The news that Kaduna State has had good news in terms of security may no longer be news. That is weird in a good sense since that state, barely two years ago, was in bed with the macabre: bandits on a roll, rapine and bloodshed as routine staple of its life.
The good news from Kaduna State in the past couple of weeks as it bears an international resonance was its liberation from a colour-coded infamy.
The United Kingdom that has kept its eyes on the nervous unravelling of the state to violence decided the state had turned the corner to peace. It upgraded the security status of Kaduna State from red to amber. It capped it all with an advisory that its citizens could now travel to the state without fear, even though it gave a caveat to be wary of certain rural areas. That is why it is still amber and not green.
The state had been painted red since 2022. No area of the state was out of danger, including its airport. Areas like Birnin Gwari and Giwa were danger zones to citizens who were not bandits. That same year, presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as he then was, travelled with what looked like an army brigade to that local government as part of his campaign stops. Its main cattle market was shut down for about a decade. That part of the country has received a shot in the arm for commerce and other activities.
‘The UK Government remains firmly committed to supporting Kaduna State’s development aspirations, and I am delighted to be here in Kaduna again with government colleagues, our delivery partners, and non-government stakeholders to continue to chart the way forward,’ UK’s Head of Development Cooperation at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Cynthia Rowe, said.
She announced the upgrade: ‘We will do this by deepening private sector involvement and working with agencies such as the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) to boost investment across critical sectors of the state’s economy for a fairer, more resilient economy.’
The UK’s Head of FCDO signed the Kaduna State Mutual Accountability Framework (K-MAF) dialogue when she announced her country’s recognition of the improved security situation in the state. This is a huge validation and an eloquent testimony to what keen observers of the state have come to accept.
The status did not come without vision and effort, and it is predicated on what the state governor had envisioned in his Kaduna Peace Model that he enunciated when he came to office.
In February 2024, he signed the Kaduna State Security Trust Fund Bill into law, establishing a dedicated fund to buoy security agencies with modern gizmos like drones, armoured vehicles, and intelligence tech without prejudice to federal allocations. It extended its hands of cooperation to the private sector.
Governor Uba Sani worked in tandem with federal forces through the office of the National security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to include the Nigerian Army and Air Force. They undertook joint operations and dispatched bandit kingpins like Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow, Janburos and Buhari.
Other than Birnin Gwari and Giwa, other communities like Kajuru, Kauru, Kachia, and Igabi fell to the net of peace.
Governor Sani described the news as ‘a major vote of confidence in Kaduna’s resilience and reform agenda.’ He was quick to say that bringing peace is a holistic effort, including building peace across the diverse peoples, tribes and faiths, running a government of inclusion, engaging communities and building infrastructure and improving education.
It is a blending of the various ingredients that build a society. It is amber, though green is the ultimate, and making peace is always a work in progress in any society.