The figures of electoral register being bandied about to promote the ethic and divisive Igala Agenda by some selfish proponents of their own interests, hiding under the guise of Igala Agenda. History is always a record for us to revisit.
In the 2011 Presidential Elections, an ethnic minority from Ijaw, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan ran a race that all electoral figures pitched against his candidacy, however, the will of the people prevailed against all petty projections.
Also, the same year, the current Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomole who is from an ethnic minority in Edo State was pitched against Nigeria’s popular electoral magician, “Mr Fix It”, who is Tony Anenih and the age long Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, along with the ANPP making the number. ACN, which was the party Comrade Adams ran on was an underdog in the contest. Comrade Adams Oshiomole had the conspiracy of ethnic number, experience election riggers, tiger weight politicians in the stock of Tony Anenih strongly against his electoral chances, also, the center was also that of the People’s Democratic Party, which came with Federal might, however, his ability to meander across the various interest groups and party flagation in Edo state gave him the victory for the second term in office.
Bringing this home to Kogi state, Governor Yahaya Bello was an underdog, penultimate to his primary runner up victory in 2016. As a youth, he was undermined.
As a non-ethnic majority in the state, he was underrated. He however went on to emerge as the first runner up to late Prince Audu with most of his votes coming from Igala land even more than his own ethnic Ebira divide which Sanusi Gamji and Sen. Nurudeen Abatemi with a cumulative of 707 was used to divide the votes of Bello, whilst the current Governor emerged with 703 votes which if added together as a block vote from Central would have given victory to Yahaya Bello on a 1,410 votes as against late Audu’s 1,161 votes.
To the consternation of the proponents of Igala Agenda because they have numbers, they forget that politics is subject to party affiliation, measure of good governance and demands of various interest groups.
In the area of party affiliation, the APC Kogi State recorded a 92% victory across board in the 2019 elections, coasting home with 2/3 Senatorial Seats, 7/9 House of Representative Seats and 25/25 Assembly seats.
In the case of Comrade Oshiomole, the ACN won 1/3 Senatorial districts, 7/9 House of Reps and 19/24 out of the Assembly Seats, recording a total of 79%.
In the case of Comrade, PDP was the party at the center who militarized the election along with Federal might.
In the case of Governor Bello, the party at the center is the APC along with Kogi being an APC State, with power of incumbency as an added advantage. How can the dummy of ethnic agenda be sold to the party Chairman, Comrade Oshiomole who is a first hand victim of minority belonging and victory of electoral success regardless of number politics?
Interestingly, the dynamics in that of Kogi places the APC in a more advantageous position. PDP is a dead party in the state. The PDP had always had their strong hold in Kogi East with all their governors emanating from this Senatorial district but were unable to win a single seat for the party in Kogi East in the last election which the APC and Governor Bello scored 100%.
This has given the party a sole majority. The various elected officials have thousands of followers and structures. These structures find consolidation in Party loyalty and the grease that made it possible for them to emerge.
Would these people all move their supporters to vote for those who did not support them during the elections because of a particular person who speaks a certain language? Highly laughable.
It is also on record, the only political party that has consolidated its grip across the state after PDP lost power in 2016 has been the APC which is the ruling party. Others retired with their loots abandoning most of their party faithful whom have now been absorbed by the incumbent party.
On the side of Governance, especially in Kogi East, some of the road infrastructure like the Okpo/Ibana/Ikeje/Ogugu/Etteh road at about 75% completion rate is a road project that has never ran across Kogi East in such stretch. The block voting stretch of Ankpa has the Ankpa Township road in completion. From Ofu, you find the Umomi/Ajaka/Idah road which crosses into two local government areas nearing completion.
In Dekina, the largest local government area, APC scored 100% in the last election. These communities have various water projects as motorized boreholes sunk.
Dekina also houses the village of the immediate past Governor of Kogi state, Capt. Idris Wada, whose village had never witnessed electricity in their lives, safe for the current APC Government lighting up that community.
Comparatively, the immediate PDP’s Government in comparison to the current APC Government in projects executed and ongoing is like 1/10 if you compare Wada to Bello.
Shattering the glass ceiling, Local Government areas like Bassa have also been complaining of marginalization by the most populated ethnic group in the region. They have formed aligned which surpasses any ethnic agenda for development agenda. In other instances, the lack of refined characters occupying offices through PDP in the past has made it easier for people to desert them into a new camp.
In the case of Bello, Kogi Central is on lockdown. Kogi West with places as Lokoja-Koto federal constituency, which has the highest voting bloc in the entire Kogi West, is under the grips of APC. In Kogi East, statutorily, some local government areas are by nature in the clubs of Gov Bello without any shakes.
Capping this all, after the death of Prince Abubakar Audu, the name on the ballot paper for the supplementary elections was Alhaji Yahaya Eleojo Adoza Bello.
According to the results declared by Mr. Kucha, Vice Chancellor, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, the APC garnered 6,885 votes in the supplementary election, bringing the total votes it received to 247,752, having polled 240,857 in the November 21 election which by implication is a majority garnered from Igala land, the largest voting block in the state.
A breakdown shows: Dekina LGA (29 polling units across 7 wards), Registered voters of 17,558, Accredited voters of 4991: APC 2178 and PDP 1999. This is a victory for the APC in an incumbent center structure and state structure with Yahaya Bello’s name on the ballot.
In the place of ethnic agenda, competency, vision, good governance, party supremacy and association rules above the ambiguous tablet of ethnic or Igala agenda which in itself has elements of Dekina agenda, Idah Agenda, Olamaboro Agenda, Ankpa Agenda, etc, which is a deliberate ploy that exposes the intention of the ethnic divisive elements that hides behind ethnic agenda to launder their own interests in the rubble of Igala Agenda.
It is on record, for 20 years of governance in Kogi state, the Igalas have tasted it. Those who ruled over the state used that to hold on to power, albeit unfavorable to the Igala nation because the highest number of misery reigns in Igala land amongst other ethnic nationalities within the state, also, 90% of the entire Igala land is in perpetual darkness. No rural electrification to power up the community to stimulate economic and social activities. The youths were also employed into perpetual thuggery and merchants of political “omawedes”. This is what Gov Bello has broken through in his first 4 years of governance, as 75% of his cabinet are youths.
The leadership of the APC within the state are also youths, retiring the old hags who think power is their constitutional rights. Conclusively, the youths are in the larger population of the state, there is also a trickle down of interests in that regard. Except perhaps for ignorance, no youth would support power going back to the old elites who have been recycling themselves and their children in power for years.
Is it Igala Agenda or Igala Youths Agenda? Time shall tell.
IYA Wa Dé.
– Promise Emmanuel writes for the Youths. He is popularly known as Kogi Rebel.
