant Project remains an uncompleted monument, widely criticized as a questionable priority with unclear value.
– The 850 housing units for the poor remain partially delivered, with opaque allocation processes.
Digital city and innovation hubs launched with fanfare now stand largely inactive, lacking operational frameworks.
Beyond infrastructure, governance failures extended into human impact:
– Over 40,000 unresolved land disputes were left behind. Within less than two years, the current administration has reportedly resolved over 15,000 through dialogue and institutional reforms.
– Education policies saw sharp tuition increases at Kaduna State University, forcing many students out of the system. The current government has reversed several of these decisions and settled outstanding scholarship obligations.
– Security spending under “internal security” raised serious concerns, while large parts of the state experienced prolonged instability.
In contrast, the Kaduna Peace Model under Governor Uba Sani has restored economic and social activities across previously shut-down local government areas, reviving farming, reopening markets, and stabilizing communities.
El-Rufai deserves credit for ambition and execution speed. But legacy is not measured by how fast projects are launched-it is measured by three enduring questions:
What was built?
What did it truly cost?
Can the next government sustain it?
By that standard, the so-called blueprint was built on borrowed concrete.
Governor Uba Sani’s so-called “incoherence” is, in reality, fiscal triage-balancing debt repayment, worker obligations, and the completion of abandoned projects while stabilizing governance structures.
Kaduna does not need more ceremonial groundbreakings. It needs functional schools, accessible healthcare, secure communities, and a balance sheet that does not mortgage the future.
The people of Kaduna are not amnesiacs. They remember not just press releases, but lived realities, potholes, unpaid obligations, and unfulfilled promises.
Kaduna deserves truth, not political cosmetics.
Zubair Abdurra’uf Idris is a Public Affairs Analyst and Board Member Nigeria Electricity Management Services