GOVERNOR UBA SANI: A Strange Politics of a Northern Politician as Mai Saje Questions His Betrayal of the Ladder That Took Him Up
By KEMI KASUMU
Mai Saje, who directly addressed Governor Uba Sani in the statement, said, “In your early twenties, when many young people were still struggling to find direction in life, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai gave you your very first break by employing you in his private company, Elrufai and Partners. That marked the beginning of a journey that shaped your entire career and opened doors that would otherwise have remained firmly shut.”
A Kaduna entrepreneur and public figure, Mallam Zakariyya Ahmad Mai Saje, like Dr. Uche Diala in his recent retrospective account of what he described as the betrayal of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Minister of Defence and immediate past Chief of Defence Staff of the Nigerian Armed Forces, General Christopher Musa, has taken on yet another person considered to have betrayed the former governor: Senator Uba Sani his successor and sitting Governor of Kaduna.
Mai Saje made the observation in a statement posted on his Facebook timeline on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, alongside a photograph of El-Rufai and Sani taken with their harami during a past Hajj exercise in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
He recalled how El-Rufai was used by Allah to help elevate Uba Sani, from the time he employed him as a staff member in his private company to the point where he helped pave the way for him to become not only a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but also his successor as governor of Kaduna State, the former capital of the defunct Northern Region.
The decision by Governor Uba Sani to allow himself to be used by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a Yoruba man from the South West who has long been accused of pursuing anti-indigene politics in Lagos State, to allegedly become one of the major architects of the current travails of his erstwhile benefactor, who has continued to face incarceration amid what his supporters describe as a political and judicial conspiracy, is now being described as a “strange attitude of a Northern politician.”
According to Mai Saje, such a situation can only happen when a Northerner betrays his benefactor after switching political allegiance needlessly except for selfish reason.
Mai Saje, who directly addressed Governor Uba Sani in the statement, said, “In your early twenties, when many young people were still struggling to find direction in life, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai gave you your very first break by employing you in his private company, Elrufai and Partners. That marked the beginning of a journey that shaped your entire career and opened doors that would otherwise have remained firmly shut.
“In 1999, when El-Rufai was appointed Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), he did not hesitate to bring you along, appointing you as his Personal Assistant (PA). That opportunity allowed you to learn the ropes of governance and gave you access to circles of influence you would never have reached on your own.
“Again, in 2003, when El-Rufai became the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), he carried you along and introduced you directly to President Olusegun Obasanjo, who subsequently appointed you as Special Adviser on Public Affairs (SAD Public Affairs). This was a golden chance, positioning you at the heart of national affairs and giving you a strong platform to build your public image.
“Fast-forward to 2015, when El-Rufai assumed office as the Governor of Kaduna State, he once again remembered you and made you his Special Adviser on Political Matters. It was yet another demonstration of his trust, mentorship and consistent support for you.
“By 2019, El-Rufai cleared the path for you to run and win as Senator representing Kaduna Central. And in 2023, he single-handedly chose you, stood firmly behind you and fought tooth and nail until you emerged as the Governor of Kaduna State.
“On May 26, 2023, you publicly declared with your own mouth that: ‘El-Rufai is part and parcel of everything I have achieved in my life.’ This was not just a passing remark but a powerful acknowledgment of the man who held your hand through every stage of your political journey.
“History also records that you had contested for several political positions in the past but failed to win any — until El-Rufai came into the picture and changed your story.
“The question then is: during all those years of struggle and failure, where were these newly adopted political mentors of yours? Where were they when you needed guidance, when you needed a platform and when you needed rescue from political obscurity?
“The truth is undeniable: if you remove El-Rufai from the life and career of Uba Sani, what would remain is nothing but an empty political career — a loud noise with no substance, a shell without content. That is the plain reality no one can honestly dispute,” said Zakariyya Ahmad Mai Saje.
