By Musa Bakare.
Kogi State stands on three legs, Kogi East Senatorial District (Majority Igala), Kogi Central Senatorial District (Majority Ebira), and Kogi West Senatorial District (Majority Okun Yoruba). Yet, for thirty, four years since its creation in 1991, only two have tasted power. Kogi East governed for over 18 years; Kogi Central is now in its ninth. Kogi West has never produced a governor. That is not democracy; it is structural injustice.
Those who preach continuity should first confront this truth. Continuity without inclusion is conquest by another name. A state designed as a tripod cannot stand forever on two legs. Fairness is noble; it is the moral glue of a plural state like Kogi state. But fairness must walk hand in hand with facts.
In his recent article “Why Fairness Cannot Wait,” Mr. Yusuf M. A., obviously an interested voice from Kogi East drifts from advocacy for equity to a selective reading of history. His narrative deserves clarification, not for argument’s sake but to restore balance.
Public debate is the heartbeat of democracy; it allows us to test ideas and question assumptions. But when fairness is stripped of facts, it becomes sentiment and sentiment cannot build a just state.
Kogi West built the state capital, Lokoja. It houses the seat of government, major industries, and the state’s oldest institutions, yet remains politically orphaned. When Kogi East produced Governors Prince Abubakar Audu (1992–1993; 1999–2003), Alhaji Ibrahim Idris (2003–2012), and Captain Idris Wada (2012–2016), both the Central and West bore that imbalance with calm and honourable patience. When Kogi Central took its turn through Yahaya Bello in 2016, the West applauded the spirit of rotation. But now that the wheel ought to move again in 2027, we are told to wait ad infinitum.
It is strange that those who once benefited from power shift now insist it must stop, arguing that leadership should remain an extended sixteen year affair within one district. That is an insult to democratic decency. It is not fairness; it is feudal thinking in democratic disguise. Justice should never be treated as a privilege of geography, nor equity as a favour.
Let no one mistake Kogi West’s demand for a plea of charity. Kogi West does not beg; it contributes. Its sons and daughters have excelled within the state, nationally and internationally , in civil service, academia, the military, and commerce. If competence is the yardstick, Kogi West has it in abundance.
As 2027 approaches, Kogi state stands at a moral crossroads. Kogi East has ruled and had more than a fair share. Kogi Central is ruling. Kogi West deserves to lead. It is the only formula that can restore confidence and unity.
Those invoking unverifiable numbers forget that democracy is not mere arithmetic; it is moral legitimacy. A house divided against fairness cannot stand. No group should be made to feel that its democratic rights are subordinate to manipulated rotation. That is not justice; it is coercion.
Kogi West’s demand is simple: Let power rotate. Let the circle of inclusion be completed. The governorship in 2027 is not a political gift; it is the fulfillment of the founding principle of equality among the three senatorial districts.
After three decades of waiting, Kogi West insists that justice delayed is unity denied, Kogi West people demand their fair share.The time for fairness is not tomorrow. It is now.
– Musa Asiru Bakare, a Political Analyst; writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
