Uba Sani: Rescuing Kaduna’s generation next from avoidable failure
Kaduna State is scripting a deliberate and urgent intervention — one that seeks not just to educate, but to rescue. At the heart of this effort is Governor Uba Sani,
- By Timothy Jasper
Kaduna State is scripting a deliberate and urgent intervention — one that seeks not just to educate, but to rescue. At the heart of this effort is Governor Uba Sani, whose administration has made a compelling case that the battle against out-of-school children is, in fact, a battle for the soul and survival of the next generation.
The stakes could not be higher. Across northern Nigeria, millions of children remain outside the formal education system, their futures left to chance, their potentials dimmed by circumstance. Kaduna, historically one of the states grappling with this challenge, is now positioning itself as a frontline laboratory of solutions—bold, collaborative, and increasingly effective.
It was against this backdrop that the state recently hosted a high-level monitoring meeting for the Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) project. The gathering brought together federal authorities and a coalition of international development partners, all united by a singular objective: to return 100,000 out-of-school children to classrooms over a four-year period. It is an ambitious target, but one that reflects both the scale of the problem and the seriousness of Kaduna’s response.
At the meeting, Kaduna’s Commissioner for Education, Abubakar Sani Sambo, who represented Governor Uba Sani, spoke with clarity and conviction. The ROOSC initiative, he affirmed, is not an isolated programme but a cornerstone of the Governor Uba Sani administration’s broader human capital development agenda. Education, in this vision, is more than literacy—it is protection, empowerment, and a pathway out of generational poverty.
Crucially, the Kaduna model recognises that government alone cannot shoulder the burden. It is here that Governor Uba Sani’s strategy reveals its depth: a deliberate, structured engagement with global institutions to amplify impact. Development partners such as the Global Partnership for Education, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Islamic Development Bank, Education Above All Foundation, Save the Children, and UNICEF are not just financiers; they are co-architects of a system designed to leave no child behind.
These partnerships are strategic and multi-layered. The Global Partnership for Education, for instance, provides not only funding but a framework for coordination among stakeholders. The Islamic Development Bank brings a broader perspective shaped by its interventions in countries facing similar challenges, including Pakistan. UNICEF contributes its deep expertise in child protection and inclusive education, ensuring that the most vulnerable—girls, children with disabilities, and those in conflict-affected communities—are not excluded from the recovery effort.
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This convergence of global experience and local resolve is perhaps the most defining feature of Kaduna’s current education push. It is not merely about building more classrooms; it is about building a system that works — resilient, inclusive, and responsive to the complex realities on the ground.
Representing the federal government at the meeting, Folake Olatunji David, Director of Basic Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, underscored the national significance of the initiative. She noted that education remains a top priority under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and described the ROOSC project as Nigeria’s first multiplier initiative with the Global Partnership for Education. The aim, she explained, is to foster multi-stakeholder collaboration in tackling the persistent out-of-school crisis.
Her remarks also served as a reminder that while progress has been made in the past—particularly under the 2015 Nigeria Partnership for Education Project across five northern states—the challenge remains stubbornly entrenched. What Kaduna is attempting now is not just a continuation, but an escalation of that effort.
Beyond the high-level commitments and institutional frameworks, the real work of rescuing Kaduna’s ‘generation next’ lies in the practical, often painstaking process of getting children back into classrooms—and keeping them there. This is where the state government’s policies and grassroots strategies come into sharp focus.
Under Governor Uba Sani, Kaduna has intensified enrollment drives, working closely with local government authorities and community leaders to identify out-of-school children and address the barriers keeping them away. These barriers are diverse—poverty, insecurity, cultural norms, and, in some cases, sheer lack of awareness about the value of formal education.
To tackle these challenges, the administration has adopted a multi-pronged approach. First, there is a strong emphasis on community engagement. By involving traditional rulers, religious leaders, and grassroots organisations, the government is fostering a sense of shared responsibility for education. The message is simple but powerful: every child out of school is a collective failure, and every child returned to school is a shared victory.
Second, the government is aligning its education policies with broader social protection measures. Recognising that many families keep their children out of school for economic reasons, the administration is exploring ways to ease the financial burden on households. While not always visible in headline announcements, these interventions—ranging from support programmes to partnerships that enhance school infrastructure—are critical to sustaining enrollment gains.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, Kaduna is leveraging data and monitoring systems to track progress and ensure accountability. The ROOSC project itself is anchored on rigorous supervision, as evidenced by the just held Joint Supervision Missions. According to Ezra Angai, the project’s coordinator in Kaduna, the 2026 review marks the second year of implementation. Despite challenges such as inflation and foreign exchange fluctuations, he confirmed that all partners remain firmly committed to achieving the four-year goal.
This commitment is not merely bureaucratic—it is deeply human. As Jane Mbagi Mutua of Save the Children aptly noted, access to education is also a form of protection. In regions affected by conflict and instability, schools often serve as safe spaces where children can learn, grow, and reclaim a sense of normalcy. Denying them this opportunity exposes them to a cascade of risks—child labour, early marriage, exploitation, and recruitment into criminal activities.
It is in this context that Governor Uba Sani’s education agenda takes on an added urgency. By prioritising access to schooling, his administration is not just investing in human capital; it is actively preventing avoidable calamities. Each child brought back into the classroom is one less vulnerable to the perils of the street, one more equipped to contribute meaningfully to society.
The role of international partners in this effort cannot be overstated. Jawara Gaye of the Islamic Development Bank emphasised that the ROOSC project is central to the bank’s mission of improving education outcomes in member countries with high numbers of out-of-school children. His pledge of continued engagement reflects a broader consensus among partners: that success in Kaduna could serve as a model for other regions facing similar challenges.
Similarly, Dorian Gay of the Global Partnership for Education highlighted the project’s focus on marginalised groups. This is a critical point. In many education interventions, the easiest-to-reach children are often prioritised, leaving the most vulnerable further behind. Kaduna’s approach, by contrast, deliberately targets those at the margins—girls, children with disabilities, and those in conflict-affected areas—ensuring that equity remains at the centre of the agenda.
UNICEF’s Balad Ada captured the essence of the initiative when he described the monitoring meeting as a critical step toward guaranteeing every child’s right to quality education. It is a right that is too often taken for granted in more stable societies, but one that requires sustained effort and vigilance in contexts like Kaduna.
Of course, challenges remain. Economic pressures, security concerns, and logistical hurdles continue to test the resilience of the programme. Inflation and currency fluctuations, as noted by project coordinators, have real implications for implementation, affecting everything from procurement to project timelines. Yet, what stands out is not the absence of obstacles, but the determination to overcome them.
Governor Uba Sani’s leadership in this regard is defined less by rhetoric and more by method. His administration has chosen the harder path—one that requires coordination, patience, and sustained investment. It is a path that acknowledges complexity but refuses to be paralysed by it.
In many ways, Kaduna’s current trajectory offers a glimpse into what is possible when political will aligns with strategic partnerships and community engagement. It demonstrates that the out-of-school crisis, while daunting, is not insurmountable. With the right mix of policy, partnership, and persistence, meaningful progress can be achieved.
As the ROOSC project advances into its third year, the eyes of policymakers and development practitioners across Nigeria—and indeed beyond—will remain fixed on Kaduna. The question is not just whether the state will meet its target of returning 100,000 children to school, but whether it can sustain and build upon this momentum.
For now, however, one thing is clear: in the quiet classrooms being reopened, in the hesitant steps of children returning to school for the first time, and in the collective resolve of government and partners, a different future is being forged.
It is a future in which Kaduna’s generation next is no longer defined by absence — from classrooms, from opportunities, from hope—but by presence, participation, and possibility. And in that transformation lies the true measure of Governor Uba Sani’s mission: rescuing not just children, but the very idea of what their tomorrow can be.
•Jasper, an educationist, writes from Zaria, Kaduna State.
