The writer of this article claims that the leadership style of Governor Yahaya Bello has elevated rife criticisms that may lead to his ouster in 2019, if one is to help him rephrase properly. He is right in his own perception, however, perception is a subjective form of reality as there is no single standard of measuring accurate perception.
This rebuttal presents the opportunity to clarify some of the progresses that have been made in Kogi state within the past two years. In hindsight, Kogi State was created 1991. Governance did not start in January 27th, 2016. If you would excuse the period of our ascendency to democracy in 1999 which Governor Audu laid the foundation of the state using his miserly 4 years single tenor, there has been a collective rigmarole of the state for 13 years plus, into confusion, complications, directionless, lootocraft, underdevelopment, and perfection of mediocrity after him. In reality, no single template for governance and human capacity development was laid. If there is any, let the carriers of conscience reel it, (Ware expecting this) out. In fact, Kogi has been a walking corpse until 2016. It was padded by “comfortable mediocrity” as the only boast was “Kogi is a civil service state”. What a hianity.
Sad. So so sad.
For starters, the free flow of criticisms is a testament of the presence of democracy in Kogi state. It shows the open mindedness of the Governor and his team when it comes to tolerating feedback. How can someone who has the accurate perception of events negate open ground for criticisms?
It takes a hollow mind and one subjugated to the pandering of mediocrity to think that absence of criticisms, virulent one at that is an evidence of development. Do we not see Democrats and Republicans slug it out regardless of the level of development in America? Sometimes, you even see argument from Nigerians who left Nigeria to settle there in the context of “America is not working”. If you compare the distance between America and Nigeria they left, oh well. So, it is a funny argument. Criticisms doesn’t In all cases show underdevelopment. If it does, would the opposition seeking to take power, regardless of the progress being made.
In the case of Kogi state, there is a clash of “ideologies” between the Old order and the New order. It is reflective in the style of Governance, something the people do not understand because of their years of mental asylum in mediocrity, created by those who have been “ruling” the people.
Or perhaps, how can people’s mental scope suffer a degrading relapse into an alley that they will think “winning elections” in 2019 should be placed ahead investment in social-politico reforms that is painful but comes with a visionary effect, which is a plug-in-gap of the locust years spanning 13plus of the past? You doubt my assertion? Kindly erect the achievement recorded in human and governance for those years of islanding in a desert, sorry, wilderness.(?)
Is it then possible to kick start this wrecked, dead and castrated engine called the Confluence State without fighting hydra headed monsters who would be fighting back to repudiate the state from those who have come to rescue it from their Medusa grip? The writer of that article needs to be schooled as he spoke via the poles of “regular opinions” by people who have been made not to accept a better future.
Pre-2016, events in Kogi state ended on mushroom scales without any subjugation to public opinion. Lords of the Lugard House ensured any dissenting voices were silenced by intimidation by thugs, cultists, security agencies and other elements of gagging alternative voices. It contributed to the volatile state of insecurity in the state which gave the state the title of “Doyen of Thuggery”. It followed with the twin sister of “kidnapping” because those who intimidate also walleyed people to bushes for ransoms.
Under Governor Bello, he arrested kidnapping and thuggery while freeing criticisms and upsurge of public opinion. It is a clear difference between “hostage and freedom”.
In the third paragraph of the article, the writer made people believe that Ganaja road had become a death trap with the state’s “only” roundabout uncompleted.
First off, the Ganaja road is a Federal Government road which is not a statutory state responsibility, however, there is concerted effort into mobilization of Federal Government attention to that road, which is even one of the functions of our Senators, with most of them paying blindness to it.
We still have security to celebrate as a success. We have youthfulness to celebrate as success. Salaries would also come as income progresses.
In the end, the writer has listed all the problems subjectively, Governance is not bean cake.
– Promise Emmanuel (Kogi Rebel)
