By Musa Bakare
History is an unforgiving judge. It neither rewards excuses nor remembers those who stood aside or betrayed their own people while the destiny of their nation slipped through their fingers.
Every generation encounters defining moments when silence becomes betrayal, division becomes self destruction, and wisdom becomes the only bridge to a better future.
I believe the people of the West Senatorial District of Kogi State have arrived at such a defining moment.
This is not merely a political appeal. It is a cry from the depths of history. It is a moral plea. It is a call to conscience. It is an invitation to rescue our collective destiny before another historic opportunity slips away.
The greatest tragedy that can befall a people is not oppression from outsiders; it is when they willingly submit themselves and become instruments against themselves. When their own sons and daughters are deployed to frustrate their collective aspirations, when wads of Naira or political appointment is dangled at them to make them betrayals of the collective cherished aspiration of producing the Governor of Kogi State come January 2028.
No external force has ever defeated a people who refused to fight one another. Nations decline from within long before they are conquered from without. The timeless truth remains: a house divided against itself cannot stand. When brothers expend their energy fighting brothers, when they willingly become instruments against their own communal interest, others inevitably reap the harvest of their labour.
I therefore ask a simple but profound question: How does it advance the collective interest of the people of Kogi West when its sons are sponsored to publicly attack another prominent son, shamelessly calling on the President of the Federal Republic to “call him to order” throwing baseless accusations abd lies at a man who is undoubtedly one of the profound heroes of the land?
What lasting benefit comes from turning legitimate political differences into public hostility against one’s own people, simply to assuage and massage the interests of outsiders ?
Political disagreements are inevitable in every democracy. They should be resolved through dialogue, maturity, facts, and respect for democratic institutions, not in ways that deepen internal divisions or weaken the political standing of Kogi West, more so as we approach the 2027 and 2028 electoral cycle.
Political competition is natural. Character assassination among brothers is not. It should be wholly condemned.
The greatest political challenge confronting Kogi West has never been a shortage of capable men and women. Rather, it has too often been our inability to unite behind our collective aspirations when history demands uncommon solidarity against those enemies within.
The future of Kogi West cannot be built on suspicion, envy, bitterness, or internal sabotage undertaken merely to satisfy external political interests. Every time we weaken one another before the wider political arena, we diminish our collective bargaining power. Every time we celebrate the political setback of one of our own for temporary selfish advantage, we postpone the rise of the next generation.
Every Kogi West leader, elder, and stakeholder should ask not merely, who benefits from our division but more importantly, Who ultimately pays the price?
What pride remains when outsiders dismiss the political capacity of the Kogi West people and publicly boasts that, despite the great educational accomplishments and rich heritage of Kogi West, they do not understand the dynamics of politics?
Whether such perceptions are fair or unfair, they should provoke sober reflection about how our internal divisions weaken our collective influence.
The answer to who loses is obvious: our children. Our communities. Our economic future. Our political relevance. Our rightful place in the history of Kogi State and Nigeria.
Politics must never become a marketplace where the destiny of future generations of the people of Kogi West is traded for temporary appointments, fleeting applause, personal ambition, or short lived political advantage.
Political offices are temporary. Governments rise and fall. But the consequences of communal disunity can endure for generations.
Every elder of Kogi West bears a sacred responsibility. Traditional rulers are custodians of our heritage. Religious leaders are custodians of conscience. Political leaders are custodians of public trust. Together, they must become custodians of our unity. Differences are inevitable in politics, but they must never become weapons for destroying the very foundation upon which our future depends.
This is, therefore, a solemn appeal to every son and daughter of Kogi West Senatorial District.
Let us disagree without becoming enemies.
Let us compete without destroying one another.
Let us debate without demonising ourselves.
Let us remember that no one truly wins when Kogi West loses.
The generation before us made enormous sacrifices so that we might inherit a stronger political voice. We owe the generations after us an even greater inheritance. They deserve a people who place the long-term interests of Kogi West above temporary and selfish political calculations.
The Holy Scriptures remind us that “every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation.” This is not merely a religious truth; it is an enduring law of history, politics, and civilisation. No society prospers while persistently undermining its own potential.
I therefore respectfully urge the entire Kogi West elders, traditional institutions, religious leaders, political stakeholders, youth organisations, women’s groups, professionals, and opinion moulders to rise above selfishness and ego and place the future of the district above every individual ambition.
Let us reject every attempt to commercialise our collective destiny for personal gain.
Let us refuse to become willing instruments in battles that ultimately weaken our own people.
Let us reject every invitation to become architects of our collective decline.
Let us build bridges where others seek to erect walls.
Let us protect one another’s dignity, even in the midst of political disagreement.
Let us refuse to become tools in the hands of those whose political calculations do not advance the long-
term aspirations of Kogi West Senatorial District.
Above all, let us remember that history will not ask how loudly we destroyed one another. It will ask whether we possessed the wisdom, courage, and patriotism to unite when unity mattered most.
May wisdom triumph over pride. May unity overcome division. May truth prevail over prejudice.
May the Almighty grant Kogi West the grace, courage, foresight, and unity to protect the destiny of generations yet unborn.
The future is watching. History is recording.
Posterity will deliver the final verdict.
– Musa Asiru Bakare, a Founding Member of APC and Political Analyst, writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
