Hot SourceBy Nasir Dambatta
If Foreign Direct Investment is Kaduna’s magnet for global capital, then projects are the muscle turning ambition into reality. In less than two years, Governor Uba Sani has rolled out a development programme that rivals some of Africa’s boldest transformations, securing Kaduna’s place as a rising nerve centre of growth.
The revival of the Birnin Gwari Road, long a symbol of neglect, is now a lifeline for trade and security, comparable to Rwanda’s $400 million Kigali-Rubavu highway, which boosted cross-border commerce and cut crime. Similarly, the Eastern Bypass expansion is set to decongest Kaduna metropolis just as Kenya’s $668 million Nairobi Expressway transformed urban traffic flow and opened new investment corridors.
Road infrastructure has seen unprecedented attention. In the first phase of the programme, 85 roads covering 785 kilometers were rolled out, with 44 already delivered and the rest progressing steadily. The second phase added more than 50 new roads and bridges spanning 550 kilometers, while recent groundbreakings deepen investment in rural transformation — linking communities, opening trade corridors, creating jobs, and securing prosperity. This mirrors the ambition of Ethiopia’s 1,200km Modjo-Hawassa road corridor, which unlocked rural economies and connected once-isolated communities to national and regional markets. It also reminds me of Tanzania’s Central Corridor upgrade, which opened landlocked economies to ports, fueling trade across East Africa.
Housing has also received a groundbreaking push. The 200-hectare housing project, Kaduna’s largest in decades, is designed to slash the state’s deficit of more than 2 million units. The scale recalls Morocco’s National Housing Plan, which delivered 1.5 million affordable homes between 2002 and 2020. Kaduna’s initiative fuses affordability with modern layouts and social amenities — creating not just homes but vibrant communities, while generating thousands of construction jobs. Similar models in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital are showing how ambitious housing schemes can reshape urban futures.
The $150 million Kaduna Smart City Project, now in advanced talks, mirrors Ethiopia’s $250 million Hawassa Industrial Park, which turned an underdeveloped zone into a hub of exports and employment. Kaduna’s vision is to blend broadband infrastructure, sustainable design, and modern living, positioning the state as northern Nigeria’s technology capital. The idea is no different from Rwanda’s Kigali Innovation City, designed as a continental pillar for digital transformation.
Power and water interventions are also gaining traction, the backbone upon which Kaduna’s industrial growth depends. This strategy echoes South Africa’s Gauteng Province, where infrastructure upgrades attracted multinationals and turned it into an economic powerhouse. It also resonates with Ghana’s energy corridor projects, which have anchored industrial clusters and secured long-term growth.
The milestones speak in figures: 200 hectares of housing underway, 85 roads covering 785km with another 550km added, and a $150 million smart city project in the pipeline — with ripple effects projected to create tens of thousands of direct jobs and open fresh space for small and medium-scale enterprises.
What Kaduna is achieving under Uba Sani goes beyond asphalt, concrete, and housing blocks. Every kilometer of road means safer travel and faster trade. Every housing unit means dignity for families and jobs for youths. Every digital hub means a leap into the future economy. By aligning vision with execution, Uba Sani is lifting Kaduna onto the same trajectory as nations like Rwanda, Kenya, Morocco, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Egypt — proving that projects are not just about development, but destiny. As one timeless maxim reminds us: “Great leaders do not reinvent progress; they study what works elsewhere, adapt it with courage, and make it work for their people.”
*Dambatta is Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Print Media
