Kogi State Governorship: IT MUST GO ROUND, H.E Alhaji (Dr.) Yahaya Adoza Bello CON Midwives A New Kogi For Equity
H.E Alhaji (Dr.) Yahaya Adoza Bello
CON Midwives A New Kogi For Equity
- Dayo Onibiyo
When on May
19th 2023, I met face to face with His Excellency Alhaji Dr Yahaya Adoza Bello
CON, I knew he is a man that is determined to stop something, what I don't
know, is what he was driving at, until we got closer to the election proper,
where I began to see the serious and concerted effort of some few hardline Kogi East people
struggling to return to power after 19 years of rule, since the inception of
the state in democratic terms, and the supposed Igala agenda crafted by a few,
began to grow like tumour.
One thing I told the Governor, was we should
de-ethnicalize this election and don't allow it to wear the toga of ETHNICITY,
this he agreed with and my group Kogi Foundation Team (KOFOT), had actually
embarked on some serious advocacy engagement to institutionalize this, and of
course we were not there at the Governor’s place to surrender, but to discuss,
engage positively and see to possibilities of working together, so picking the
curves for issues of development of the state, took the front burner, a look at
the rider of the visit, in the Media never said, I JOINED APC, rather, it
simply puts it as: "Onibiyo, former State Director Media and
Communications for PDP in Kogi State Meets Yahaya Bello", My team also
deepen other issues with His Excellency; Okun State University, seizure of
operations at Dangote Cement, Obajana up to lands acquired with greed in the
state by those who had at one time or the other abused power and so forth.
It is now a fact that, not all people of Kogi East
extraction wanted to continue the perpetuation of their tribe in power as the
Bassa people in their massive majority rejected this with their votes and of
course this distinguished great men and women from Igala that voted Kogi
Agenda, which was the APC candidacy of Alhaji Ododo Usman Ahmed (OAU), who was
the only candidate from a Senatorial zone in all the 14 or 18 candidates that
stood for that election. Little wonder today, he is the Governor-elect for the
confluence State, bordered by seven states plus the FCT, and of course the
richest state in the number of explorable mineral resources in Nigeria.
If the Kogi East extraction is not on that race, it
would have been, straight
a fight between Central and West, but it turned out to be IGALA vs. Kogi West
versus Kogi Central, or better still OKUN of Kogi West extraction, and that
would have truly meant, that Igalas not being involved depicts, Igala wants it to go
round, meaning they are saying the Central of Kogi having produced Yahaya
Bello, should allow Okun that has never been Governor (not acting Governor) to
also have a taste. Instead, they
gladly jumped into the game and made the race a trinity game symbolic of the
Christianhood God the Son, God the Father and God the Holy spirit, which is the
son, father and holy spirit? could best be told by the result of the election,
which still means God is factorial to the three GOD (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)!
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We should really check the story of how the
Governorship went off the hands of Igala, who had ruled through Late Prince
Audu Abubakar, popularly known and addressed as the Prince of the Niger and the father of the
current Minister for Iron and Steel. Audu came back after the return to
democracy to contest for Governor again, handed over to Alhaji Idris Ibrahim
popularly called Ibro,
who ruled for almost 9 years and handed over to another Igala Capt Idris Wada
who ruled for four (4) years and was on the verge of returning for another 4
years, when Audu also challenged him to return and continued before DEATH edged
Audu who was then leading candidate, only to produce Yahaya Bello who completed
the rerun election having benefited from INEC's interpretation of the Nigeria's
Constitution lacuna on such sudden death incident as at that time, before
announcement of final result.
So saying DEATH stopped the greedy ones in Igala land of Kogi East
extraction from continuing to be Governors after 19 years of rule over others
in the Central and West of Kogi state, is not and can never be an overstatement,
but a clear fact, which was further substantiated by their attempt to return in
2019 and now recently in 2023, as reflected in the pattern of voting from the
East of the State, which of course was roundly rejected from the votes casts
from the West and Central of the State.
If the Igala agenda has sailed through, it would have meant a tribal
Governor which the constitution did not provide for, but the emergency of Ododo
was present in the East and a full grasped in the West,
meaning ACCEPTABILITY.
It is a fact, that the first value of “first Order Of
Refusal Failed”, because Yahaya Bello didn’t give the West the ticket for his
party, by not producing a candidate from the West, yes, but it was clear, that
it is a revolution that is about to happen and you don’t take a risk at such
times, you don’t experiment, you hit the ground running with your best of best:
you go on guard, a critical review of the situation on ground after all
candidates emerged showed that, a failure not to key into that agenda by Kogi
West as set up by Yahaya Bello which has become Kogi Agenda, will mean going
back under the greedy ones in Igala for another only God knows when, when indeed some Igalas are already also saying,
No let it go round, not all Igalas are greedy, no, no and no.
The word “greedy” is used deliberately to separate the
hardline ones who wanted to return and continued to perpetuate themselves in
office over the others in Kogi state and those who wanted fairness and equity:
God forbid we wish anyone dead, are the other part of the state to start
wishing and praying for a repeat of what happened in 2015 to happen again? The
answer from a sane mind should be NO, this is why Yahaya Bello sees it as a must TURN AROUND
SITUATION, and those who shared that view followed.
Now, there is a need to look at this angle of the
matter, Muri, the leading candidate from Igala land was pronounced as the Igala
candidate by their apex cultural body, in a show that signaled their
unification to win against all odds, not minding that, they have a brother
in Kogi West that has never ruled: why did Igala not zero down on any of
Okun sons contesting? if truly, they want it to go round and then support such
to victory?, Which is a clear statistical value of over 80% possibility of
occurrence.
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it is clear that if Igala has settled for any of the
Okun sons, Kogi Central would not have won that election, because it would have
gingered the spirit of the Kogi West people to ride on the numbers that will
come from the East and of course automatically nullify the two other Okun sons,
from the race, *whoever* of the three would have scaled through. The
narrative even from the Central and Yahaya Bello himself would have changed, because
he (Yahaya) would have seen the “mother of all gang up” against himself and the
proposed approach to the revolution, which would have still being itching
towards same goal and such action of taken by the said Igalas, would have
nailed the idea of saying Igala wants to continue to rule after 19 years in power!
Let me digress a little to state this, 2023 was not an
election to elect a Governor, it was a STATEMENT to say, We Own Kogi, All of
Us, not a few greedy ones, it was simply, a gang up against continued
domination, which was becoming symbolic of the greedy ones in Igala. That was the beltline some
OKUNS sons and daughters and Kogi West in general tactically keyed into,
knowing fully well that by their population versus the number of candidates
form Okun or and Kogi West, there is no way Kogi West can win, in that
circumstance! and what is the purpose of voting cum election?
Voting is the ultimate process in election, where a
winner must emerge, it is not a funfare, rally or show biz or carnival or cantata. Voting in
election is about winning, is not about losing or about drawing, it's not
sports where draws are allowed, in fact in the final analysis in games or
sports a WINNER MUST EMERGE!
So, those who are saying Kogi West would have voted
their sons no matter what are either low in the understanding of the purpose of
election cum voting or are the selfish types who just wanted to satisfy their
personal ego or allow the “few greedy ones in Igala to return again and continue
to perpetuate themselves in power,” or to show the world that they are capable
of being a Governorship candidate, or they have other ulterior motives for
running or they simply think Governorship election is for experiment and show
off. No barometer gave victory to them before the election, either from
unity point, to sympathy point, to PVC point, to the power that be point as a
few claimed, to cheering point, to population point and what have you. They
simply refused to see the impossibility of partnering to win as necessary, they
foreclosed the spirit offered by unification. They battled against the world of
possibilities, which don’t just happen.
It is bad to think that, someone else from Okun can't
be a Governor, if it’s not me (them), obviously a few wore that toga, one wore
the toga of fund raising and cashing out which eventually player out for him,
when he raised a little over N2billions and spent below N800m, pocketing the
rest, another is simply rehearsing for the future or to run for Senate and
another to establish his self-assumed over bloated ego of, “I have arrived
politically”, which all boomeranged and had the bubbles burst to their faces and
now needed serious catapulting and overhauling to rejuvenate or resurrect from
that political gymnastic display, that went wrong.
We have come to a point where it doesn't have to be
you but it has to be your turn as a people and that is what should sink
going forward, to every politician. The world has left the, it must be me bus stop
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If you tell me that, “what if the Ebiras decided to
disappoint the Okuns or Kogi West, which in any ways, I don't see happening,
but going by the world of Economics in opportunity cost, and possibly political
plan B purposes, meaning reneging after the understanding that brought Ododo”,
I will tell you that Kogi West will have an ally in the East, because it's now
clear that even the
“almighty East” can no longer do it alone in an off season election, it is no
longer fashionable and it is very clear to the Central also that they can't
do it alone, just as the West, so who will be there ally in Central? If
they renege! The East? The game of three has become tactical, that you are
either all together or you are with someone, none can stand in two again and be
one, lol.
If the purpose of voting therefore, is to WIN and Kogi
West can not win with what is on ground, is it not going to be suicidal and
fool hardy to go ahead and still vote those who can't not win? As such
jeopardizing the future to come!
Since there exists the a clear uncontestable
possibility to win with Central plus little support from the East, as done by
Bassa and the spread seen across the East by those Easterners who are not
interested in perpetuation, who simply are apostles of unity and let it go
round? Which was embedded inside Ododo of APC and has now formed a base and
foundation for tomorrow, to proudly say we supported you, more like “eesu” you
follow me to work on my farm, I follow you the next time, more of trade by
barter: and as such Kogi West can proudly file out and take their shots too for
16 years too, after Central’s 16, WHY NOT, or is anyone foreseeing the end of the word
before then? That will remain spirituality, and seriously, am not fit to hop
into that, in the face of Bishops, Prophets Pastors, GOs and Elders.
Mark my words, a new school of thought is formed and
once it's gets off Kogi West, it will return to the East with Bassa standing
bye, very tall to be the beneficiary, because for long they have not being a
strong political plug but merely used to make up the numbers by their
colleagues in the East, this is a frank and bitter truth that came to life and
these people decided to hold the bull by its horns to fight it, tactically, you
saw the Igala 9 come down to 8!
The crux of the matter in Kogi is that, where it is
possible for a tribe to single handedly win election before, it can never win
again, except the other two refused to work together, and if any of the two of West
and Central, that are working together betrays another, the opportunity to
re-align with the East is also plausible or they, both as West and East sit
down and watch the Central keep ruling or the East simply return to continue
it's domination.
The father of new Kogi called *IT MUST GO ROUND*
IMGR Yahaya Adoza Bello deserve to be praised as a liberator here as
there is no sense whatsoever, in a tribe dominating others again, even in the
play of the dogs, the bigger and intelligent ones, falls down at some points to
allow the others come on top, thereby elongating the life span of the play and
encouraging the smaller ones to let the play continue and thus making all
happy.
The happiest of all, if you don't know are the Igala
people who sees beyond today, who carried the rear spirit of Nostral Damos, a man who sees tomorrow and
knows the implication and consequences
of domination and it’s satanic effect in the nearest future.
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This wicked and self centered idea of
*we are born to rule* is not only stone aged, backward, parochial,
limiting, kwashiorkorish but devilish and globally unprogressive and has
been buried in this just concluded 2023 Governorship election in Kogi State,
never will any tribe dominate governance in Kogi state again, we are all ONE
and it must simply keep going round- *IT MUST GO ROUND*
