Hey share a lot of things in common, including an alignment of friends and former allies. The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and the Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani showed that there are yet more layers to their shared beliefs.

This was poignant for me because just a day before the NSA was speaking on the “Kaduna Peace Model” on Tuesday July 22, 2025, I was on a podcast session with Seun Okinbaloye, making a point about the need to have Uba Sani’s multidimensional model of security adopted across the country. It turns out, Kaduna turning chaos into opportunities for healing, progress and prosperity is being noticed by those who aren’t insisting on having their eyes closed.

Before then, I didn’t realise this was already something that had been considered by the NSA himself, until his speech at the “Commissioning of Phase 1 of the Qatar Charity Sanabil Project and Distribution of Houses to Families of Victims of Banditry” at the Economic City, in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Whilst prestigious platforms like THISDAY have commended Governor Uba Sani for the manner and relative speed in which he is helping to institute peace, justice and healing in Kaduna, it is yet another level of validation for his methods that the nation’s national security tsar is taking a public stand to say that a state that was primarily known for bloodshed and in-fighting is indeed a model for the rest of the country. All these just about two years into the Sani administration.

If there is a national figure who isn’t given to mincing words, it is the NSA Mallam Ribadu. He shoots straight, blending facts with heart. So when he said, “Let me begin by commending the leadership and foresight of His Excellency, the Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani.

Under his stewardship, Kaduna is transitioning from an epicentre of violent attacks in the North-West to a model of stability and peace, this did not happen by chance. This occasion is not only about healing communities; it offers reassurance that Kaduna State is on the path to full recovery”, it was words intentionally delivered, to signal a new way of governance with vastly different rules of engagement. “This Kaduna model must not remain limited to this state. I call on other sub-national governments and stakeholders across the country to study, adapt, and adopt this approach”.

In one swoop, Kaduna has gone from that tragic example of sorrow, tears and blood to being one whose methods must now be adopted. That’s a paradigm shift that would have looked almost impossible just a couple of years ago. In a country where we are keen to celebrate and amplify our failings, this is worth elevating for all to at least see, if not to celebrate with as much vigour and tenacity as we would bad news reports.

That the victims of violence are being handed keys to free homes by the government is itself an act worthy of emulation. It shows that in addressing the aftermath of violence, we must not assume that survivors are just able to pick themselves up and get on with life without some form of support from government and other stakeholders.

Here, these victims are being assisted with the one thing that would have cost them the most; a roof over their head. Once housing is sorted, more than half of a family’s needs have been addressed. Amidst limited resources, and with the risk of incentivising certain behaviours, this I believe can be replicated by other states whilst ensuring that, like Kaduna State, only genuine victims are beneficiaries.

Beyond governance, I have been quite impressed by the way both men have handled their politics. They could easily have found themselves getting in the political mud and throwing punches of their own amidst incessant provocation. Individually, they have chosen to focus on what matters the most at this time; one focusing on the onerous task of reversing Nigeria’s insecurity misfortunes and the other ensuring that Kaduna’s development isn’t at the cost of the people’s lives and sense of belonging.

There is a level of self-assuredness a person will attain when they know not to use noise and chaos to advance themselves. Whilst it was said by a Game of Thrones character, Petyr Baelish, nicknamed Littlefinger, that “chaos is a ladder,” it may be fine for one to accidentally rise through power amidst disorder and confusion that is not of their making, it is yet another to intentionally orchestrate chaos with the sole intention of gaining power or advancing oneself. Such actions may work for a while, but like Littlefinger himself was soon to find out, people eventually see through you.

Once your true scheming self becomes apparent enough to make you look transparent, you go from a trusted and respected figure to one people engage with suspicion, when they don’t choose to completely disengage or avoid you. Your world becomes that of an emperor whose army continues to thin out on account of his ways and means whilst insisting that, despite being the common factor, everyone cannot be right because he always is. This is not only the antithesis of a Nuhu Ribadu or Uba Sani, they are elevated beyond what they are not.

There is no official portrait of Ribadu as National Security Adviser. In a country where even Personal Assistants now have their own portaits donning their offices, you will not find a single portrait of President Tinubu’s NSA if you visit the Office of the National Security Adviser. That is the nature of a man who doesn’t care for the pomp and pagentry of office but for its essence; service to the people. On his part, if you knew Uba Sani before power, you’d see he is as he was today, before the Senate and before taking over at Kashim Ibrahim House. Peace is possible and with men like these leading the charge, there is reason for optimism.

Omojuwa is a board member of the Halifax International Security Forum and founder Alpha Reach.