Yorubas say, Ká sọ̀rọ̀, ká ba bẹ́ẹ̀ ni iyì ọmọ ènìyàn (To speak, and to stand by your word, defines a man’s honour). Going down memory lane, December 22, 2022 was one of the days that tested that proverb. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, then the APC presidential candidate, was in Kaduna campaigning. Birnin Gwari was then the epicentre of banditry, kidnapping and insurgency. Nobody dared to travel from Mando in Kaduna to Birnin Gwari, and security agencies called it a flashpoint.
It was so bad that farmers were abducted on their land, travellers were seized on the highway, and a community that once fed neighbouring states lived in fear. The road was part of the problem. The journey took Asiwaju and his team close to four and a half hours because of the terrain, and the convoy reached the town at 8:30 pm. Birnin Gwari had not seen a single kilometre of road project in 20 years. Asiwaju Tinubu went anyway, arguing that anyone aspiring to be president must visit Birnin Gwari. The GOC of 1 Mechanised Division, the late General Lagbaja, provided 21 armoured vehicles with troops. The Emir, in awe of Asiwaju’s remarkable courage, gave him the title Dakare of Birnin Gwari for being the first presidential candidate to visit. There, the APC Presidential candidate made two promises. One was to reconstruct the road from Mando to Birnin Gwari, and the second was to do everything for security and normalcy in the region.
Three years on, the record is there to be read. On the security front, Governor Uba Sani says the President kept his word through sustained, coordinated security interventions. The clearest sign is that people can now travel from Kaduna to Birnin Gwari, and within the town, without a police escort. On the road, President Tinubu committed N178.12 billion to reconstruct the 122-kilometre Kaduna–Birnin Gwari highway. It starts at Mando near Kaduna Airport and ends at the Niger State border. The Renewed Hope administration approved it in May 2026 as one of its major federal highway projects. President Tinubu called it a strategic national asset linking the North-West to the South-West and on to Lagos. Works Minister David Umahi says it will enhance security along the corridor and unlock the area’s farming potential. On a positive note, peace has also brought other developments. Kaduna State is building 36 kilometres of asphalt roads across 72 farming communities in Birnin Gwari. The governor calls these the dividends of peace.
Beyond Birnin Gwari, President Tinubu approved $865 million for the Kaduna Light Rail project in July. The state’s broader infrastructure approvals from the Federal Executive Council total more than ₦1 trillion. At the flag-off, Governor Sani spoke for the President and said both promises had been fulfilled. “We are grateful to Mr President,” he said, on behalf of the government and people of Kaduna. The Emir, Alhaji Zubairu Jibril Mai Gwari II, also thanked the President for delivering on security and the road. He described the road as one that had been in disrepair for decades. The people who live there agree. Residents wrote that for them this was no mere road project but the restoration of an economic lifeline. They added that they still remember his visit before he took office, and the word he gave. Minister Umahi described Tinubu as a leader who honours his promises and delivers projects in every region. Kaduna is now returning the favour. Its public office holders are mobilising for a successful flag-off of the President’s reelection campaign on October 24, and have thanked him for choosing the state. A candidate who once reached Birnin Gwari by armoured convoy at night now comes back as a President whose word can be checked and followed to the latter through doings. Truly, Ọ̀rọ̀ ni a fi ń dá akíkanjú ọkùnrin mọ̀ (A courageous man is known by his word, and by what he does with it).