AN OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY, ALHAJI AHMED USMAN ODODO, THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF KOGI STATE
Your Excellency,
I write to you as a concerned son of Ogori-Magongo Local Government and as someone who deeply values the peace, unity, and political balance that have existed between Ogori and Magongo for generations.
Ogori and Magongo are one people. We speak the same language, share the same history, and have coexisted peacefully for decades with mutual respect and understanding. Our relationship goes far beyond politics.
Even in our traditional cultural activities, both communities have always maintained fairness and balance. Ogori celebrates the Ovia festival, while Magongo celebrates Owiya. Though slightly different in spelling, both festivals are culturally connected and represent the same ancestral heritage shared by our people. During these celebrations, representatives from each community attend the other’s festival in solidarity and mutual respect.
Despite how closely connected both communities are, there has always been maturity and understanding in how these festivals are organised. Out of respect for one another, both communities have traditionally avoided fixing these celebrations within the same week.
This same spirit of fairness and balance has guided the politics of Ogori-Magongo Local Government since its creation.
There has always been a respected political understanding that when the Chairmanship position comes from Ogori, the House of Assembly position goes to Magongo, and vice versa. Political parties within the local government have largely respected this arrangement over the years because it preserved peace, inclusion, and a sense of belonging for both communities.
Sadly, for the first time in the history of our local government, there is now an attempt to allow both the Chairmanship position and the House of Assembly position to come from Ogori under the same political arrangement. This development is already creating tension, dissatisfaction, and feelings of exclusion among many people in Magongo.
Your Excellency, this issue becomes even more sensitive when viewed within the broader political reality affecting Ogori-Magongo people at the federal level. Ogori-Magongo and Okene are grouped together as one Federal Constituency, yet due to longstanding political marginalisation, no indigene of Ogori-Magongo has ever emerged as a member of the House of Representatives from that constituency.
This has already created concerns among our people regarding political inclusion and representation. Disrupting the existing rotational understanding within Ogori-Magongo Local Government will only deepen the feeling of marginalisation, particularly among the people of Magongo, who may begin to feel completely excluded from political participation and representation.
This issue is not merely about elections or political advantage. It is about preserving the unity, homogeneity, and peaceful coexistence that have defined Ogori-Magongo for generations. Once fairness disappears, division and resentment naturally grow.
Our people have maintained peace over the years because both communities understood the importance of balance, inclusion, and mutual sacrifice. Altering that arrangement may create avoidable tensions that could affect the future stability of the local government.
I respectfully appeal to Your Excellency to intervene in this matter and encourage political stakeholders to find alternative ways of addressing the concerns of aggrieved members while preserving the longstanding harmony between Ogori and Magongo.
The unity of our local government must remain more important than temporary political interests. History will always remember leaders who protected peace, fairness, and justice when it mattered most.
Respectfully,
Capt. Timi Iyela
Concerned Stakeholder
Ogori-Magongo Local Government Area
