Kogi East stands at a precarious political precipice, its future teetering between revival and stagnation. As the 2027 elections approach, the region’s leaders resemble the fabled blind men called to touch an elephant; each perceiving only a fragment, none grasping the whole. Decisions are made from partial vision, ambition overrides strategy, and unity dissolves into fragmented self-interest. The elephant of Kogi East politics, the complex interplay of ethnic expectations, power-sharing, and historical grievances, remains largely unseen, yet its weight presses relentlessly on the political landscape.
Promises made by former governors and senior figures, particularly regarding the rotation of power to Igala people, lie in disrepair. Yet political aspirants continue to navigate the landscape with the naivety of children, convinced that loyalty and rhetoric alone suffice. This has created a dangerous vacuum where opportunism thrives, accountability falters, and the populace grows increasingly disillusioned. What was meant to be a deliberate handover of influence has become a spectacle of empty gestures and political theater, eroding trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard regional interests.
The paralysis is not merely administrative; it is existential. Leaders pursue narrow agendas while ancestral wisdom, communal cohesion, and strategic foresight are abandoned. Like the blind men each describing a tusk, trunk, or tail, Kogi East political actors interpret reality from isolated vantage points. The result is a cacophony of conflicting narratives, a region fractured by misperception, and a polity incapable of articulating a unified vision. Meanwhile, voters, though aware of the elephant in the room, are left to navigate a landscape where clarity is rare, and manipulation is rampant.
Historical miscalculations compound present errors. The Igala elite, entrusted with defending the region’s political relevance, have often traded long-term leverage for short-term personal gain. Political patronage eclipses community empowerment; allegiances shift with convenience rather than conviction. This erosion of principled leadership has created fertile ground for external influences, further destabilizing the internal political equilibrium. The blind men’s predicament is amplified by generations of strategic misreading, a warning that repetition of past mistakes risks consigning Kogi East to perpetual marginalization.
Yet all is not irretrievable. Recognition of the fragmented vision is the first step toward collective clarity. Political leaders must transcend ego and territorialism, embracing consultation, historical consciousness, and ethical governance. Grassroots engagement, transparent power-sharing mechanisms, and deliberate mentorship of emerging leaders can illuminate the contours of the elephant. If Kogi East is to reclaim its rightful influence in the state and national architecture, its leaders must see beyond their limited grasp, synchronizing ambition with accountability, and vision with strategy.
The clock ticks inexorably toward 2027. Kogi East stands at a crossroads, caught between a legacy of political shortsightedness and the possibility of renewed ascendancy. The elephant remains; it will not shrink to fit fragmented perception. Only those willing to confront it in its entirety, acknowledging its size, complexity, and power, will steer the region toward cohesion, relevance, and political redemption. The question remains: will the blind men finally lift the veil, or will the elephant continue to roam unseen, unchallenged, and untamed?
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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