GOVERNOR NASIR IDRIS, BUILDING ROADS, CONNECTING PEOPLE AND INSPIRING LIVES.

By Ibrahim A Jombali 

The people's Governor is building roads and by investing in roads across Birnin Kebbi, Kalgo and Bunza, the Kebbi governor is making a case for infrastructure as an instrument of economic inclusion, agricultural expansion and practical governance. This is a sensible effort. 

Ibrahim Abubakar Jombali  Special Adviser on Public Enlightenment and Orientation to the Kebbi State Governor disclosed this in a statement made available to Newsmen in Kebbi.

Different people are in politics and they do their politics in different ways. There is a particular kind of politics that announces itself with noise, empty noise, and another that reveals its value only when the noise has subsided. The first thrives on slogans, ceremonies and the choreography of public acclaim. The second is measured in the distance a farmer travels to market, the cost of moving a bag of grain, the time a patient spends reaching a hospital and the opportunities that emerge when an isolated community becomes accessible. In Kebbi State, Governor Nasir Idris appears to be making a wager on the latter: that the most persuasive argument for government is often a road that works.

On Tuesday, October 20, 2026, the governor flagged off the construction and upgrading of several access roads across Birnin Kebbi, Kalgo and Bunza local government areas. The projects, which include urban access routes and the 58-kilometre Bunza–Zogirma–Makera road, represent more than an exercise in civil engineering. Properly executed, they could become instruments of economic integration, connecting communities to markets, farmers to buyers, traders to customers and rural households to services that urban residents too often take for granted.

The significance of these interventions lies in a simple economic truth: geography can be an unforgiving tax on poverty. Where roads are poor or impassable, transportation becomes expensive, agricultural produce takes longer to reach markets, goods deteriorate in transit and businesses struggle to expand beyond their immediate surroundings. A road does not abolish these constraints by itself, but it can reduce them considerably. For a state whose economic prospects are closely linked to agriculture and commerce, better connectivity is not a luxury. It is part of the productive infrastructure on which prosperity depends.

Beyond asphalt and ceremonial flags. The projects cover access roads in Aliero Quarters, roads behind Azbir Arena, the Old Garage area behind Texaco, the route from Birnin Kebbi Police Station Junction to Nagari College, the Unguwa Jeji–Gayi–Diggi–Maidahini road and the Bunza–Zogirma–Makera corridor. Their locations suggest an administration attempting to address infrastructure requirements across both urban and rural settings.

That distinction matters. Urban roads help reduce congestion, improve neighbourhood access and facilitate the circulation of people and services. Rural roads perform a different but complementary function: they connect production to consumption. A farmer may cultivate a successful harvest, but the economic value of that harvest depends partly on whether it can reach a buyer affordably and in good condition. A trader may identify a profitable market, but the opportunity means little if transportation costs consume the margin.

The relationship between roads and development is therefore more complex than the laying of asphalt. Roads can widen markets, encourage private enterprise, improve access to education and healthcare, and make commercial activity more predictable. They can also increase the attractiveness of communities to investors who need reliable routes for moving raw materials, finished products and personnel.

Yet infrastructure should not be confused with prosperity itself. A road creates an opportunity; the economy must still exploit it. Farmers need access to inputs, storage, irrigation, finance and reliable buyers. Traders require purchasing power and a business environment that allows them to operate efficiently. The real test of the Idris administration’s road programme will be whether these complementary conditions improve alongside physical connectivity.

The road that was not promised: Perhaps the most revealing element of the flag-off is the 58-kilometre Bunza–Zogirma–Makera road. According to the governor, the project was not among his original campaign promises. His administration nevertheless decided to award the contract after recognising its importance to the benefiting communities and the wider economy.

There is a useful lesson here about the relationship between political mandates and public responsibility. Campaign promises provide direction, but they should not become a prison for government. Circumstances change, needs become clearer and opportunities emerge that may not have been fully appreciated during an election campaign. A government that can identify a compelling public need and respond to it demonstrates a capacity to govern beyond the electoral calendar.

The contract, awarded to M/S China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, now carries a responsibility that extends beyond completing a construction assignment. The company must deliver infrastructure that withstands the demands of traffic, weather and time. A road that deteriorates prematurely is not merely an engineering failure; it is a waste of scarce public resources and a burden transferred to future budgets.

From construction to accountability

The Commissioner for Works, Umar Farouk Muslim, has assured residents that the projects will comply with approved specifications and quality standards. Such assurances are necessary, but they are only the beginning of accountability.

Road construction is one of those areas of governance where the distance between an announcement and a meaningful result can be considerable. Contracts may be awarded, machinery may arrive and officials may attend flag-off ceremonies, yet the public benefit ultimately depends on execution. The relevant questions are straightforward: Are the roads being built to specification? Are contractors meeting agreed milestones? Are public funds being used efficiently? Will drainage, culverts and other essential features be provided where required? Who will maintain the roads after completion?

These are not hostile questions. They are the ordinary demands of responsible government. Indeed, the administration would strengthen its case by publishing project costs, implementation timelines and periodic progress reports. Independent technical inspections and accessible channels for community feedback would help ensure that the roads meet the needs of the people they are intended to serve.

Such measures would also protect the governor’s political investment. In public infrastructure, a well-built road is a more durable endorsement than a hundred speeches. But a poorly executed road can undermine the very confidence its commissioning was intended to inspire.

For Kebbi, the implications of improved roads extend beyond individual communities. Better connections between production centres and commercial hubs can support agricultural value chains, encourage the movement of goods and improve the prospects of small businesses. Where access improves, transport operators may serve more communities, buyers may reach farmers more easily and enterprises may discover markets that were previously uneconomical to reach.

The potential increase in internally generated revenue, highlighted by the commissioner, should be understood in this context. Better infrastructure can support commercial expansion and, in time, a broader tax base. But revenue growth is not automatic. It depends on productive activity, effective administration and a business environment in which economic gains are sustained rather than simply anticipated.

Nor should the social benefits be overlooked. Roads can make it easier for children to reach school, for patients to access medical care and for communities to participate in public life. These gains may not always appear in a project’s immediate financial calculations, but they are central to the meaning of development. A road is valuable not only because vehicles can travel on it, but because people can do more with their lives once the journey becomes easier.

This is particularly important in rural communities, where the absence of reliable infrastructure can reinforce economic isolation. By directing attention to both urban access routes and rural corridors, the Idris administration has an opportunity to demonstrate that development need not be concentrated in the most visible parts of the state.

Governor Idris deserves recognition for identifying road infrastructure as a practical priority and for extending the programme beyond the boundaries of his original campaign commitments. But recognition should not be confused with a final verdict. The flag-off is the beginning of a process, not its conclusion.

The real measure of this initiative will emerge when the roads are completed, when farmers can move produce more efficiently, when traders discover new commercial opportunities and when residents experience tangible improvements in daily life. It will also emerge in the durability of the infrastructure and the discipline with which public money is managed.

There is a larger political lesson. In an era when governments are frequently judged by the volume of their announcements, the more consequential question is whether public investment changes the economics of ordinary existence. A road that reduces the cost of transporting produce, connects a neglected settlement to essential services or gives a small enterprise access to a wider market performs a quiet but important act of governance.

For Nasir Idris, the challenge is to ensure that the roads flagged off in Birnin Kebbi, Kalgo and Bunza become more than symbols of administrative activity. They must become reliable public assets that connect people to opportunity and translate government spending into measurable social and economic returns.

The flags have been raised, the contracts awarded and the promises made. 

In the final analysis, the strongest evidence of good governance is not what a government says it intends to do, but what citizens can see, use and benefit from. That is the standard against which Kebbi’s rural road initiative should be judged.

As more roads open on our rural areas, the Kaura revolution is being consolidated and the people of kebbi are the better for it. Democracy is working in Kebbi state.  Good governance is manifesting in tfhe Land of Equity.

As the Kaura revolution continues,  more roads will spring up. More communities will be connected. More villages will be transformed to cities. Kebbi, our beautiful Land of Equity will be greater.