“Power corrupts and an absolute power corrupts absolutely”, as shown in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Nothing can be more true than the above statement in relation to Okehi Local Government (LG) administration in the past few months under Abdulraheem Ohiare. Thanks to democracy, a system of government with provisions for checks and balances to the activities of every arm and tiers of government. Thus it could be said that absolute power do not really exist in a democratic setting though delays in carrying out necessary sanctions by constituted authorities could spell doom (absolute corruption) for the subjects of a wicked leader such as in the case of Okehi under Mr Abdulraheem Ohiare.
After the seemed-endless languish over unmerited and avoidable pains meted out to the people of Okehi Local Government Area (LGA) by Ohiare’s maladministration, on the 3rd of October, 2016, the people received, with sigh of relief and jubilation, the news of the suspension of their so called administrator along with 4 other LG administrators by Kogi State House of Assembly (KSHA) in a unanimous resolution on issues of financial misappropriation and gross misconduct. Okehi people see this as an act of the Almighty God who has decided to grant their prayers by removing the plague of a leader in the person of Abdulraheem Ohiare.
This rookie caretaker chairman whose ascendancy to power could best be described by the title of Gov. Ahmad Nasir El-rufai’s popular book, “The Accidental Public Servant” comes to mind for nothing good except when typical examples of corruption are required. Prior to his assumption of office, he had no track record of good leadership traits nor has ever held any public position of trust but emerged solely on the wings of ‘connection’ to the powers in the good graces of the Lugard House. What does it matter to Okehians that he’s inexperienced had he conducted himself in the best principles of excellent service to the good people of Okehi LGA?
Unfortunately, he missed the opportunity to write his name in gold among previous leaders of Okehi LGA when he went spending, in sheer extravagance with disregard for due process, the scarce resources of the people whose lives he has made a living hell by paying workers only a meager fraction of their salaries and refusal to provide basic amenities that could better the life of the people. Okehi people have never had it this bad from a leader until Mr Abdulraheem Ohiare, the spendthrift.
Let me briefly cast a spotlight on specific misdeeds of Mr Ohiare that would tell why his suspension was justifiable, even long over-due:
The love for expensive cars has consumed our young administrator! It is said that those whom the gods have helped to crack his kernel should be humble; alas Mr Ohiare, who had no car prior to assumption of office, has totally lost control of his inordinate quest for the latest expensive cars as he now owns a fleet of them in his newly built house, all with the LG’s money. He has likewise bought brand new cars for his father, siblings, wife and concubines.
His penchant for nepotism knows no limit as he went further to illegally include his father, wive, siblings and cronies in the local government pay roll and pays them between N150,000 to N250,000 monthly for doing nothing. This is the same man who complains of insufficient funds to pay legitimate workers their full emoluments. That’s self-serving and heinous!
Mr Ohiare demonstrated again his prowess for extravagance when he embarked on a needless celebration of Okehi Founders’ Day, tagged ‘Okehi @40’ on the 3rd of September, 2016. That maiden ceremony, which observers regard as a stark tool for embezzlement, was alleged to have gulped a whopping sum of 50 million Naira from the LG’s lean purse. The money would have otherwise sufficed to pay five hundred LG workers their complete salary for five months at twenty thousand Naira each. What a wasteful spending in this moment of severe recession!
‘Stomach infrastructure’ is part of this interloper Ohiare’s crude tactics to lure influential members of the society into supporting his selfishly wicked ambition. Notable to mention in this category is the distribution of 80 rams (ostensibly bought at N100,000 each) during the last Eid-el-kabir to traditional rulers and political leaders who in their personal capacities could afford one. That sums up to eight million Naira unsolicited ‘bribe’; meanwhile majority of his subjects couldn’t afford one-square modest meal for the same Salah celebration.
Worse still, Mr Ohiare has championed the reawakening of the long-dead cult of political thuggery in Ebira land. He now parades the town with a well organized and heavily sponsored gangster led by the notorious Ihima gunman, Lukman a.k.a. Commander, to intimidate and brutalize his political opponents, including his party men he perceive to be unsupportive of his ambition. It’s fair to say that in the thinking of Mr Ohiare, the upcoming LG election is a wartime and he’s preparing to spill as much blood as possible to retain his position as Okehi LG boss.
Need I mention how he unjustly sacked Barrister Ochavara, his former Special Adviser on Legal Matters? The only sin of the urbane Barrister Ochavara was his genuine efforts to broker peace among all Okehi chairmanship aspirants. One begins to wonder whether Mr Abdulraheem Ohiare has gotten so drunk with power to the extent of being allergic to peace.
While he (Ohiare) goes about spending the scarce resources of Okehi LG for self aggrandizement, nothing visible has been done to improve the lots of the people whose welfare should ideally be his primary preoccupation.
This is just a tip of the iceberg. I could go on till eternity to itemize the countless asininities of the dishonorable Abdulraheem Ohiare, but I will stop here for want of space. More shocking details would be unearthed if the investigative panel set up by the KSHA is allowed to do their job without interference.
In less than five months in office, Mr Ohiare already has his hands deeply soiled with all forms of malpractices. One can only imagine what he would do if elected again as the executive chairman of Okehi local government. That would be the worst in the series of sad tales of Okehi people. God save Okehians he doesn’t sell off all that is left of the LG assets in addition to the monthly allocations to fund his spending spree, typical of a bipolar disorder.
Edmund Burke once said: “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”. Every Okehi citizen has the responsibility of standing up for their rights and reject, by every possible means especially with their voter card, Mr Ohiare and the corrupt leadership he represents. To the best of my knowledge, Okehians haven’t done anything so wrong and deserving of punishment with a draconian administrator; they deserve a selfless servant-leader who is sensitive to the plights of the people.
Kogi state state governor, His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, should please spare a little time from his busy schedules to supervise the activities of the local government administrators he appointed. Just as the governor takes glory in the excellent performance of the LG administrators, their failures at the grassroots would cripple the New Direction agenda he’s labouring so hard to chart in the material terms.
– Isah Omeiza Jamil is a Political analyst and social critic based in Ihima, Okehi L.G.A., Kogi state.
