By Sani Abdulrazak, PhD

Thrilling it is to realise that some journeys answer questions you never knew you were asking. Mine happened with no political prism through which to interpret every urban developmental project. Instead, it manifested with a simple curiosity: what does rural Kaduna look like today vis-à-vis three years prior? That part of Kaduna where press conferences are neither held nor dominate social media timelines, but the Kaduna where dawn breaks over farmlands, where markets awaken to the aroma of roasted maize, where children trek to school, and where government is not judged by eloquent speeches but by tangible presence.

If there is one thing I have learned from my travel experience to most rural communities within the 23 local government areas of Kaduna state, it is the fact that these communities have an uncanny way of telling the truth. They have little patience for rhetoric. A bridge either exists or it doesn’t. A classroom either shelters learning or it doesn’t. A health centre either treats patients or remains another neglected structure awaiting the next campaign season. These places are bluntly earnest; poor custodians of propaganda, I call them. They will always remain refreshingly fascinating because evidence is a currency there and it strips governance of embellishment.

One transformational change you can’t miss in the last three years in almost all the rural communities within Kaduna state is education. We speak of schools in cities through the prism of budgets and policies, but in villages, they speak of the child who no longer studies under the tree, the teacher who finally has a conducive classroom, and the parent whose greatest inheritance is no longer a prayer alone. It will interest us to know that across Kaduna State, more than 736 new classrooms have been constructed, while over 1,200 others have been rehabilitated. Add to this the completion of 62 secondary schools, another 50 under construction, and the establishment of 102 new schools alongside the rehabilitation of 170 existing ones under the Reaching Out-of-School Children programme, and the picture begins to assume clearer contours. Statistics, however, are notoriously reticent. They seldom tell you what they have witnessed.

A visit to Tudun Biri will surely convince you. For many Nigerians, the community became known through an episode everyone wished had never happened. Yet communities, like human beings, deserve the opportunity to write new chapters. Today, a new school stands there, as a quiet repudiation of despair. Watching children gather where sorrow once held sway, I was reminded that development is sometimes the art of replacing painful memories with hopeful possibilities. The good people of Kwoi today are living their dream, all thanks to the Proverbial Lannister of Kaduna State, Governor Uba Sani. Roads like Hospital Road, Sabon Gari Road, Audu Tilo Road, Doctor Sani Road, Kpop Ham Palace Road and the Kwoi-Gora Road have done more than alter the landscape of Kwoi; they have recalibrated daily life. They shorten journeys, connect communities and restore the simple dignity of movement. Kwoi residents, within the last three years, describe this giant developmental stride in minutes saved, transport fares reduced, and opportunities regained.

Furthermore, across the 23 local government areas of Kaduna State, 255 Primary Healthcare Centres have been upgraded to Level II status. Another 23 Centres of Excellence and 15 General Hospitals have equally received significant upgrades. These are figures easily read and quickly forgotten. Yet behind every digit lies a heartbeat. Somewhere, an expectant mother reaches skilled care without travelling impossible distances. In another village, a child receives treatment before a preventable illness becomes irreversible. Good healthcare is rarely dramatic; its greatest triumphs are the tragedies that never happen.

Nothing intrigued me the most like the philosophy underpinning Project 255. There is something profoundly democratic about the notion that every one of Kaduna State’s 255 wards deserves visible development. It is an acknowledgement that governance should not become an urban monopoly. Whether in Dogon Dawa, where schools have been rehabilitated, Zonzon, where classrooms have regained life, or other communities benefiting from roads, bridges, electrification and boreholes, the underlying message remains unmistakable: development should travel the last mile. The ancient heartbeat of rural Kaduna is undoubtedly agriculture, and it appears to be rediscovering its rhythm as well. Improved security has encouraged many farmers to return to lands once abandoned, while better rural infrastructure is gradually easing access to markets. Free fertiliser distribution to rural farmers is now becoming an annual event. Governor Uba Sani believes that Rural development, in truth, is not a peripheral conversation; it is the fulcrum upon which sustainable development balances.

None of this suggests that rural Kaduna has arrived at some idyllic destination. Far from it. There are still communities yearning for potable water, better electricity, additional schools, more healthcare personnel and improved infrastructure. Development has never been a destination reached by a single administration; it is an enduring pilgrimage requiring consistency, courage and continuity. But objectivity demands something equally important: the willingness to acknowledge progress where it is evident. Taking the pulse of rural Kaduna left me with an impression that statistics alone could never adequately convey.

That, for most objective students of governance and policy, is the most reliable way to measure a government’s impact, not by the eloquence of its promises nor the intensity of political debates, but by the ordinary experiences of ordinary people. The pulse of rural Kaduna is not yet the pulse of perfection. But it is steady. It is discernible. And, for anyone willing to leave the comfort of assumptions and listen closely, it tells a story worth hearing.

Sani Abdulrazak, PhD, is a writer, researcher and public affairs analyst based in Zaria, Kaduna State

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has introduced a movement code to streamline the movement of empty containers into seaport terminals and reduce traffic congestion caused by container trucks along the Apapa and Tin Can Island port corridors.

Under the new policy, the movement code will serve as a unique identifier generated by a holding bay for every empty container uploaded to the Electronic Call-Up (ETO) platform.

The code must correspond with the details captured on the ETO system before trucks are granted access to port terminals.

In a notice issued to stakeholders, the port authority said the movement code had become a mandatory requirement for completing the truck-container matching process. Truck drivers are required to obtain the code from designated holding bays before proceeding to the ports.

According to the NPA, the initiative is designed to ensure that each truck is matched exclusively to its designated empty container, eliminate multiple allocations, improve traffic management and enhance operational efficiency within the port corridor.

The port regulator explained that the new requirement forms part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the electronic call-up system, facilitate the seamless evacuation and return of empty containers, and improve compliance with port access protocols.

“Following our recent engagement with holding bays, we wish to inform all stakeholders of the introduction of the movement code for empty container matching on the ETO platform.

“This update is designed to ensure that trucks are matched only to the specific empty container they are authorised to convey. It will also help prevent the practice of matching trucks to unrelated containers to secure an earlier position, followed by requests for container changes closer to port entry,” the notice reads.

The NPA, in recent years, has been trying to reduce congestion and make accessibility to Nigeria’s busiest ports easier, but many of the solutions have not been fruitful.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A man identified as Mr Saheed Zubair Danjuma has been convicted and sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for his involvement in unauthorised foreign exchange transactions in Lagos.

Mr Danjuma was brought before Justice T.A. Aluko of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge bordering on illegal forex transactions.

According to the anti-money laundering agency, the convict carried out FX transactions outside the authorised channel.

This action, the EFCC said, was contrary to Section 11(1)(a) and punishable under Section 11(2)(a) of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (Establishment, etc.) Act, 1994.

“That you, Saheed Zubair Danjuma, sometime in 2026, at Lagos within the jurisdiction of this court, engaged in foreign exchange transactions with Usman Muhammad other than through the official foreign exchange market and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 11(1)(a) of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (Establishment, etc.) Act, 1994 and punishable under Section 11(2)(a) of the same Act,” the charge read.

After this was read to him, Mr Danjuma pleaded guilty. After the guilty plea, the prosecution counsel, U. S. Kyari, urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.

In his judgement on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, the judge convicted and sentenced the defendant to 12 months’ imprisonment, with an option of a fine of N100,000.