Before the advent of the New Direction Polity, the narratives of Kogi State as a dirty, undeveloped and disorganized State is not a fabrication of chronicles.
Kogites were very much accustomed to defective roads, polluted environments, foul stench, unhygienic culverts, periodic disease outbreaks, messy markets & roads, damaged street lights, unavailability of traffic lights and many more sordid enumerations. In fact, travelers on various transits across the nation, who are unmindful of signboards/banners often recognize that their buses have arrived Lokoja by the colossal refuse dumps they see at various entryways in the state. Unfortunately, the clumsy and dirty environment was Kogi state’s hallmark.
The state was also overlayed with underdevelopment, we lacked pleasant roads, the youths were without jobs, renovations and structural improvements was not present, Kogi transportation was at its infancy, sources of generating revenues were abandoned, there were no goals put in place to ensure sustainable development, the advanced diagnosis centre was deserted…the state was just functioning without a scheme or layout.
Disorganization riddled everywhere, tribalism was at its peak, unequal distribution of appointments was predominant; certain people “owned” the state, there was bias and favoritism in many institutions, drug users were arrested & beaten & not rehabilitated…in fact it was on this note that a visiting lecturer in my varsity days remarked that kogi state is a “sinking ship”.
Concerned citizens and development enthusiasts like myself have spent numerous hours discussing on various platforms and social media’s on how Kogi state can move forward, but many of these group discussions ended up in the junkyard because majority of the youths & Natives were inclined to tribal sentiments, there was no pure reason, everyone rooted for their tribes rather than the progress of Kogi State. Prejudice and bias thrived on Kogi’s soil more than any farm produce.
Then suddenly, upon divine intervention, a new dawn befell us, the leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello arrived and Kogi state turned a new leaf for the best. But what is really spectacular about Governor Yahaya Bello’s leadership and what is his New Direction Government about? His popular appellation includes ‘the White Lion’ and ‘Fair Plus’ which in my opinion corresponds perfectly with his charisma. We all can imagine a white lion as a brave creature with a unique white fur, its white fur symbolises purity and transparency because it is white in color and when something is white in color, it is clear and transparent, it has no camouflage or false appearance, there are no deceptions or cover up, what you see is what it is…this is very much who His Excellency Governor Yahaya Bello is. He is not a man of shady and unscrupulous conduct, corruption is NOT in his résumé. He has no ties to lawlessness and iniquity, he is a governor whose archives are squeaky clean and importantly, he is Fair, he is not biased, he is not sentimental or preferential, he deals with everyone evenly, he is the intervention Kogi state needed to eradicate the menace of tribalism and we are more than glad that his leadership is here to stay.
The way he has carried along every tribe in the state through talent hunts, political appointments and youth empowerment programs etc is remarkable, no ethnic group in the state feels like an insignificant minority anymore, everyone matters in this administration of GYB, he has successfully established a strong sense of oneness amongst Kogites and rescued Kogi state from the shackles of bias and favoritism.
Evidently, Kogi State no longer operates without a schema, His Excellency has set goals which will ensure sustainable development & has achieved a handful of these goals in little time, we have well constructed roads, Kogites no longer cover their noses when in the markets, the culverts now serve their drainage purposes because they are no longer filled with dirt and debris, Kogites now see in the dark because street lights are now properly installed, we have proper traffic regulations, refuse are now appropriately disposed such that they can no longer constitute a health hazard, cleanliness is now the government of the day.
The jobless youths are employed and paid through vigilante commissions, cleaning services, SDG programs etc, a revenue headquarters has been built & its zonal offices refurbished, the deserted Advanced Diagnosis Centre have been completed, primary health care centres have been renovated and various hospital equipments provided to hospitals so as to ensure a healthy populace, Kogi transport system has been restored and given a new look; buses were purchased, Agriculture is on the spotlight, there is equal distribution of appointments, drug users now have a rehabilitation home… overall, this government is working.
The results of the New Direction Government is boundless and cannot be captured by my two paged writing. This writing only seeks to affirm the fact that a once “sinking ship” is back on board, stronger & more reinforced than ever before and is sailing smoothly to progress.
There is something that the renowned Author, Jaachynma N.E. Agu, said in her book entitled ‘The Prince and The Pauper’ that is very imperative for this leadership. She wrote “Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important.” The New Direction Government is here to do the needful and not here to listen to folks clamour/dictates on how they think Kogi State should be governed, because the world is changed by actions and not opinions.
Therefore, the current administration cannot afford to rely on popular opinions as a script for directing social welfare in the State, concerned kogites are interested in the manifestation of sustainable developmental goals and not in bootless propositions put forward by cynics. We are in a different place now than where we used to be, we have a clean, wholesome and blossoming Kogi State, we have undeniably, broken a new ground and Kogites are joyful its flourishing.
– Usman Kaka Hadiza
