Yahaya Bello: Vindicated At Last »

“Yahaya Bello does not even have a single block in Kogi state”.

Unless you wish to lie, you, the fortunate reader of this piece, cannot deny that you have never heard this sort of statement before. It may have come in different caprices and conjunctions but it always carried the same meaning and intention: The Governor of Kogi state from 2016 until date had been projected as a monumental failure. I, within the purview of my little Whatsapp circle totalling over 400 committed viewers, would always post his projects at various stages of completion, as well as the laudable policies he strived to implement.

All I got in the end were insults.

Some cautioned me to try to be on the right side of history. Many suggested I tone down my praise and refrain from being tagged as a fanatic without a conscience. Many others, with whom I happen to live alongside in Lokoja, denied even the projects that were located at the very heart of town just to score cheap political points on twitter.

I lost a few acquaintances because of this.

My monthly articles were greeted with more negative reviews than positive ones. I, as an avid reader and writer, had since discovered that the only way to preserve moments in history was to have them documented effectively through descriptive narratives. It is the reason why I chose to write a monthly piece on Governor Bello from the 15th of December, 2020. It was the reason why, despite the pressure from within and without, I chose to keep writing what was verifiable and true. It was why I was convinced that, despite the many dissenting voices traversing across the media space about a certain Samuel Aina and his obsession for twisting the so-called “facts on ground”, I persisted. After all, history will be kind to those who champion the truth and uphold the virtues of integrity.

That, by the way, is an original quote from the author of this piece.

Imagine my surprise then, when, about a month ago, I chanced upon the name ‘Yahaya Bello” trending ferociously on twitter. I had, due to past experiences, braced myself for another barrage of tweets projecting their hate for the man from Agassa. Pensively, I clicked on the trend in question, and within the next fifteen minutes, I read, astoundingly, tweets that seemed to somehow retrace unfounded statements on the governance of Kogi state by her leader, Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello.

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Could this be? I asked myself. Apparently, the same people who had denied the existence of his projects were the same ones foaming at the mouth to “apologize” for judging him wrongly when images of some of the gigantic infrastructural projects he had completed were posted on his social media pages. Before long, almost all the APC influencers on social media became the biggest propagators of these developmental strides. Yahaya Bello became everyone’s darling.

I was happy, sad and angry all at the same time.
I am inclined to tell you why.

I was happy that, despite the fact that many perpetual denigrators such as the Melayes and Adeyanjus spun the tale and managed to convince a section of the Nigerian populace against Bello, a larger number of the Nigerian people saw through these lies and formed their own opinions. I was happy that against all odds, Bello dared the powers that be to declare and aspire for the highest office in the land. I was happy that after facing the might of the owners of the media space, he came out of it all smelling like roses. In the end, my happiness rested on the certainty of something he once said; “My works will speak for me later”. They did speak for him, and the Nigeria in which we exist today can only boast of a few Governors at his level of efficiency in terms of infrastructural development, while he stands alone atop the pyramid when security, unity, education and health and put on the scale.

The sadness that radiated through my being was borne out of the depth to which the human soul can descend just to score cheap political points. Despite the meagre resources on show during his tenure in comparison to the others that preceded him, Yahaya Bello is on course to surpass them all as the best Governor Kogi has ever had. Yet, people who have benefitted immensely from this have come out in the open to deny them. They have gone as far as to post pictures from other states and present them as Kogi’s just to smear the man. They have done all sorts, concocted all types of lies and tried their hardest to make him the most popular politician in Nigeria for the wrong reasons: reasons that have no iota of truth in them. Politics must begin to become less about personal interest and more about progress and how much governance affects the masses.

I was angry. I was very angry. A typical Nigerian youth is in possession of an android phone and has a connection to social media, yet they allow themselves to be devoid of reasoning simply because someone with a few thousands or millions of followers said something. Social media following does not equate intelligence. You can have a Million followers and still be foolish. What does that make of you, a follower, when you possess a higher acumen but throw it into the bushes all in the name of “stanship”? Many of the accusations Bello was faced with could have been double-checked if the recipient so pleased. However, they preferred to listen to lies, and now they express their regret.

Many of the opinions formed about Bello were from accounts that had a lot of followers. These are people who understand their audience. They know that a typical Nigerian will swallow a lie hook, line and sinker without verification because of a difference in ideology. In this time and age, this should not happen. We must do better as a generation. My only prayer is that it doesn’t deny us the sort of leaders we need so that Nigeria, our beloved country, can be repositioned as the country that we can all be proud of.

In essence, Yahaya Bello has been vindicated. His equanimity must be emulated.

Gone are the days when Kogi was entrenched with leaders skilled in political boondoggle. We have begun to experience what it means to be governed, and governed well. The myth that was propagated against the peaceful co-existence of Muslims, Christians and other traditional worshippers has been put to rest. Women have found their voices and their place in society, so have the people living with disabilities. Yahaya Bello has championed a government of “firsts”, and all of them are today, heralding a positive dispensation.

Yahaya Bello’s name and legacy is written positively in gold.

He did not need the validation people who deliberately closed their eyes against his achievements, but it does leave a good taste in the mouth of those of us who have always believed in him.

At least, when I post Yahaya Bello these days, I get no insults. Many people even repost. Those who, like the desperate Dino “Dinosaur” Melaye who see nothing good and termed the gigantic flyover initiated and completed by the Yahaya Bello-led government as a “center-table” have begun to garner more insults than commendations for their shoddy work. No one is blind to his good works anymore.
Step by step, the change we desired has begun to germinate.

Nigeria will be better in our lifetime.

God bless Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello. History will be kind to you.

Onto greatness!