The bold rewiring of gender inclusion in Kaduna

Kaduna State is experiencing a quiet revolution, led by Governor Uba Sani, a leader whose belief that inclusive governance is not charity but economic wisdom has begun to transform lives across the state. Since taking office in 2023, Governor Sani has adopted a visionary approach to governance that views gender inclusion not as mere rhetoric but as a vital driver of economic change. In a country where gender policies are often limited to symbolic gestures, Kaduna now stands out as a pioneering example of what can happen when inclusion is integrated into the core mechanics of governance.

What sets Governor Sani apart from his peers is a clarity of vision that is both principled and pragmatic. His administration has boldly declared that women’s exclusion is not only a social injustice it is a structural economic inefficiency that costs Kaduna dearly. Rather than isolating women’s empowerment into fragile standalone programmes, his administration is systematically redesigning the systems of power, procurement, finance, agriculture, and governance to expand women’s participation at scale. This is governance thinking that belongs on the world stage.

A historic procurement breakthrough

The crowning achievement of Governor Sani’s reform agenda is the Gender-Responsive Public Procurement Policy, a landmark initiative deserving far wider national recognition. Historically, women have been almost entirely shut out of Nigeria’s public procurement space. Governor Sani’s bold policy changes mandate that between 5 and 20 per cent of public contracts be awarded to women-owned or women-led businesses, while dismantling barriers through fee waivers and discounted tender costs.
The results already speak volumes. Hundreds of women-led businesses have secured government contracts, while thousands more have received transformative training in bidding, financial management, and digital skills. Governor Sani has not merely opened a door; he has built an entirely new pipeline through which Kaduna’s women entrepreneurs can rise, grow, and lead. He has further institutionalised these reforms by embedding gender desks and compliance mechanisms within the state’s procurement authority, ensuring inclusion is enforceable, not merely aspirational.

Empowering women across every sector

Governor Sani’s ambitions go beyond procurement. His Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) framework clearly aims to transform labour force participation and asset ownership across Kaduna. With concrete targets to increase women’s involvement in the workforce and broaden their access to land and agricultural opportunities, the governor demonstrates a sharp understanding of which levers need pulling to unlock Kaduna’s productive capacity. In a state where agriculture is a major economic sector, yet women’s ownership of productive assets has traditionally been limited, these objectives are truly revolutionary.
The Kaduna State Women Economic Empowerment Fund further underlines this commitment, offering thousands of women entrepreneurs finance and business support, directly tackling a persistent barrier to women-led enterprises. The ripple effects are already spreading across households and communities throughout the state.
What makes Governor Sani’s approach truly exceptional is his refusal to limit empowerment to urban elites. Programmes like “A Kori Talauchi”, the administration’s poverty reduction initiative, place vulnerable women at the very centre of its mandate. Rural training in agro-processing is equipping women with skills to move up the value chain, reflecting an understanding that gender inclusion must reach informal and rural economies, not just formal ones.

The governor has also involved women in governance and peacebuilding through Kaduna’s Women Peace and Security Action Plan, incorporating women into conflict resolution in a region historically affected by communal tensions. His gender advocacy programmes, inspired by “HeForShe” principles, further include men as allies, a practical recognition that policy change without cultural change produces limited results.

A standard-bearer for Nigeria

Governor Uba Sani is demonstrating something profound: that gender inclusion, when treated as an economic imperative rather than a social afterthought, drives measurable development outcomes. His words on International Women’s Day that “when women are empowered, societies flourish” are not merely sentiment. In Kaduna, they are becoming a reality, deliberately engineered through smart policy design and unyielding commitment.

If these reforms translate into sustained increases in women’s income, asset ownership and leadership representation, and every sign suggests they will, Governor Sani will have redefined the standard for subnational gender policy in Nigeria. Not through declarations, but through delivery