10th U6+ Consortium of African Universities International Conference

In the history of development, societies that prioritize the provision of adequate infrastructure such as roads, rails, ports, etc. have been known to enjoy remarkable rates of development and accompanying level of security. Physical infrastructure is especially very critical in the process of development. They are critical to the development because they support and facilitate communication, trade, social integration, economic development, etc. Indeed, going beyond development, such as infrastructure engender and enhance security. In the two decades of the 80s and 90s, urban Kaduna was known for frequent violent conflict and consistent erosion of security. A number of studies on the causation of conflict and the erosion of security in Kaduna argued that lack of or the poor State of physical infrastructure in Kaduna is a major factor in the causation of conflicts in Kaduna. Using Secondary data, this paper examines the impact of the massive infrastructural development programme of the El-Rufai Administration in Kaduna between 2015-2023 and its implication for development and security in urban Kaduna. Using the infrastructure –led development theory, the paper found that the wide disparity in the distribution of physical infrastructure between the Northern and Southern parts of urban Kaduna could be a credible source of conflict as the development strategy promotes unequal development. The paper recommends the prioritisation of physical infrastructural development in the Southern part of urban Kaduna and other neglected parts of the city.