ABU hails Uba Sani’s biggest road intervention in 40 years

By Femi Oyelola , Kaduna

The management of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has described the Kaduna State Government’s reconstruction of roads within the institution as the biggest intervention it has received in 40 years, praising Governor Uba Sani for delivering a project that exceeded expectations.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, gave the commendation during an inspection of the ongoing road projects, saying the quality of work had surpassed the university’s engineering standards.

“We are the foremost engineering school in Nigeria, and when we say it’s good, definitely it’s good. This is beyond our expectations. We are highly excited. We can vouch for the quality of the work that is being delivered,” he said.

Ahmed noted that the university had waited four decades for such intervention, expressing optimism that the roads would stand the test of time.

“As the MD has said, we’ve waited for 40 years to have this. And I believe with the quality of work we are seeing today, it may be another 100 years before we see this again. It’s not about another 40 years,” he added.

He disclosed that engineers from the university were jointly supervising the project with the contractor, describing it as “a project that is worth celebrating at any level.”

Managing Director of the Kaduna State Roads Agency, Dr Abdullahi Baba Ahmad, said the inspection formed part of ongoing monitoring of 115 road projects covering 1,345 kilometres across the 23 local government areas of Kaduna State.

He said the team had earlier inspected five roads within Sabon Gari Market before proceeding to ABU.

Officials of the state government said the intervention reflected Governor Sani’s commitment to education despite ABU being a Federal Government-owned institution.

“For more than 40 years, no state intervention has ever come here until the coming of His Excellency. This is a federal university, but the state government is constructing the road. This is to tell you the passion His Excellency has for education and development of Kaduna State,” an official said.

The university also confirmed that laboratory tests carried out by its Faculty of Engineering validated the quality of the project.

“We conducted the necessary tests like the coring test, the in-situ density test and the California Bearing Ratio. All the results are positive, and we are okay with this. Engineering-wise, the results are okay,” the official stated.

Ahmed further described the governor’s intervention as a demonstration of empathy and inclusive governance.

“The mere fact that he would come into a federal institution to put up this massive intervention, something that has been a big worry for us, and he comes to do it without asking… That’s what governance is supposed to be,” he said.

He lamented the absence of similar interventions by many Northern states over the years, despite ABU’s status as a legacy institution for the region, while acknowledging previous contributions by Zamfara and Katsina states.

The Vice-Chancellor urged other Northern governors to emulate Kaduna State’s example in supporting the university.

The students also applauded the project.

President of the Students’ Representative Council, Comrade Abdulrahman Aliyu Sarati, described it as one of the biggest interventions the institution had witnessed in recent years.

“On behalf of the entire student body, let me sincerely extend our heartfelt appreciation to the governor of Kaduna State for this great intervention. We thank the governor most sincerely, and we look forward to having more of such and even bigger interventions,” he said.