Governor Uba Sani was Right: Tinubu has Done What no Other President has Done in Nigeria

By Mohammed Bello Doka 

1 July, 2026.

Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani recently declared that President Bola Tinubu has delivered more development to Northern Nigeria than any leader in the nation's history. He cited massive infrastructure projects, agricultural interventions, and federal investments as evidence of the administration's commitment to the region. Speaking on ARISE Television, Sani insisted that no president has done for the North what Tinubu has accomplished in just three years. He dismissed criticism from northern elders, accusing them of hypocrisy, and vowed that the North would reward Tinubu with even more votes in 2027.

Governor Sani is technically correct. President Tinubu has indeed done what no other president has done in Nigeria. He has presided over the largest mass abduction of citizens in the nation's history. He has overseen the highest ransom payments ever recorded. He has governed while over 600,000 Nigerians were killed in a single year. He has watched twenty million children sit at home while lawmakers cruise in luxury SUVs bought with billions of naira. And he has spent more money on cars for the National Assembly than on arms to protect the very people Governor Sani claims he has developed. If this is what doing more for the North looks like, then the North has never been more betrayed.

Let us examine the evidence item by item.

National Bureau of Statistics Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (May 2023 to April 2024)

Item 1: Total number of Nigerians killed during the period: 614,937. Source: NBS CESPS 2024.

Item 2: Total number of abduction incidents recorded: 2,235,954. Source: NBS CESPS 2024.

Item 3: Total number of crime incidents experienced by Nigerian households: 51,890,000. Source: NBS CESPS 2024.

Item 4: Total ransom paid nationwide: 2,230,000,000,000 naira (2.23 trillion). Source: NBS CESPS 2024.

Item 5: Percentage of affected households that paid ransom: 65 percent. Source: NBS CESPS 2024.

Item 6: Average ransom payment per incident: 2,670,000 naira. Source: NBS CESPS 2024.

Item 7: Total ransom paid in the North-West region: 1,200,000,000,000 naira (1.2 trillion). Source: NBS CESPS 2024.

Item 8: Total kidnapping incidents in the North-West region: 1,420,000. Source: NBS CESPS 2024.

Item 9: Kaduna State ranking among epicenters of banditry and kidnapping: Consistently among the highest in the nation. Source: NBS CESPS 2024 and multiple security reports.

Out of School Children

Item 10: Total number of out-of-school children in Nigeria: 18,300,000 (18.3 million). Source: UNICEF 2024.

Item 11: Alternative estimate from UNESCO: 20,000,000 (20 million). Source: UNESCO 2024.

Item 12: Kebbi State out-of-school rate: 67.6 percent. Source: UNICEF.

Item 13: Sokoto State out-of-school rate: 66.4 percent. Source: UNICEF.

Item 14: Kaduna State out-of-school rate: Among the lowest enrollment rates in the country. Source: Multiple education reports.

Item 15: North-West literacy rate compared to Lagos State: 9.5 percent versus 87 percent. Source: NBS.

Federal Government Spending on Arms (2023 to 2025)

Item 16: Total federal spending on arms, ammunition, and military equipment (2023 to 2025): 74,960,000,000 naira (74.96 billion). Source: Federal Government procurement records.

Item 17: Arms spending in 2023: 33,300,000,000 naira (33.30 billion). Source: Federal Government procurement records.

Item 18: Arms spending in 2024: 40,840,000,000 naira (40.84 billion). Source: Federal Government procurement records.

Item 19: Arms spending in 2025: 819,460,000 naira (819.46 million). Source: Federal Government procurement records.

National Assembly Spending on Vehicles and Allowances

Item 20: Total National Assembly expenditure on vehicles and allowances from 2022 supplementary budget: 110,000,000,000 naira (110 billion). Source: Federal High Court ruling, May 2026.

Item 21: Amount spent on 465 SUVs for lawmakers: 40,000,000,000 naira (40 billion). Source: Federal High Court ruling, May 2026.

Item 22: Number of SUVs for House of Representatives members: 360. Source: Federal High Court ruling, May 2026.

Item 23: Number of SUVs for Senators: 109. Source: Federal High Court ruling, May 2026.

Item 24: Amount spent on support allowances for new members: 70,000,000,000 naira (70 billion). Source: Federal High Court ruling, May 2026.

Item 25: Court ruling declaring the expenditure unlawful, arbitrary, disproportionate, and inconsistent with statutory procurement standards. Source: Federal High Court, Lagos, May 2026.

The Direct Comparison

Item 26: Total arms spending across three years (2023 to 2025): 74.96 billion naira.

Item 27: Total National Assembly vehicle and allowance spending from a single budget: 110 billion naira.

Item 28: The difference: National Assembly spending exceeded arms spending by 35.04 billion naira.

Item 29: The implication: The vehicles for 465 lawmakers alone cost more than every bullet, rifle, armored vehicle, and military operation conducted between 2023 and 2025.

Item 30: The court's description: Self-dealing and conflict of interest.

Governor Sani boasts about the rehabilitation of the Abuja-Kaduna highway, noting that over 600 billion naira has already been paid to contractors. He celebrates the reconstruction of the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari road, a project abandoned for over 25 years. He touts the Federal Executive Council's approval of a 1 trillion naira light rail project for Kaduna. He speaks of agricultural interventions, fertilizer support, and the establishment of a Federal University of Science and Technology in southern Kaduna. On paper, these are commendable achievements. But paper does not bleed. Paper does not pay ransom. Paper does not bury children.

While Governor Sani was praising federal investments, the people of Kaduna were paying the highest price for insecurity. Item 4 shows 2.23 trillion naira paid in ransom nationwide. Item 7 shows 1.2 trillion naira of that came from the North-West alone. Item 8 shows 1.42 million kidnapping incidents in the North-West. Item 9 confirms Kaduna State ranks among the epicenters. Item 5 shows 65 percent of affected households paid ransom. Item 6 shows the average payment was 2.67 million naira per incident. These are not taxes. These are not development levies. These are ransom payments extracted from already impoverished families by bandits who operate with impunity. Money that could have sent children to school, bought food, or treated sickness. Instead, it ended up in the pockets of criminals while Governor Sani stood before cameras and declared Tinubu the greatest friend the North has ever had.

Let us talk about those children. Item 10 shows 18.3 million out-of-school children according to UNICEF. Item 11 shows UNESCO estimates as high as 20 million. Item 12 shows Kebbi State has 67.6 percent of school-age children out of school. Item 13 shows Sokoto State has 66.4 percent. Item 15 shows the North-West has a literacy rate of just 9.5 percent compared to 87 percent in Lagos State. While the governor was receiving federal approvals for a new university, millions of children across the North were not learning to read or write. They were not acquiring skills. They were not building futures. They were being prepared for a life of poverty, vulnerability, and in many cases, recruitment into the very criminal networks terrorizing their communities. A new university cannot educate children who are not in school. A light rail cannot transport children who have no destination. A highway cannot take them to a future that does not exist.

Governor Sani also claimed that federal support and local innovations like the Kaduna Peace Model had helped restore security, with rural communities now returning to life. But item 3 shows 51.89 million crime incidents experienced by Nigerian households during the review period. Item 8 shows 1.42 million kidnapping incidents in the North-West alone. If communities are returning to life, why are families paying 2.23 trillion naira in ransom? Why are farmers unable to return to their fields? Why are children still being abducted from their schools? Governor Sani wants the people of Kaduna to believe that a few road projects and a light rail approval constitute development while their brothers and sisters are being buried in mass graves.

Perhaps the most damning revelation is the comparison between what this administration spends on protecting Nigerians and what it spends on protecting politicians. Item 16 shows total arms spending from 2023 to 2025 was 74.96 billion naira. Item 17 shows 33.30 billion in 2023. Item 18 shows 40.84 billion in 2024. Item 19 shows just 819.46 million in 2025. Meanwhile, item 20 shows the National Assembly spent 110 billion naira on vehicles and allowances from a single supplementary budget. Item 21 shows 40 billion of that went to 465 SUVs. Item 22 shows 360 SUVs for House members. Item 23 shows 109 SUVs for Senators. Item 24 shows 70 billion went to support allowances. Item 25 shows a Federal High Court declared the entire expenditure unlawful. Item 26 shows arms spending across three years was 74.96 billion. Item 27 shows National Assembly spending from one budget was 110 billion. Item 28 shows the difference is 35.04 billion in favor of lawmakers. Item 29 shows the vehicles for lawmakers cost more than every military operation conducted between 2023 and 2025. Item 30 shows the court called it self-dealing and conflict of interest.

The Nigerian military, which is fighting bandits, Boko Haram, and kidnappers across multiple theaters of war, received less funding than politicians received for luxury cars. Governor Sani, who claims Tinubu has done more for the North than any other leader, has not said a single word about this grotesque misallocation of resources. He has not demanded more funding for the troops who are dying to protect his state. He has not questioned why lawmakers are riding in N200 million SUVs while soldiers are riding in rickety trucks with outdated weapons. He has simply clapped and smiled and told the people of Kaduna that everything is fine.

The people of Kaduna should ask themselves a simple question. If Tinubu has truly done more for the North than any other president, why does Kaduna remain one of the most dangerous states in Nigeria? Why are farmers still being killed in their fields? Why are children still being abducted from their schools? Why are families still paying ransom to secure the release of their loved ones? Why are hospitals overwhelmed with victims of banditry? Why are markets empty because traders are too afraid to travel? Why are villages deserted because residents have fled to the cities? Why is the North-West the epicenter of crime in Nigeria? Why is Kaduna State a hotspot for kidnapping and banditry? Why does Governor Sani have nothing to say about any of this except to praise the man who presides over it all?

Governor Sani has the audacity to tell the people of Kaduna that Tinubu has done more for them than any other president. He has the audacity to dismiss northern elders as hypocrites. But who is the real hypocrite? The governor who celebrates roads while his people are being slaughtered? The governor who praises agricultural interventions while farmers cannot access their lands? The governor who speaks of peace while families pay ransom with their life savings? The governor who praises a new university while twenty million children sit at home? The governor who applauds a light rail project while his state bleeds? Governor Sani knows the truth. He has access to the same security briefings. He sees the same intelligence reports. He receives the same distress calls from local government chairmen whose communities are under siege. And yet he chooses to stand before the cameras and sell a fantasy.

The figures have been itemized and the sources have been provided. 614,937 killed. 2,235,954 abducted. 2.23 trillion naira paid in ransom. 1.2 trillion naira of that from the North-West alone. 18.3 million out-of-school children, the highest in the world. 51.89 million crime incidents. 110 billion naira spent on lawmakers. 74.96 billion naira spent on arms. 465 SUVs for politicians. Countless graves for citizens. These are the numbers that define the Tinubu presidency. These are the numbers Governor Sani refuses to acknowledge. These are the numbers the people of Kaduna must never forget.

Governor Sani was elected to protect the people of Kaduna. He was sent to Government House to fight for them, to speak truth to power on their behalf, and to hold the federal government accountable when it fails to secure their lives and property. Instead, he has become a cheerleader for a presidency that has presided over unprecedented bloodshed, mass abductions, and economic collapse. He has chosen loyalty to his party over loyalty to his people. He has chosen propaganda over performance. He has chosen to celebrate crumbs while the people starve. He has chosen to praise roads while his people are buried. He has chosen to applaud light rails while his people are abducted. He has chosen to celebrate agricultural funding while his farmers are killed. He has chosen to defend the president while his people are paying ransom. He has chosen to be a spokesman for Abuja instead of a leader for Kaduna.

President Tinubu has indeed done what no other president has done in Nigeria. He has made insecurity a permanent feature of Nigerian life. He has normalized ransom payments as a household expense. He has turned the North into a killing field and called it development. He has spent billions on politicians while spending millions on arms. He has presided over the highest number of abductions in the nation's history. He has watched twenty million children drop out of school and done nothing. He has governed while over 600,000 citizens were killed and called it progress. And Governor Uba Sani has given him a standing ovation.

The people of Kaduna must remember this when they go to the polls. They must remember that their governor stood before the nation and declared that everything was fine while their neighbors were being buried. They must remember that he celebrated roads while their children were being abducted. They must remember that he praised the president while their families were paying ransom. They must remember that he applauded agricultural interventions while farmers were too afraid to plant. They must remember that he boasted about a new university while millions of children were out of school. They must remember that he celebrated federal investments while his state bled. They must remember that Governor Uba Sani chose to protect a political narrative instead of protecting them.

The numbers do not lie. The National Bureau of Statistics does not lie. The court judgment does not lie. UNICEF does not lie. UNESCO does not lie. The 614,937 dead do not lie. The 2,235,954 abducted do not lie. The 2.23 trillion naira in ransom does not lie. The 18.3 million out-of-school children do not lie. The 110 billion naira spent on lawmakers while 74.96 billion was spent on arms does not lie. The 51.89 million crime incidents do not lie. The 1.42 million kidnappings in the North-West do not lie. The 1.2 trillion naira paid in ransom by the North-West does not lie.

Governor Uba Sani was right. Tinubu has done what no other president has done in Nigeria. He has done the unthinkable. He has done the unforgivable. And Governor Sani has done the same. He has done what no other governor should ever do. He has betrayed his people. He has sold them a lie. He has traded their suffering for political favor. He has abandoned his duty. He has failed his state. He has failed the North. He has failed Nigeria. And history will not forgive him.

Mohammed Bello Doka can be reached via [email protected] 

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