Yahaya Bello: In The Beauty Of Time »

Yahaya Bello is one of Nigeria’s most popular politicians. In Nigeria, political popularity is often seen through the prism of either good or bad, and Bello has been known to divide opinion.

I will not decide for the reader who Yahaya Bello is in their eyes; I will only lay down facts and allow you to make that decision yourself. That is why I am here. Plato once said that storytellers rule society, and if naysayers can tell their own stories, why shouldn’t we?

Bello became Governor of Kogi state under unusual circumstances after APC’s initial candidate, His Excellency Abubakar Audu, died suddenly. As soon as Bello was named APC’s candidate, he faced a divided party, and critics were prepared to oppose every move.

However, Bello demonstrated a remarkable level of maturity for his age. He knew that he met a state in an astounding level of fiscal irresponsibility, so as soon as he was sworn in, he embarked on a worker screening exercise to free up some funds for the state to be able to embark on real, tangible projects. When they were done, over 18,000 workers were found to be bogus, saving the Kogi State government approximately N1.3 billion per month in salaries.

He moved from there to tackling the security situation in Lokoja, the state capital, and the entire state.

From 2011-2015, Kogi State had recorded over 14 bank robberies across several banks and locations. Bello ordered the training and commissioning of over 3,000 vigilante officers, equipped the existing security structure with trucks and ammunition, and designed a formidable security architecture. By 2017, Kogi state recorded zero bank robberies, and Bello subsequently won the award for Excellence in Security Governance from the Nigerian Police Force.

Yahaya Bello moved from these to providing accessible healthcare to the people. He started by renovating and reequipping 21 Primary Health Care Centres across the state, introducing the “HealthCare Plus” program, which provided free antenatal service and free healthcare to children under 5. The Kogi State Health Insurance scheme, which is still in active use today, includes all policies he promulgated. He recruited hundreds of doctors and nurses to bolster the healthcare personnel, and constructed the World Class Reference Hospital in Okene, a gigantic 4 Billion Naira project complete with state of the art equipments, as well as ultra-modern hospitals in Gegu, Koton Karfe LGA, Ajaokuta, Isanlu, and Anyigba, whilst rehabilitating and upgrading pre-existing health facilities like the Specialist Hospital in Lokoja, to mention but a few.

In addition to this, Bello championed the EBIGO agenda, which he often described as one of his greatest achievements in office. Under this scheme, appointments and projects were shared equally across the three senatorial districts, with every region feeling the dividends of an inclusive government for the first time in many years. During Bello’s 8-year tenure, Kogi faced little to no inter-ethnic conflict as a result of this.

Bello demonstrated an uncanny ability to “carry everyone along” during his time in government. His administration was youth-centric, with the People Living With Disabilities (PWLDs) also well represented. Women were especially huge beneficiaries of his government, as he enshrined into practice that all Vice Chairmen candidates for the APC in all the LGAs were women. This, in addition to a huge presence of women in his cabinet, earned him the double honour of the HeForShe award for women in governance and Most Gender Sensitive Governor in Nigeria by the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) in 2021.

Bello left government having elevated Kogi’s infrastructural deficit by constructing over 1,000 kilometers of roads across the three senatorial districts. He took the tough choices, which did not necessarily win him a lot of plaudits, but they left Kogi in better standing for the future. Bello’s mark is still visible in Kogi today, from the Ganaja flyover to the Muhammadu Buhari square, to the 55 km Ejule-Umomi-Ugwolawo-Ajaka-Idah road, the Ibana-Ukeje-Okpo-Ogugu road amidst a litany of projects too numerous to mention.

Bello elevated Kogi’s national standing with his courage to stand up to issues, serving as a solid voice of reason in many national assignments. Through his foresight, Kogi became recognized as an oil-producing state, and he put Kogi state on the map by becoming the first Governor from Kogi to aspire for the Presidency.

Bello’s philanthropy is well documented, assisting many underprivileged children, including Samuel Babatunde Aina, a first-class graduate of petroleum engineering to further their education in schools abroad with fully sponsored scholarships. I could go on and on, but does this seem to you, the reader of this piece, as someone whose time in government should, even slightly, divide opinion?

I leave you to answer that question.

Beyond the years he spent in office, the echoes of Bello’s leadership continue to resonate strongly among the people, particularly in Kogi Central Senatorial District. Across the towns and communities of the district, there is a growing call from stakeholders, youths, and community leaders urging the former governor to represent them at the Senate.

Many of them have voiced their belief that Yahaya Bello’s entry into the National Assembly would translate into effective and quality representation for the district at the national level.

Speaking on the matter, a community leader in Okene, Alhaji Musa Adinoyi, noted that Bello’s leadership changed the political trajectory of the district. “Yahaya Bello gave Kogi Central a new political voice and confidence. Today our people are more visible and more involved in governance. Asking him to represent us in the Senate is simply a way of saying thank you for what he has done for our land,” he said.

Similarly, a youth leader in Okehi Local Government Area, Comrade Osipita Salisu described Yahaya Bello as a bridge-builder whose experience would benefit the district at the national level. “We have seen his capacity as governor. We know what he can do. The Senate needs energetic and courageous voices, and we believe Yahaya Bello can deliver the kind of representation that will attract more development to Kogi Central,” he stated.

For many observers, this growing support from the grassroots reflects the enduring connection between the former governor and the people he once governed.

Max Frisch once said that “time does not change us, it only unfolds us”. No amount of propaganda can erase Yahaya Bello’s impact in government. He has done his time, and his legacy is rooted in tangibility. Whilst we celebrate the Governor he was and the man he is, it is in moments like these that we ponder on the beauty of time, for under the mask of every ticking second, it becomes even more unwise to spew bile on a legacy whose results will define a generation.

As you were.