In a political season defined by public exhaustion and deepening distrust, the rise of Hon. Dr. Frank Sunday Onaji of the Action People Party (APP) arrives not as a quiet development but as a deliberate rupture; an inversion of the predictable, an interruption of the stale. Where many political actors repeat familiar patterns, Onaji positions himself as the disruptive alternative, embodying what Winston Churchill once framed as “the courage to stand up and speak, and the courage to sit down and listen.” In Kogi State, that dual courage has been scarce; his emergence makes its scarcity impossible to ignore.
Onaji steps into the arena not as a political tourist but as a reformist refusing to accept the state’s stagnation. His political doctrine; anchored on governance reform, institutional integrity, economic renewal, youth inclusion, and egalitarian justice, mirrors Nelson Mandela’s insistence that “a nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest.” In a climate where institutions have been hollowed and public trust eroded, Onaji’s ideological clarity becomes a countercurrent strong enough to disturb Kogi’s long-standing political inertia.
Under the APP platform, his message sharpens into a wider civic reawakening. APP, often overlooked, becomes under his influence a democratic instrument designed for recalibration rather than routine. His approach aligns with Theodore Roosevelt’s timeless declaration that “the greatest prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” Onaji embodies this ethic, reimagining the party as a home for citizens seeking accountability, leadership honesty, and institutional stability. What once appeared fringe begins to take the shape of a formidable alternative.
Onaji’s credibility is strengthened by capacity, intellectual depth, administrative literacy, grassroots connection, and a governance vision rooted in measurable outcomes rather than political theatrics. His style reflects the principle articulated by Chinua Achebe: “One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.” In a political environment where compromise is too often transactional, his refusal to dilute standards differentiates him from competitors who rely on rhetoric rather than structural solutions.
Thus, in an era of political fatigue, Frank Sunday Onaji surfaces not merely as another name on the ballot but as the unflinching countercurrent reshaping Kogi’s power future. His candidacy is a referendum on what leadership should look like in a state seeking redistribution of dignity, direction, and democratic value. He is not running to mimic the old order; he is running to upend it. And in that inversion lies the possibility of a new governance culture—one bold enough to challenge the present, and disciplined enough to reconstruct the future.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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