To begin with, All Progressives Congress (APC) actions or inaction since 2015 when the present leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello (GYB) inherited the electoral fortune of Prince Abubakar Audu of blessed memory has been less credible and given the ineptitude and failure of leadership of the famed young governor, who came to political limelight as a result of the sudden death of Prince Abubakar Audu, who was coasting to victory in the beleaguered election that was declared inconclusive at first poll.
Yahaya Bello was given the candidacy of the party because he took second in the primary election which produced the late political icon, Prince Abubakar Audu.
Even though, the nomination and subsequent election of Yahaya Bello was challenged by Hon. Abiodun Faleke, the running mate to Prince Abubakar Audu and Captain Idris Wada of the People Democratic Party (PDP) and the former governor of the State. The emergence of Yahaya Bello, a young man of Ebira ethnic group evoked positive reactions and was seen as a good omen in some political circle for many reasons.
Indeed, though Prince Abubakar Audu of blessed memory, an Igala man from Kogi East was the real owner of the mandate, the party in its own wisdom fashioned out away to install GYB, using his status as a runner up in the primary election that had earlier produced late Prince Abubakar Audu.
We must state that Yahaya Bello took second because APC delegates from Kogi East, the Igala speaking Senatorial District of the State gave him their votes. A political Juggernaut, Strategist and Rights Activist, Dr. Yakubu Ugwolawo, an Igala man mobilized for him after taking him round Kogi East, where he met the people at the grassroots and opinion molders prior to the 2015 primary election.
Yahaya Bello got 709 votes out of which, 407 of the votes that he scored in that primary election was of the delegates of Kogi East Senatorial District. Yahaya Bello never got up to 100 votes from Kogi Central Senatorial District which constitutes the Ebira ethnic group where he comes from. When he became the governor, he betrayed the delegates and abandoned most of them to their fate.
It is pertinent to mention here that the support that All Progressives Congress got from Kogi East, the Igala speaking area of the State made it possible for President Muhammadu Buhari and APC to win Kogi State. The political sagacity and aura of Prince Abubakar Audu and James Ocholi, both of blessed memory, encouraged and mobilised many Igala people to identify with the party, making it possible to upstage the PDP, which has ever been predominant in the State.
The Igala people who embraced the APC and became bereaved after the death of their two illustrious sons, and founding members of the party became very irrelevant and were not considered for appointments both at the State and Federal levels.
Truly, GYB ensured that the Igala who were permanent secretaries were removed and replaced with Ebira upon assumption of office. At the moment, the Igala people have no commensurate place in the Kogi State government, apart from the lazy power monger and the extremely ambitious man who thinks less of the interest of the Igala land and the entire people of the State, the Chief of Staff to Yahaya Bello, Edward Onoja who is said to hold the but astoundingly under his own nose, Governor Yahaya Bello is marginalizing the Igala people.
Today, in Kogi State where the Igala constitute over 50% of the population, they are not considered for positions like the Head of Service, The Secretary to the State Government, the Chief Judge, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, the Commissioner for Finance, Commissioner for Works, Commissioner for Agriculture, Commissioner for Health, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Commissioner for Education; none of them is an Igala man or a woman.
How does one expect Governor Yahaya Bello to be popular in the State when the Igala ethnic group, who are the majority are overwhelmingly marginalized, treated with disdain and contempt, whittling the influence of the Igala people, who are in absolute majority and are the true deciders of who wins an election in the State is a political suicide.
Edward Onoja has failed to represent Igala people adequately and instead of covering his head with shame, he still has the effrontery to call himself the political leader of the people of Kogi East, bragging as if he has truly assumed a political height that makes him the leader of APC in Kogi East.
A situation where the Igala people are short-changed and politically annihilated seems to be the political end game of Governor Yahaya Bello against the Igala people. It is a task and day dream that would prove insurmountable for him and his conspirators to dwarf the legitimacy of Igala people in Kogi State in terms of superior population.
Governor Yahaya Bello rose to political prominence through the Igala delegates that voted for him during the 2015 primary election, but he decided to undermine them and play to the political gallery. What an error and political suicide?
At the federal level of governance, Prof. Stephen Ocheni became a Minister of State for Labour and Productivity after the death of Barr. James Ocholi (SAN). The Professor, who had served in many capacities as a public servant, went back to the classroom before the appointment, he became extremely possessed with power and everything he does and thinks was at the beckon of Governor Yahaya Bello and Edward Onoja. He betrayed the Igala people despite the opportunities bestowed on him over time.
It is expedient to say that the present Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hajiya (Dr.) Ramatu Tijani is from Kogi West. They had been no Igala person as a Permanent Secretary since Chief Robert Audu exited in 2007. The Igala people are treated unfairly by the leadership of All Progressives Congress, even though they are very hard-working and diligent group among the ethnic nationalities in North Central Nigeria, they have truly been peaceful and committed to the Nigeria’s nationhood.
Many reasons have been adduced as responsible for the political misfortune of the Igala people in the Nigerian polity but more recently, opinion is tilted to the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari and Prince Abubakar Audu never belonged to the same political camp and that even when the late governor was a member of All Peoples Party which later became All Nigeria Peoples Party, (ANPP), he never believed in President Muhammadu Buhari and indeed worked for the emergence of Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso to fly the flag of All Progressives Congress at the Lagos convention in 2015. However, if the president has political differences under the same party and the same person is no longer alive, should revenge be visited on the late politician kith and kin?
Upon the untimely death of James Ocholi, nobody from his political family has clearly benefited from the APC led government.
In the same vein, Prince AbubakarAudu’s family and his political dynasty is left out. The Director-General of Audu/Faleke Campaign Organisation, my kinsman, Prof. Dan Isah, Alhaji Ibrahim Isah Liberty among others, were shut out of GYB’s administration despite their contributions to APC’s victory in 2015. They were not compensated in any way. However, it remain to be seen if Hon Abiodun Faleke, a staunch member of the late Abubakar Audu’s political dynasty has not been settled by GYB’s large purse, as he recently called on the people of his constituency in Kogi State to vote for Yahaya Bello for second term.
Hon. Faleke did not find it funny for uttering such words among the people, who have been pauperized and deprived of so much, due to bad governance. Hon Faleke is an extraordinary Nigerian politician; he is a man who belongs to two constituencies in two different States.
There is a school of thought which believes that the attempt to subjugate the Igala people of Kogi East and other ethnic minorities in the north central Nigeria has been age long and that, what Othman Dan Fodio failed to achieve during the Fulani Islamic Jihad can be attained through political suppression and alienation and that Yahaya Bello is a willing tool to do the bidding of the northern oligarchy, who would stop at nothing to dominate the minority ethnic groups politically and decide their political and economic destiny.
The Igala kingdom was not conquered by the Fulani Jihad led by Othman Danfodio in early 19th century and that Buhari as a Fulani man is not disinclined to the whole idea which some have described as modern attempt for the Islamization and Fulanisation of Nigeria.
Governor Yahaya Bello is therefore a political surrogate whose political sins of non-performance are seen as secondary for that matter. GYB who is of oblivious of the protection from high places, albeit temporary, became careless about the welfare of the people of the State and instead spent public funds recklessly and share for people he thinks can raise dissenting voice to his wicked aspiration for a second term.
The embattled State Deputy Governor, Elder Simon Achuba clearly pointed out that the GYB administration is averse to paying the wage bills of workers diligently. He is of the notion that workers can be ignored and treated the way he has been doing since he assumed office. Today, teachers and pensioners are asking for the payment of more than 30 months’ salary arrears. What a dastardly and inhuman acts by the Yahaya Bello led APC government in Kogi State?
The northern oligarchy and the APC which are bent on forcing GYB on the people of the State through federal might have a moral burden to contend with, because GYB cannot garner up to 30 percent of votes that will be cast during the 16th November, 2019 governorship election, if there is a transparent and credible election.
They must realize the fact that the political subversion and subjugation of the will of the majority of Kogi State people can only come at a price. They would have to use INEC to write fictitious results or give GYB the support to kill and maim as many Igala men, women and other Nigerians going about their legitimate businesses who are domiciled in Kogi East by committing genocidal actions.
The decision of the party to ensure that most aspirants from Kogi East were blackmailed and disqualified is an aberration to the whole concept of democracy. The immediate former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, former Director-General of National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Prof. Seidu Ogah Mohammed, Gen. Patrick Akpa (Rtd), Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Audu, Prince Mona Abubakar Audu and others were disqualified on spurious allegations.
In our recent political history, we have not seen where aspirants were politically stifled and frustrated for a non-performing governor, who is not paying salary of workers adequately and promptly. It is a contradiction that APC suspended the dictates of its party constitution because GYB is a great sponsor of the party and its activities.
What a misplaced priority!
The aspirants who were eventually cleared like, Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi, Mallam Yakubu Muhammed, Engr. D.U. Mohammed, Prince Yahaya Audu, and Hon. Hassan Baiwa Abdullahi realized that the whole primary election was stage managed by the His Excellency Abubakar Badaru-led Committee. Selected delegates were given uniform and some voted many times. Most of the delegates from Kogi East Senatorial District were not allowed to participate in the primary election. The Committee and INEC representatives brazenly wrote results and allocated more than 3, 0000 votes for GYB, made Barr. Babatunde Irukera from Kogi West Senatorial District second runner-up and Hon. Hassan Baiwa Abdullahi, a former Deputy Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly and a member representing Dekina/Bassa Federal Constituency at the National Assembly third. It was crudely and shockingly stage managed by Governor Abubakar Badaru committee and INEC to arrive at the jaded outcome.
Most delegates, especially those from Kogi East were not allowed to participate in the electoral process; in fact, the cards were already cloned with GYB’s inscription. Why? The delegates from Kogi East were deemed compromised and may not have voted for GYB because some of them have conscience and have realized long before now that the administration of GYB cannot meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people, as such, if there was a transparent primary election, GYB could have lost the primary election.
It was inglorious and a shame that APC as a party can become insensitive to the people, who are the essence of democracy and good governance. The APC primary election in Kogi State falls short of anything fairness and just and it was targeted at stopping aspirants from the Igala ethnic group.
Suffice to say that the All Progressives Congress is playing ethnic card and the implication is that if they force their will on the people of Kogi State, then, they must go genocidal to achieve this heinous feat. I do not know the number of Igala men and women that GYB and i conspirators in APC and presidency would kill in order to give him an unmerited second term.
Despite the pecuniary interest of APC and the presidency, they must realize that democracy in the real sense of it , is an expression of the political will of the majority and that is why it is often described as the tyranny of the majority. This does not mean a minority cannot ascend to power. It is possible but on good-will not on ill- will.
GYB got power on a platter of gold, as some would, it was grace that bestowed power on him but instead of acknowledging the divine providence in order to work harder to surpass the achievements of his predecessors and harp on that to build a genuine political capital base on people-centered leadership and rather he disgraced the people.
GYB was gifted with the opportunity to impress and write his name in the annals of the State political history but he has squandered it and has resorted to wasting resources accrued to the State to bribe his way, despite not paying appropriate salary to civil servants and teachers.
Paradoxically, GYB has collected over 380 billion and Kogi State has collected more bailout fund of over 56 billion more than any other state in the country. GYB is plunging the state into debt and his collaborators would stop at nothing to see him come for second term so that he can continue to lavish the public fund meant for the development of the state.
Governor Yahaya Bello and his chief strategist, Edward Onoja, who he often refer to as his brother from another mother, are two friends whose bond can be said to be intrinsically phenomenal and their mental capacity ought to have been channeled in positive endeavor to drive political governance processes for the development of the Confluence State. Alas, exuberance, a tango more often ascribed to the youths and lack of ethical conducts and behaviors geared towards elevating the socio- political and economic wellbeing of the people of the State consumed a providential political fortune which stands out in the history of Nigeria polity.
As the political drama orchestrated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) which culminated into the nomination of Governor Yahaya Bello as its candidate ahead of the November 16th governorship election in Kogi State continues, the ruling All Progressives Congress’ example is coated and riddled with political absurdity and the theatric political drama that is ensuing would ultimately define the political party in its wild goose chase for political capital at the expense of the good people of Kogi State.
The All Progressives Congress as a political party that pride itself to be the bastion of justice and fairness with the motto: Justice, Peace and Unity coupled with the fact that at the helm of affairs of the party is President Muhammadu Buhari, who is well acknowledged by many people as a man of integrity, and fondly called by many people simply calls “Mai – gaskiya”, what we have seen so far on the issue of Kogi State is a huge contradiction of the personality of Mr. President, who appears to be keeping mute on the APC‘s acts of impunity and suppression of the will of the good people of the State.
Looking at the political power game that is set to play out, it is obvious that despite the failure of this administration to meet the yearnings and aspiration of the people, Governor Yahaya Bello is bent on forcing himself on the people of Kogi State, using the patronage of the presidency, the all-powerful Governors’ Forum and the powers behind the All Progressives Congress the national leader in the person of Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu and the National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and of course the so – called members of the National Working Committee of the party (NWC).
While the rationale or better still, the fulcrum upon which the unflinching support by All Progressives Congress is hinged can be discernible considering the “performance” of the party in the state in the last general election wherein it won the 25 seats in the state House of Assembly, 7 out of 9 Houses of Representatives seats and 2 Senate seats out of 3.
The so called performance in which the party won many seats was a political travesty and charade, a product of electoral malfeasance and does not represent the reality on the ground. APC victory in Kogi East was procured through political brigandage in collusion with the security operatives.
A government that is not meeting the wage bill of the civil servants cannot be so popular to deliver the party in a free and fair contest. It is therefore sufficient to say that the All Progressives Congress as a political party has traded the governorship of Kogi State for the fact that it is sponsoring a spent force that has no political good will among the larger numbers of people in Kogi State.
Therefore, the APC leadership of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the national leader and GYB acclaimed godfathers in the presidency are faced with the moral burden either to thread the path of honour or dishonor.
On one hand, there are two options available to the APC, if they desire to choose the path of dishonor, the two dishonorable ways of political usurpation of Governor Yahaya Bello on the people of the state against their will are: firstly, by colluding with INEC to write results and disregard the votes of the Kogi State electorate.
Secondly, the second dishonorable option is the use of security operatives and political thugs for brigandage in order to change the outcome of the election in favour of APC candidate, Governor Yahaya Bello. On the other hand, the path of honour for the APC and the presidency is to ensure a free, fair and credible election to reflect the wishes of the people of Kogi State.
Conclusively, All Progressives Congress should bequeath a better legacy of electoral sanctity to Nigeria because the party is a beneficiary of a relatively credible election in 2015. We should not continue to promote electoral heist and malfeasance. The big question then is that, can All Progressives Congress and INEC allow the will of the electorate to prevail in the 16th November Governorship election in Kogi State?
There is a moral burden staring the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration which came to power on Change Mantra and has graduated to the NEXT Level of governance in his second term in office to choose the path of honor for the advancement of Nigeria’s democracy.
– Akogu Omaga Jnr
Public Affairs Commentator/Social Crusader
