In Kogi State’s turbulent political arena, one reality has become increasingly clear: the long-held myth of Yahaya Bello’s political supremacy has finally collapsed under the weight of evidence. In its place has risen a new force, Alhaji Yakubu Murtala Ajaka, whose emergence has redrawn the political map of the state and reawakened its civic consciousness.
It is both amusing and tragic that certain online “data boys” still attempt to compare Ajaka to Yahaya Bello. They claim Ajaka “didn’t win his polling unit” in the 2023 governorship election while hailing Bello as a godfather of Kogi politics. The facts, however, tell a different story. Ajaka did not lose his polling unit; INEC’s certified results confirm he won it decisively. As the flag bearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), he polled 259,052 votes, making him the first opposition candidate in Kogi’s history to cross the quarter-million mark, a feat achieved in defiance of the full machinery of state power.
Ajaka’s campaign was not backed by public funds or state privilege. He faced a climate of hostility few politicians could withstand: rallies were disrupted, supporters killed, harassed, and access roads blocked. At one point, Governor Yahaya Bello personally drove a state-crested vehicle to obstruct Ajaka’s entry into Kogi, repeating the same pattern of political intimidation seen earlier when he ordered excavators to destroy the access road leading to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s residence during her senatorial bid. Out of fear of Ajaka’s growing popularity, Bello even ordered the blockade of the NATACO axis in Lokoja. Yet, despite all these, Ajaka’s message of justice, unity, and credible governance resonated across the state. In Ankpa, Idah, Kabba, and Yagba, the SDP recorded unprecedented numbers, confirming that the people’s will is stronger than any machinery of oppression.
When Ajaka visited the Ohinoyi’s Palace in Okene, the late monarch’s dignified reception and thoughtful words to him became symbolic, a moment that reflected the people’s quiet yearning for leadership with humility and purpose.
By contrast, Yahaya Bello’s political rise has always been rooted in fortune, not legitimacy. In 2015, following the death of Prince Abubakar Audu, Bello became governor not through the ballot box but through vote transfer by substitution, inheriting votes he never earned. His 2019 re-election only compounded the controversy. Election observer reports, including those from the European Union Election Observation Mission and the Civil Society Situation Room, documented massive irregularities, ballot snatching, intimidation, and open violence. Helicopters hovered above polling centers, while ruling-party thugs overran opposition strongholds. The sound of gunfire, memorably described by residents as “Tatatata” became the grim soundtrack of that election. International agencies later recommended travel restrictions for those implicated in the violence.
The illusion of Bello’s invincibility finally shattered in 2023 when he failed to deliver his own senatorial district. In Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, a woman of uncommon courage, defeated the APC candidate handpicked by Bello, a symbolic and humiliating defeat that exposed his fading influence.
Ajaka’s movement, by contrast, is authentic, organic, and people-driven. His campaign drew strength from ordinary citizens, market women, youths, civil servants, and professionals, united by shared frustration and renewed hope. From Idah to Kabba, from Okene to Dekina, his message was consistent: Kogi deserves better. Securing over 259,000 votes in a heavily militarized election was not just a political result; it was a moral uprising, the people’s collective refusal to be silenced.
Today, Yahaya Bello’s so-called dynasty lies in ruins. His once-intimidating network has fragmented, and his influence dissolved with the expiry of immunity. Godfathers rule through fear; leaders inspire through faith. Bello inherited power; Ajaka earned it. Bello’s politics was rooted in coercion; Ajaka’s rests on conviction.
The 2023 governorship election was more than a contest, it was a referendum on leadership, truth, and conscience. Ajaka did not just contest; he redefined what it means to stand for something in a climate of fear. He turned defiance into dignity and opposition into a movement.
No propaganda can erase that truth. History will not remember Alhaji Yakubu Murtala Ajaka as a candidate who lost an election, but as the man who restored the moral compass of Kogi politics, the leader who proved that, in the end, the people always outlive the power of their oppressors.
– Yusuf, M.A writes from Kogi state.
