The recent Supreme Court judgments on the November 2020 Kogi State Governorship elections have put to rest the legal tussles for who leads the state executive. It has also put paid to the fact that Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello and only he is constitutionally backed to be the Governor of Kogi State.
His power is now backed by every law of our land. There is no longer any person who can compete with him for that position of Governor. It is thus imperative that everyone including the Governor himself understand the implication of the judgment. Power to govern the State now lies squarely on his shoulders.
With that power comes the heavy responsibility of ensuring the protection and welfare of the citizens of Kogi State. This responsibility is the fundamental directive of any government. It is on this that the Governor and his administration will now be judged by the very people who gave him that power to govern.
The recent happenings in the State have seriously called to question the effectiveness of the government in protecting the lives and properties of the citizens. The levels of insecurity, conditions of our roads, quality of our education system, healthcare system, and social protection services have all seemly deteriorated in the last 1 year, with no visible discernible strategy for arresting this.
The most disturbing of this is the level of decay of our roads within the State. The worse of these are roads leading to and out of the State Capital Lokoja. The Kabba Junction-Barracks roads and the Crusher Zone 8 road have become death traps for motorists. These roads are the major access to Lokoja for travelers coming from both the Western and Eastern Senatorial Districts and national travelers from the South East and South-South of the Country. It is unimaginable that the Crusher-Zone 8 road (Hassan Usman Katsina way) also links the headquarters of the other 2 Arms of Government – Judiciary and Legislature.
The Felele–Nataco expressway has become a death trap with almost a bi monthly occurrence of deadly truck accidents. The latest which happened on Wednesday 23rd September 2020, has been nicknamed BLACK WEDNESDAY, with at least 24 citizens-men, women, school children, students, families,- consumed in an avoidable inferno caused by failure of government safety systems that should have been working to protect them. A family of 6 (father, mother, 3 children and an Aunt) all consumed in the inferno.
To add to the insult, hoodlums have ransacked the shops of the deceased and his wife barely 48 hours after their demise. This is unacceptable in a democratic government that was elected by the people.
The Ganaja road has become the poster boy for this administrations inability to provide infrastructure for its people. The decay has eaten so deep that at best of times only a portion and section of the dual carriage way was accessible to motorists. Heavy duty vehicles that pay taxes to the state, have contributed to the death of the road.
The annual flooding which has become worse this year has finally cut of the road and the communities from the rest of the State capital. That road is a major artery connecting the Eastern Senatorial District of the State and the South Eastern Zone of the Nation to the State capital. It should be a road that showcases the state and its capital as it is the first point that visitors see and experience.
It is very unfortunate that the State Government uses the excuse that some of these roads are federal roads as such the states do not have the resources to construct them as there will be no refunds.
This logic does not support the fact that the people who use these roads are citizens of Kogi State, whose mandate the Government is suppose to implement. The 24 fatalities on the Felele-Nataco road are citizens of the State. The properties destroyed belong to citizens of the state, who through the existence of that road, have paid taxes running into millions of naira to the State. There is no how the State will not recoup any investment it makes in constructing these roads. Same goes with the Ganaja road and the Kabba junction Barracks road.
The frequent loss of lives and properties to fire outbreak has exposed the rot in our fire safety management. The inferno on #BLACKWEDNESDAY on the Felele-Nataco road could have been mitigated to a large extent if the fire service had been effective.
The recent fire outbreak at the famous PEE LINKS SHOPPING COMPLEX in Lokoja, which is meters away from the Federal fire Service Office, is a show of shame for the State fire service, resulting in the loss of properties worth billions of naira.
We call on the State Government to as a matter of urgency, to reconstruct these roads in order to alleviate the suffering and protect the lives of the citizens.
There is need for Governor Yahaya Bello to concentrate on developing the State infrastructure and be physically present in the administration of the affairs of the State. This 2nd term of this administration should be his LEGACY years. It will define his profile as a leader.
Kogi people deserve better roads, whether they be Federal, State or community. The present Ministry of Works must be reshaped to provide better services to the people.
The actions of the State government on the inferno that resulted in the deaths of no fewer than 23 persons, is totally unacceptable. Measures must be put in place for preventing such occurrences in the future, holding persons and organizations liable for the incident and compensating the victims.
There is the need to look into the makeup of the State Fire Service. It is unconscionable that the State was provided with a brand new Fire Truck by the Federal Government and it has never been seen after the presentation.
The government must set up a fact finding committee to look into the conduct of the State Fire Service during the inferno of Wednesday 23rd 2020 at Felele and the Fire outbreak on Friday 26th September 2020 at PEE LINKS. This is with a view to identifying challenges and proffering solution for preventing future occurrences.
The warnings for flood prevention has been on for more than 2 months and there is need for the State Government to look into clearing drainages and structures obstruction our water ways.
Finally, the Governor has gotten all he needs to perform his role as leader of the people of Kogi State. He must be seen to be alive to this role as it comes with heavy responsibilities.
The citizens must also play their role of obeying rules and regulations and holding the Government accountable so that we get the State of our dreams.
– Hamza Aliyu
Executive Director, Initiative for Grassroot Advancement (INGRA)
Lokoja.
Tel: 08033177259, 08080542167
