When Commander Jerry Omodara, the Kogi State Security Adviser, declared with unyielding finality, “We are not negotiating the reelection of Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo,” he did not merely articulate a political stance—he exposed the profound, visionless inertia currently paralyzing the political leadership of Kogi West APC.
For the people of the Okun nation, who have long expended their political capital on alliances that yield nothing but servitude, this declaration is no rallying cry. It is a sobering testament to a lingering delusion—a focus-less and shortsighted proclamation designed to mortgage Okun’s political destiny for another four years of political crumbs.
Perhaps the most tragic chapter of this unfolding spectacle is the systematic conscription of our traditional rulers into partisan politics. For nearly eleven years, the traditional institution in Kogi West has been deliberately sidelined and reduced to ceremonial onlookers while power remained concentrated elsewhere.
Now, suddenly, these long-neglected monarchs are gathered into halls to endorse an untenable postulation. But can the orchestrated applause of coerced royal fathers truly alter the resolute will of a people yearning for equity, fairness, and justice? History answers with an emphatic no.
Coercion is not consensus, and forced endorsements can never extinguish the deep-seated hunger for dignity in a state the Okun people laboriously helped build.
The narrative currently propagated by Kogi West APC leaders hinges on a convenient historical amnesia. They peddle the naive notion that subservience today is the “fastest route” to power tomorrow. Yet, recent history completely dismantles this fallacy:
The 2015 Primaries: Could Alhaji Yahaya Bello have emerged as the runner-up to the late Prince Abubakar Audu without the crucial, decisive votes of Okun delegates?
The 2019 Re-election:Would Yahaya Bello’s second term have been achievable without the unwavering, battle-tested support of the Okun electorate?
The Okun nation has consistently played the indispensable role of kingmaker, providing the critical leverage required to tip the political balance in Kogi State.
Where, then, is the reciprocity?
What became of the explicit assurances made by former Governor Yahaya Bello to support an Okun successor? When that solemn pact was unilaterally breached in the lead-up to the last governorship election, was any formal explanation offered? Was an apology rendered? Absolutely none.
If there was no room for negotiation then, and there is “no negotiation” now—as proudly touted by the State Security Adviser—what guarantee exists that the betrayals of the past will not simply repeat themselves in 2031?
The reservations held by those demanding an “Okun Governorship in 2027” are neither misplaced nor unrealistic; they are forged in the crucible of bitter experience. The political opportunists who loudly decry the “impossibility” of an Okun governorship in 2027 owe the public a clear answer to one fundamental question:
Why must the Okun people perpetually remain junior partners in an alliance that yields nothing but political servitude?
Power is never conceded on a silver platter, nor is it earned through perpetual submission to broken promises. The insistence on 2027 is not an act of political rebellion—it is an act of self-preservation. It is an unyielding demand for equity, an outright rejection of second-class citizenship in our own state, and a firm declaration that the Okun nation will no longer be traded off for the personal comfort of a select few political elites.
Self-serving leadership must never be confused with advocacy for the people.
What the region requires is a genuine, transparent discourse on the terms and conditions of any proposed synergy. Kogi West has repeatedly demonstrated loyalty and electoral strength, as evidenced by governorship election results since 2019. It is therefore an insult to the intelligence of the electorate to suggest that the region lacks leverage.
What the Okun people are asserting is simple: We deserve an opportunity to lead Kogi State from the Glass House as a matter of fundamental right, not through the assumed benevolence of any individual or political district. That demand is entirely legitimate and must not be criminalized.
Even if the pragmatic realities on the ground present significant hurdles, the groveling, subservient approach adopted by these Kogi West APC leaders is fundamentally flawed and dishonorable.
The delusion may continue to echo through the corridors of the Government House, but among the people on the ground, the mandate for fairness has never been clearer.
– Ponle Adeniyi
ponleadeniyi457@gmail.com
