Oladapo Sofowora
On October 1, 1996, a profound historic journey birthed across the vast expanses of the Northwest region when Zamfara State was carved out of the old Sokoto State as a standalone state. Despite the state being created by the military administration of the late General Sani Abacha, the birth of the state was greeted with overflowing euphoria from many who believed its a welcoming development to ensure more stability in governance.
The founding fathers of Zamfara envisioned a self-sustaining agricultural giant, proudly flying the banner “Farming is Our Pride” as its motto but also marked with action and not mere words on paper. With the vast arable agrarian lands and rich mineral deposits the state is blessed with, they imagined a haven of communal peace, where vibrant markets flourished, schools molded brilliant minds, basic amenities were standard and civic dignity was guaranteed to every indigene which would, in turn generate meaningfully development and place the state among the very best in the state and also the region.
Yet, for nearly three decades, that noble vision drifted into a tragic narrative of what could have been a dream come true. Sequential political administrations took the helm, but systemic governance deficits slowly starved the state of its promise also preventing it from reaching its full potential. Instead of transforming into an economic lighthouse, Zamfara became synonymous with institutional decay, bedridden with insecurity, banditry, kidnapping and illiteracy. Basic infrastructure withered like a flower with no water supply; state-owned schools were reduced to crumbling dilapidated structures; general hospitals and Primary health centres lacked essential diagnostic tools and basic medications and a chronic backlog of unpaid civil service gratuities spanning over a decade left retired public servants in severe hardship. Worse still, an escalating rural security crisis took root, driving hundreds of thousands of farmers from their ancestral fields, paralysing interstate commerce and suffocating the state’s economic soul. For millions of residents, the proud dream of 1996 had morphed into a quiet, painful struggle for survival affecting the survival of the state.
History, however, rarely remains static when decisive leadership intervenes. As Zamfara State approaches its landmark 30th anniversary, the long-standing story of stagnation is undergoing a historic shift. The turning point arrived with the election of Governor Dauda Lawal in 2023 who defeated an incumbent against all odds; whose “Rescue Mission” agenda did not merely offer political promises but launched a systematic engineering of state affairs. Governor Lawal took office with a clear diagnostic view of the state’s wounds, He moved away from cosmetic fixes to confront the structural defects that had held Zamfara back for twenty-seven years.
Recognizing that development cannot take root where fear reigns, the governor prioritized security of lives and property above all else. Through the operationalization of the Homegrown Community Protection Guards and strategic collaboration with federal security agencies, the state moved from defense to active deterrence. Modern operational capabilities, ranging from advanced long-endurance surveillance drones for real-time intelligence gathering to fleets of armored personnel carriers and specialized tactical vehicles, were deployed into high-risk rural corridors. Critical transport routes like the 108-kilometer Gusau to Dansadau road, once notorious for security risks, were awarded for total reconstruction, allowing agrarian communities to safely reconnect with major markets and reclaim their farming livelihoods.
What distinguished Governor Lawal’s programme from the capital-centric spending that has historically defined Nigerian state governance is its geographic spread. In Bukkuyum Local Government Area, a region more often associated in national conversation with insecurity than with infrastructure investment, N4 billion has been committed to the 23-kilometre Mallamawa–Zarummai–Bukkuyum road with a spur to Zarummai Masama Road, alongside N1.5 billion for the Bukkuyum–Birnin Zuama–Gummi road. That the government has chosen to route capital there is itself a statement of intent. In Maradun, N5 billion is allocated to the Maradun–Magami–Faru road and N1 billion to the Maradun–Makera road.
In Bungudu, N10 billion is going into the Daza–Gidan Dawa link to the Sokoto Road dual carriageway and N500 million for the 21-kilometre Tasha Babba–Lambar Kyambarawa Road in Nahuche Ward. In Birnin Magaji, N10 billion is earmarked for the 53-kilometre Gusau–Jauri–Dogon Kade–Nasarawa Mailayi–Nasarawar Godal roads. The administration has also awarded what is now the longest road project in Zamfara’s history: a 95-kilometre stretch in Tsafe Local Government Area running from Yandoton Daji through Chediya, Doka, Yan Waren Daji, Hayin Alhaji, Bedi, Unguwar Joji, Yankuzo to Tsafe with an allocation of N10 billion. The Governor has also set aside N5 billion for emergency roads across the three senatorial zones, ensuring that even the most remote communities are not left behind in the infrastructure drive.
Simultaneously, a massive urban and regional renewal initiative was rolled out. Gusau, long criticized for looking more like a neglected outpost than a state capital, was turned into a bustling site of civil infrastructure. Inner-city arterial roads were expanded and dualized, comprehensive underground drainage networks were engineered to end perennial flooding and modern solar streetlighting systems illuminated major commercial avenues. Across all fourteen local government areas, legacy projects began taking shape, most notably the Gusau International Airport and its network of connecting transport corridors, designed to position Zamfara as a future hub for regional agricultural export and interstate commerce. In May 2026, Zamfara made history when the first-ever Hajj flight departed from Gusau International Airport, carrying 415 intending pilgrims aboard a Max Air flight directly to Saudi Arabia. Governor Lawal described the airport’s construction, which began on June 18, 2024, as a “legacy project of great importance” to his administration, noting that pilgrims who previously had to travel to Sokoto or Kano could now fly directly from Gusau in “less than 4 hours.”
The human capital landscape has experienced an equally dramatic rebirth. In basic and secondary education, the administration addressed fundamental decay by renovating and equipping more than 500 public schools, recruiting and training thousands of new teachers and clearing multi-year backlogs of WAEC and NECO examination fees to ensure that no child’s academic progression was halted by state neglect. In healthcare, general hospitals across local government areas underwent complete structural overhauls, bringing functional surgical theaters, diagnostic capacity, and reliable maternal care directly to rural populations. Furthermore, by liquidating over 16 billion Naira in accumulated civil service gratuities, the administration restored basic financial dignity to thousands of senior citizens who had dedicated their working lives to the state.
Governance is ultimately judged by measurable impact, a reality underscored by the broad national recognition conferred upon the administration, including multiple “Governor of the Year” honors for exceptional project execution and public service reform. Thirty years after its creation, Zamfara State is actively shedding the burdens of its past and rewriting its history. Through fiscal discipline, physical development and a focus on human dignity, Governor Dauda Lawal is demonstrating that the vision of the founding fathers was never out of reach; it simply required an architect capable of turning the promise of 1996 into enduring reality. The state tomorrow the 1st of October set to launch its commercial Bi-weekly passenger flight from Abuja to Gusau, a service to be run by XeJet which signifies a significant development that will change the commercial trajectory of the state and also increase trade activities for development.
As Zamfara saunters into its fourth decade, the anniversary committee inaugurated in September 2026, chaired by Deputy Governor Mani Mumuni, has been tasked with delivering a celebration that reflects the state’s journey from creation to resounding transformation from grass to grace. For Governor Lawal, the message is simple: the Rescue Mission is not a slogan but a delivery framework
and as Zamfara marks 30 years since its creation, the concrete and asphalt spreading across the state suggest that the aspirations of 1996, development, peace, identity and prosperity, are finally being given a foundation to stand on.
