Yahaya Bello: Undaunted!
Abubakar Audu is smiling in his grave.
I am sure of it. The former Governor of Kogi State and flag bearer of the election for the All Progressives Congress that heralded the divine upliftment of the current Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello was a man of great power and carriage.
A large, looming figure, the late Abubakar Audu had the aura and prestige that commanded respect even before he uttered a word. A man of great vision and foresight he was indeed.
It was a combination of these and a team of progressives that ensured that several steps were taken during his first tenure as Governor that set Kogi on course to becoming the envy of other Nigerian states.
The array of mineral resources, combined with an overwhelming human capital resource, a youthful population and a landmass as well as topography that had the ability to command investment opportunities to put Kogi ahead in the race from the democratic kick-off in 1999. A race which, like the first runner in a four hundred meter relay race, Audu ensured we started well.
However, the baton was wrestled away from him after four years and gifted to another.
Since then, instead of going forward, Kogi took a steep diversion off course.
By the time Audu declared his intention to run again for the office of the Governor of Kogi state in what he termed his “final trial” in 2015, Kogi was a far-cry from where he left it or the course which he charted for it.
Not only was it embroiled in a leadership without focus nor purpose, it was submerged in the depths of insecurity, the valley of tribal discord, a dismemberment between the different class divides that characterized the state and a stark difference between the ruling class and the governed, resulting in a general feeling of discord and palpitating tension that tempted to boil over – and it often did.
Yahaya Bello, when delivered a divine mandate, came and changed all these negative trajectories.
Although many were aggrieved that Prince Audu did not complete what he started, they cannot claim to have been dissatisfied with the way and manner the Lion has gone about governance. Not only has he ensured that safety has become commonplace in Kogi, he has also built on it by settling the tension in the land, working assiduously on improving infrastructure, building on the core tenets of education and health and ultimately, putting Kogi back on the path to progress through actions born of supreme courage; all in a quest to reclaiming our lost glory from those who might have stolen what was ours but along the line, shortchanged by a few myopic individuals content with satisfying their gnarled bellies.
No more!
The tussle with Dangote Industries Ltd makes for a fine example.
Kogi state ranks amongst the top in terms of the number of mineral resources in Nigeria. Despite this obvious fact, it continues to suffer neglect from those with which it has had an agreement of growth due to the self-aggrandizement of past leadership, leading to a proliferation of resources without tangible result to follow suit.
Kogi’s case has always been that of a cap without a head, or a head, without a cap. Something was always missing on the part of the leaders we were bestowed with, and that was the spine of steel necessary to challenge these leeches head on until a favourable compromise was reached for the people and citizens of Kogi State.
Yahaya Bello stepped in and said “Present, please”.
Bello possesses in abundance the mind of one comfortable in shaking to the core what me and you, as conservative, regular Nigerians would call the “Big fishes”. No one wants to try them because they are well connected and possess in abundance the financial might required to cripple even the staunchest of opposition.
However, Yahaya Bello has proven time and time again throughout his rule that there is no ox too big to be gored, or a ship too large to dock in the quest towards the liberation of his people from the fangs of oppressors.
It is no wonder why people like us, who have followed his leadership style over the years, were not astonished to see him go up against the mighty Dangote and his litany of so-called “Federal might”.
We have seen the “Bello might’, and if Dangote is not careful, he will soon notice that he is in a fight that he cannot win unless he submits to the will of the people.
Like Yahaya Bello opined during the live session that threw open a can of worms concerning the crooked grabbing of the shares belonging to Kogi state Government and her people in the Obajana Cement Company, governance represented, for whosoever finds himself or herself in charge, an “opportunity” to fight for the rights of the people. He stated that whilst he took the oath of office and went on to register his first speech as Governor-elect, all that was on his mind was the desire to be a reference for change. That is the change he has been at the helm of.
As Governor of Kogi State, you cannot speak of any aspect of development in Kogi state without calling Bello’s name. There are those he has spearheaded, like the pathfinder that he is. There are others he has improved drastically on. The remaining, as it were, was streamlined to those who liked Kogi’s resources but have no plans to uplift Kogites. They make promises they never keep.
Fortunately for the people and unfortunately for scavengers, the time when subverting the will of the people for personal benefit has since passed.
Bello has made sure of it.
This is why I am sure of my first statement with every fibre of my being.
The late Abubakar Audu and Yahaya Bello’s stories came together like neither of them planned, but what has often united them both has been the desire for Kogi’s growth, apparent in their approaches towards governance and just how much Kogi grew as a state under both leaderships.
For Yahaya Bello, this is yet another opportunity to push further on his quest to develop Kogi. As for we, Kogites living in Kogi and across the globe, irrespective of political parties or religious inclinations, we are united behind the Lion whose quest is now bigger than the tussle between two people with a lot of command at their beck and call.
It is a fight for the people, and Bello, as usual, will never back down.
We stand with him. That is who we voted for.
That is true governance.
Fearless, undaunted.
Liberating.
Written by Sam Aina
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