KADUNA: DECODING UBA SANI’S PARLEY WITH CLERICS
Gov Sani(bespectacled) planked by attendees
By Nasir Dambatta
A report that went viral on April the 20th, 2023 had the jaw-dropping figures of killings and abductions in Kaduna State. The then Commissioner for Internal security and home affairs, Samuel Aruwan, revealed that about 1,052 people were killed, 4,227 abducted and 648 were injured in 2022.
The Commissioner’s report, titled “The Security Situation in Kaduna State from 1 January to 31 December, 2022,” was a categorization of security issues into banditry and terrorism, kidnapping, rape perpetrated by armed bandits, cattle rustling, communal and inter- ethnic clashes, violent attacks, and reprisal attacks.
The report was probably one of the most comprehensive during the Elrufai era and the commissioner offered insight on the authentic sources that helped with additional statistics. Hear him: “The statistics presented are generated from daily reports of security agencies – the Military (the Army, Navy and Air Force), Police, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Kaduna State Vigilance Service (KADVS) – community leaders (ward heads, village heads, district heads, chiefdoms, and emirates) and credible human intelligence networks.”
Understandably, the rising wave of terrorism and allied crimes as outlined by Aruwan, gave birth to a refugee crisis of sorts. The Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (KADSEMA) disclosed that about 22,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were recorded in the year 2022 in the state due to banditry and related disasters.
That report came from the KADSEMA Executive Secretary, Muhammad Mu’azu Mukkadas, at an event organised by the agency in collaboration with Christian Aid and Cooperazione Internationale (COOPI).
Governor Uba Sani of has been known to be waging relentless war against insecurity in the State, especially during his days as Senator representing Kaduna Central. He gave support to the IDPs to the point that no politician in living memory, in Kaduna State can beat his records of taking care of the IDPs at such regular intervals. He committed millions to feeding the IDPs at a point many well-to-do and politicians looked the other way.
He visited local governments ravaged by banditry, paid for the medication of the injured and feted the survivors. He went a notch further to move motions at the Senate Chambers on the insecurity in Kaduna State and has till this moment remained the leading light in advocating for State Police as a means obliterating banditry and allied crimes in the North.
It is evident that Governor Uba Sani has been a leading light in the search for practical solutions to the Kaduna insecurity challenge. Shortly after his inauguration on May 29th, the Governor was quick to meet the Chief of Army Staff and all paramilitary leaders of this country. He then met the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, as part of his multi-pronged approach to securing Kaduna.
Now, Governor Uba Sani has gone a notch further by interfacing with clerics in the State, since they command the loyalty of many when they stand on the pulpit or deliver sermons in the Mosques. He laced the list of respected clerics with traditional rulers and other opinion moulders, as part his Independence Day (1st October, 2023) activities.
Significantly, the governor and the attendees at the peace meeting closed ranks on the need to confront the challenge frontally. But the governor begun by tasking the clerics and other relevant officials of the meeting to redouble their efforts in ensuring peace returns to the beleaguered communities.
On the whole, Governor Uba Sani’s SUSTAIN agenda has, as one of its major plank, dealing with the challenge of insecurity so that when life returns to normal, his ultimate dream of making Kaduna the hub of Northern economic advancement becomes a living reality.
*Dambatta is Senior Special Assistant(Print Media) to the Governor of Kaduna State*
