By Musa Bakare.
As 2027 approaches, one truth echoes across Kogi West, clear, firm, and non negotiable: the people will choose their senator. Not sponsored endorsements. Not manufactured no-confidence theatrics. Not political intimidation.
Kogi West will decide. Period !
Let no one be deceived, staged no confidence votes, press statements, or politically funded gatherings cannot override the sovereign will of the people. No matter how packaged, they remain what they are: desperate attempts to distort democratic reality.
This is not empty talk. It is a tradition forged in resistance.
The memory is still fresh, when the people stood their ground against the attempted recall of Dino Melaye under the watch of former governor Yahaya Bello. With all the machinery deployed, the people refused to bend. That moment sent a powerful message: Kogi West cannot be bullied, bought, or broken.
Today, that same positive defiant spirit is even stronger.
Whispers of manipulation and backdoor arrangements ahead of 2027 are already in the air. But those plotting imposition are misreading the terrain. Kogi West is politically conscious, highly organized, and fiercely protective of its mandate. The people know their political leaders, they know their friends, they also know their power and they will use it.
The resolve is unmistakable. Just as the people have freely aligned with the re-election of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, they will also freely determine who represents them in the Senate, without coercion, without interference.
Within the All Progressives Congress, the rules are clear and cannot be twisted. The senatorial candidate must emerge through direct primaries, where party members vote and decide. Not through imposition. Not through manipulation.
Consensus is not a trick. It is a process and a voluntary one. It only stands when any aspirant willingly withdraw in writing. Anything else is political fraud dressed up as agreement. And Kogi West will reject it outright.
At the center of the current political momentum is Sunday Karimi, the serving senator. Signals from the ground are unmistakable, he is not stepping aside, and more importantly, the people are not asking him to. The grassroots are mobilized, the base is solid, and the message is gaining strength: continuity through choice, not imposition.
But beyond individuals lies a deeper principle.
This is about the right of the people to decide. It is about protecting democracy from those who believe power can be dictated rather than earned. It is about drawing a firm line against political arrogance.
As the contest draws closer, one question will define everything: will the will of the people stand, or will political manipulation attempt a comeback?
Kogi West has already answered.
The people will decide. Not sponsors. Not power brokers. Not orchestrated endorsements.
And when the moment comes, the verdict will be loud, decisive, and impossible to ignore.
Kogi West will decide and no force, no matter how powerful, will silence that voice.
– Musa Asiru Bakare, a Foundational Member of APC and Political Analyst, writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
