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To the people of Lokoja-Kogi (Koton Karfe) federal constituency, I want to use this platform to appreciate your resilience and doggedness in the quest to support the family of Hon. Buba to reclaim the mandate freely given to him by the people.
As we enter the last lap of the marathon “Bye Election”, my earnest prayers is that our collective efforts will not be in vain.
My special salutation goes to our amiable stakeholders who against all odds has remained steadfast and committed to the sustenance of the ideals of the hero of our struggle Hon Buba Jibril. May almighty Allah grant his illustrious soul Aljannatul firdaus.
Sirs/Mas, it is very distraughtful that after going through the very tedious and rigorous electioneering process in 2015 by Hon Buba, and successfully getting the mandate of the people, the family should be considered for the sake of posterity and in spirit of brotherhood. the ticket shouldn’t be arm twisted given to a person that is strange to the people. Recall vividly that in that electioneering process by the late Hon Buba, there was massive deployment of men and women to canvas and solicit for votes throughout the nooks and crannies of the constituency. Heavy resources were also employed to get this victory with him and his family.
It is a political tradition and now a matter of common knowledge that the government of kogi state and the People of Lokoja Koto federal constituency should take a clue from the precedence of 2003 of late speaker of kogi State house of assembly Hon Saba where after his demise was replace with his imidiate brother.
During the era of Gov Ibrahim Idris, a serving member of Kogi House of Assembly from Okene, Hon. Onusagba who died was also replaced by one of his imidiate family member.
Similarly, an Osun state senator who died last year, after much deliberation the family was considered and a member of his immediate family replaced him.
With the above precedence, I find solace in the proverbial saying that “What is good for the goose is good for the gander.”
Having watched from side line for quite some time, I have decided to lean my voice to political lingering in my dear Kogi state and Lokoja koto federal constituency in particular. However I am not going to be political in my approach for the single fact that I do not grow up to see lokoja koto federal constituency being political in even political issues. We are straight forward, blunt, religious and moral defined every of our action.
The cold hand of death that snatched Hon. Umar Buba Jibril from our mist remained a master stroke in the political equation. Such is life! May his gentle soul continue to rest in the bossom of Allah.
The renew calling for reconciliation in the APC of Kogi state is still very much in the right direction. I can still remember when this same calling was the main topic of discussion before the death of Hon. Buba but some people within and outside Governor bello’s cabinet whose only source of relevant is the continue chaos in Kogi state APC thwart the effort. If after Buba’s death, the calling has resurfaced as occasioned by the recent failed in the effort to recall senator Dino Melaye, then we are back to the right track.
Buba is a house hold name in Lokoja and has in his over 15 years political reign served his people. From ordinary man on the street to the big man in the castle, we are all witness. In his political days, he had moved from one political party to the others. From PDP to CPC to APC (A political party merger of CPC and others) and at every time he contested under these platforms and won the elections. One very interesting thing in this man political journey is that while his political allies keep changing every four (4) years, the ordinary people of Lokoja and koton-karfe remained with him irrespective of his new found political allies or party.
For any person or group of persons to lay claim to have been the source or the engine room to the political success of Buba, is a pure lie from the pit of heal. Some of these people are one time political allies and later become political foes or political foes and later become political allies and at no time, either as political allies or political foes, could they stop the man from winning an election. Almighty God and the ordinary people of Lokoja and Koton-Karfe with the support of his family and his family philanthropic track record has been the secret of Buba’s uncommon success.
Besides these, Buba himself was an achiever; the peoples man. He is always in touch with his constituents. While most of his type or colleagues completely relocated to Abuja, only to be seen during re-election period, there is no week that passes without Buba in Lokoja to attend to his people. He often sits on the same mat at his Oando filling station in Lokoja almost every weekend to chat, eat pea nuts, kola nuts etc with members of his constituency irrespective of class I particularly had sighted him on several occasions at that location, and am thrilled. His projects are too numerous that time and space will not allow me to join you in naming them. In his life time, he empowered our youths and women. From cars to motorcycles to sewing machine to grinding machine to sinking of boreholes to provision of fishing equipment to provision of farm inputs to awarding of scholarship to payment of WAEC/NECO fees to medical outreach. From building of blocks of classrooms across various schools to building of modern fish market to extension of electricity and buying and installation of transformers to training of his constituents on usage of computer and distribution of computers to construction of roads and drainage to construction medical centre which is still ongoing even after his death; Buba has done much for us all.
Those one time political allies who later become political foes or political foes who later become political allies of Buba it is time to show compassion. Buba in his life time has fought tooth and nail to get some of us in the party structure as exco, some of political position, some of us political appointment or and contracts. Who in Lokoja and Koton-karfe will say Buba has not touched his/her life directly or indirectly, none; for at least, he had helped you or your love-one at time of need in grief or in joy. We all know Buba well as a man who loved his people with all passion. Except God, we may never see his type in the political history of Lokoja/koto. May God Almighty have mercy on his soul and forgive his shortcoming for no man with sin (Amin).
The skimming that accompanies his death is usual for any political office holder. The vacant seat of the late icon needs to be filled in the next few weeks from now. Many forces have emerged in the struggle to fill the vacant seat. While those in the ruling party (APC) are struggling to get the attention of the governor, those in the opposition party are waiting in the wing for the governor to make a ‘wrong’ choice before they make public who will take on APC. Like in the football match, the underdog is arms with counter-attack tactics. We may pretend or chose not to say anything concerning the family of late Buba (After all, someone even told me that it is not inheritance) but it is now in public knowledge that Buba’s family has shown interest in the vacant post.
As a proper Lokoja-man and as I observed earlier, I am not going to be political in my approach for the single fact that I do not grow up to see lokoja/koton being political even in political issues.We are straight forward, blunt, religious and moral defined every of our action. The interest shown by Buba’s family is not alien to our political history and democracy. While there is no need to start mentioning names, It is common knowledge to almost every kogities that Hon. Buba himself stood for some families in a similar situation like this. These family members that succeeded them are the most competent and most skillful politician in their various constituency but the constituents and the political gladiators shaved their swords and allow moral to define their action.This understanding is not limited to Kogi state. It is common practices in all part of the country; from East to West and from North to South.
The majority of Lokoja/Koto are watching. They may not speak but posterity will not be favourable to those who are skimming and using all the tricks in the political book to swing things. We will all die someday and it will be the duty of those living to ensure that what is due to our family legally or and morally is given to them. I am calling all our leaders in Lokoja and Koton not to allow an individual or group of people to misguide us. Privileges are not rights but when privilege has been extended to others, it becomes discrimination when you denied the other person. FOR WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER.
Whoever among us that thinks he/she has what it takes to represent Lokoja/Koton federal constituency should wait for 2019. The people of Lokoja/Koton are not catch in the proverbial say ‘eat and clean mouth’ ; we are not betrayals.
The APC must at all cost do the needful in this coming by-election. It will be awkward that in a state where we have the youngest Governor in the country, some people are bent into discriminating against people base on age and gender. NO ! we can not allow that. As long as these members of Buba family satisfied the required age by the constitution and the electoral act and there is no need for anyone to start inventing his/her own age requirement or discriminating on gender basis. We are all one.
I call on APC to do the needful and the Buba political allies should be in the for front in this clarion call. The majority of Lokoja/Koton are silent but they are not unaware. PDP and other opposition parties and agrief members of the APC in the state are silently waiting too for APC to choose a candidate outside the known norm and you will see full fledge politics. But if it the known norm that is allowed, we are all going out irrespective of our religions and political parties to say thank you to late Buba.
Lastly and most importantly, let us intensify our prayers and supplications to almighty God in our different Faiths. There is nothing difficult for God to do.
God bless you all.
By a Concerned Constituent
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