As Electricity Remains Elusive, Residents Ask: Where Are the Tangible Legacies of Isanlu’s Influential Sons?
By Rotimi Odofin
For more than a decade, darkness has remained an unwelcome but familiar companion to residents of Isanlu and adjoining communities in Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Year after year, promises have come and gone. Governments have changed. Political alliances have shifted. Influential personalities have risen in business and politics. Yet, for many residents, one fundamental question remains unanswered:
Why is Isanlu still struggling to secure reliable electricity after more than ten years?
The question has now grown beyond the power crisis itself. It has triggered a broader and uncomfortable conversation about development, political influence and the responsibilities of the community’s most prominent sons.
For a community that has produced businessmen, politicians, professionals and individuals with considerable access to political and economic power, residents and community observers increasingly want to see that influence translated into infrastructure and opportunities that can be measured on the ground.
And that is where the uncomfortable questions begin.
THE OMOKORE QUESTION
Among the prominent names being mentioned in the conversation is businessman and political figure Jide Omokore, an indigene of Isanlu whose profile and connections have placed him among the community’s influential personalities.
The question is not whether Omokore is influential.
The more important question is: What major, identifiable and sustainable development legacy has that influence produced for Isanlu?
Based on information presently available for this report, no major completed infrastructure project in Isanlu could be independently and conclusively attributed to Omokore.
That observation is not, by itself, proof that he has made no contribution to the community. Indeed, any documented intervention, donation or project not captured in available records should be brought into the public domain.
But that is precisely the point.
Where are the projects? Where are the records? Where is the measurable impact?
In an era when political influence is frequently celebrated through photographs, endorsements, meetings and public appearances, residents are increasingly demanding a different measure of influence: what remains on the ground after the cameras leave?
MORE THAN DARKNESS
The electricity problem is only the most visible symptom of a deeper development challenge.
Residents continue to contend with concerns around educational infrastructure, healthcare facilities, financial and banking services, roads, youth employment and other amenities essential to a functioning local economy.
For young people in particular, inadequate electricity creates a chain reaction.
Small businesses face increased operating costs. Digital entrepreneurs struggle to work consistently. Students face difficulties studying and accessing technology. Skilled young people who could potentially build businesses locally are encouraged to look elsewhere.
The result is a community with human potential but limited infrastructure to convert that potential into economic opportunity.
WHERE IS THE POLITICAL CAPITAL?
This is where the debate becomes political.
Influence is valuable only when it can be deployed to achieve results.
If an influential indigene can gain access to senior political circles, business networks and decision-makers, can that same access not be mobilised to attract electricity infrastructure, educational interventions, healthcare projects, employment opportunities and private investment into his community?
And if the answer is yes, why has the development gap persisted for so long?
These are questions that cannot simply be dismissed as political attacks.
They are legitimate questions in any community seeking accountability from its leaders and prominent citizens.
The people of Isanlu are not necessarily asking their successful sons to replace government.
They are asking them to complement government.
They are asking for partnerships, advocacy, philanthropy, investment and strategic intervention.
FROM INFLUENCE TO IMPACT
There is an important distinction between being influential and being impactful.
Influence can open doors.
Impact leaves something behind.
Influence can produce political appointments, access and recognition.
Impact produces schools, health centres, transformers, roads, businesses, scholarships, jobs and opportunities.
For Isanlu, the challenge is to move the conversation from who is powerful to what has that power achieved for the people?
This is particularly important as Nigeria moves towards another politically charged electoral cycle.
Political actors will inevitably return to communities seeking votes, endorsements and mobilisation.
But residents are increasingly entitled to ask candidates and political influencers a simple question:
What have you done for the community—and what exactly do you intend to do next?
THE LEGACY TEST
Isanlu’s situation presents a test for all its influential sons—not just Jide Omokore.
Those who have acquired wealth, political influence or access to government should be judged not merely by their public profiles but by the enduring value of their contributions.
A transformer that restores electricity to a community may matter more to ordinary residents than a hundred political meetings.
A properly equipped health centre may save more lives than a political speech.
A functioning school may shape more futures than an election promise.
A sustainable business that employs local youths may create more lasting impact than temporary political patronage.
That is the standard against which leadership should ultimately be measured.
THE QUESTIONS ISANLU MUST ASK
After more than ten years without dependable electricity, Isanlu cannot afford to treat development as an abstract political slogan.
The questions are now staring the community in the face:
Who has the influence to change the situation?
Who has used that influence—and to what extent?
What major projects have influential sons delivered?
Where are the documented results?
What has government done?
What has the private sector done?
And what should the community demand from those seeking its support in 2027 and beyond?
These questions deserve answers—not propaganda, not political rhetoric and not another cycle of promises.
Because ultimately, the people of Isanlu are not asking for miracles.
They are asking for development.
And after a decade in the dark, they have every reason to ask why their community’s enormous human and political capital has not yet produced the infrastructure and opportunities they deserve.
The real measure of influence is not how many powerful people one knows. It is how many ordinary people become better off because of that influence.
For Isanlu, that is the legacy question that can no longer be ignored.
– Rotimi Odofin writes from Lokoja.
