Tom Ohikere: Beyond GYB, Kogi APC Will Remain Strong and Vibrant »

By Abdulrahim Omeiza Habib

I read with disappointment, an article written by Dr Tom Ohikere who claimed to be one of the founding fathers of the All Progressives Congress in Kogi State. Although, having the opportunity to be part of a party after its formation does not confer on you the title of a founding father, but let us give it to Ohikere and assume he is a founder father of APC, but we must ask, what can he point to as his contribution to the growth and development of the party since it’s formation? Tom Ohikere at best can be describe as an online politician who thrives only on false analysis for personal gains. He had no hand in the electoral victories the APC has recorded in Kogi State despite claiming to be a founding father, so he really doesn’t not have any electoral value. Instead, he should be given serious political education on election winning indicators with respect to our local configuration in Kogi State.

Dr Ohikere posited in his article that he studied the recent primary elections held across the state and concluded from his so called study that the elections were not only poorly conducted, but that it produced characters that gives him worries. Particularly, he mentioned the election in Kogi Central and Kogi West senatorial district which produced notable names like Engineer Abubakar Ohere, Karimi Sunday Steve, Ozigi Muhammmed Tijani and Idris Shaibu as the candidate of the party for either the Senate or House of Representatives seats in the forthcoming elections. These are men who are not only politically grounded in the state but have contributed largely to the success of the party and the government of Alhaji Yahaya Bello. Engr Abubakar Ohere for example, despite assuming the position of Commissioner for Works and Housing only in the second term of the Yahaya Bello government has recorded feats never achieved in the history of the state. This achievement is the singular reason he was adjudged as the star commissioner in the Yahaya Bello government. But beyond his achievements in office, he is also a strong player in the political terrain. At different times, he was chairman of the contact and mobilization committee in all the elections the APC has won since 2018. He has endured victory for the APC across different elections from State Houses of Assembly, House of Representatives, Governorship and even the presidential election.

Ohere’s feats either politically or in terms of his sojourn as Commissioner for Works and Housing or even reflecting back to his days as the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs are evident to all. Same can be said of all the candidates of the party from majorly the two Senatorial districts Dr Ohikere referenced in his article. They have all written their names in gold and so emerging victorious in the primaries is a pay back for their their active involvement in the politics of the state, their popularity and their achievements in the various fields they find themselves. It should therefore not come as a surprise to anyone, except for those who are online politicians that are only good in political analysis on paper whereas the realities on ground are clearly different. At best, he should begin to learn from those who know politics and are actively involved in it.

It is also very important to remind Dr Ohikere that the winning streak of the APC in Kogi State is not out of sheer luck or wishful thinking. When you perform to the admiration of the people, they will always vote for you and this is what the Yahaya Bello and his able lieutenants have done in Kogi State that is resulting in electoral victories. From Lokoja to Okene to Idah, from Kabba to Olamaboro to Ijumu, Anyigba and many more, there are litanies of projects spread across the state. The Reference Hospital, Okene, the best of it’s kind along with the ones being constructed in other parts of the states are visible to the eyes. One can also point to the various township roads already completed or undergoing construction in different parts of the state. How about the rural electrification projects, the flyover bridge in Lokoja, the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara and other numerous infrastructural projects too numerous to mention?

Even if Dr Ohikere is too blind see all of the above achievements of the Yahaya Bello government that has endeared it to the people of the state, I am sure he won’t be blind to the quality road project the government constructed passing through his family house at Idi kokoro down to Abdulaziz Attah Memorial College (AAAMCO) in Okene. For the whole period that he was with the PDP and served as a commissioner, he never bothered or could not muster the political will to attract attention to that road. Even as Commissioner for Information, Dr Ohikere failed to extend television signal to his own senatorial district. It took the coming of the Yahaya Bello government with him and his able men before Ebira land could boast of a TV station. If he has done any of these, Kogi Central would have been far better than it was before the coming of the APC government.

Dr Tom Ohikere must do away with his sojourn of trying to bring down political opponents who are in no small measure above his class. Instead, he should join hands with those that matter so that the Kogi State and Kogi Central in particular will move forward. But if he feels otherwise, let him continue with his online political analysis and prepare to meet genuine politicians who will not only canvass votes but ensure that APC remains the winning party even far beyond the tenure of Governor Yahaya Bello.

Habib writes from Lokoja