Some of my Igala brothers were making fun of some APC aspirants from Kogi East last week, saying Igalas are now going to Okene to seek power. They say a proud Igala man cannot go to bend the knee in Okene.
I have never seen a race that enjoys pointing accusing fingers at others without taking responsibility their (our) own self sabotaging strategy. We blame everyone but ourselves even though the post Democracy Igala Elite were the architect of today’s reality.
Kogi was governed by Prince Abubakar Audu of blessed memory when Nigeria attained Democracy in 1999. He was in power from 1999 to 2003.
In 2003, the jealous-conniving Igala elites teamed up with themselves to remove Prince Audu from power, on the ire of “He is too proud”, even though you can barely find Igala men without what they accused others. He ran under the platform of All Nigeria’s People Party, ANPP.
The sentry of Igala elite who wanted to seize power, connived with former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar who wanted to extend his political control across North Central because of his ambition to take over from his boss, rigged the PDP into power in Kogi State.
Audu’s ANPP was sacked.
PDP took foothold in Kogi State with former Governor Ibrahim Idris, AKA, baba Kogi produced his successor then became the Supreme Leader, with Governor Idris Wada the Leader of the party in the state.
A full godfather was installed in Kogi State via the succession plan of Gov Idris Ibrahim.
When PDP started.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar who wanted to extend his control in North Central in furtherance of his ambition to take over from Former President Olusegun Obasanjo; presented an opportunity for the self serving Igala elites to tie a propagandist gang-up against the incumbent Prince Abubakar Audu of blessed memory. The Maurice Iwu INEC helped them rigged ANPP out of power even though by popularity, many locals have said Prince Audu won the election. This paragraph is a repetition for emphasis sack.
What followed was a mismanagement of succession plan. Gov Ibro picked Jibrin Isah Echocho as party candidate after primaries had been conducted and won. Feelers strolled in that the party Candidate’s daughter was posed to marry the son of his arc political rival and the man he removed from power, Prince Abubakar Audu. His son Prince Shaibu Abubakar who is also the current Minister of Steel from Kogi State, found a suitor in the home of the man he has anointed as the flag bearer of the party after himself.
In a haze of hasty decision and loyalty-insecurity of Baba Kogi, the primaries were dissolved and another candidate who later became Governor Idris Wada emerged from nowhere and became everywhere.
This reality further polarized the togetherness of the Igala Elite as they all felt Former Governor Ibro had become too powerful, making decisions alone. Hence, a Crack of wall in their psychology took foothold.
As politics developed at the National Level, the Igala elite stayed idle. They seldom got involved with national politics beyond running for Governorship every year.
It took a Prince Abubakar Audu to break into the center. Build alliances up to the ladder of Nigeria’s current President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Audu, a loyal member of his ANPP joined the merger in 2015 which formed the All Progressives Congress, APC.
In 2016, Audu had become the leader of the APC in the state. Asiwaju who also funded the elections alongside Prince Audu in the state nominated his political protégé who was a lawmaker in Lagos but originally from Ijumu, Kogi State, to run as Deputy to Prince Audu.
The proliferation of Igalas with multiple interests in the APC also led to the division of Igala votes as the other ethnic groups from different Senatorial District came close with Prince Audu only winning with a bit over thousand vote, with Ebira Born Alhaji Yahaya Bello coming second with over 700 votes in the primaries. In his case, if his brothers from Ebira Land did not also contest the primaries with some amassing 400 votes each, a collapse of their votes into Yahaya Bello’s and the multiple interest aspirants of Igala extraction who chopped into Audu votes that benefitted other ethnic groups, Alhaji Yahaya Bello would have won the APC primaries.
Post APC.
The Igala elites remained in the decaying and dead People’s Democratic party. They genuflected for a leader who saw more of his children as his achievements than joining the national politics to root the Igala nation in the comity of nations. The former Governor failed to participate in the 2019 elections because his own son lost the ticket. It is a reality. Aging fast, he also left no successor.
Leadership vacuum strolled in. The previous was self serving.
Enters Governor Yahaya Bello.
He ruled. Empowered his men. Produced his successor just like Gov Ibro. Before he left his final term, he made giant leap to plant the Ebira Nation in National Politics by launching his Presidential ambition which he saw to the end in the APC primaries. He lost but became a household name in Nigeria and stretching his muscle to plant many Ebiras in the national scheme of affairs.
As the Yoruba Okuns kept looking for power in the state, they were into strategic alliances- shifting at the state and also the national level.
For instance, their influence in the state at the national level, currently is their strategic alignment with the Asiwaju aspiration before any other ethnic group in Kogi State. Many Okuns were elevated nationally. They have their elites pulling strings of national politics.
The Ebiras are with the Governorship, grown their political sophistication. Put money, influence and empowerment into the pockets of their political opinion drivers for years.
The reality is here.
The Ebiras took power with the APC. The former Governor is not defecting to political parties or breaking the unity in his domain. His successor is maintaining peace and adequate loyalty to his predecessor because of the grand master plan of planting Ebiras strategically, locally and nationally.
What are the Igalas currently doing?
After fall outs of negotiations. An Igala man pulled into another party in Igala land, weaponizing ethnicity as a campaign tool, failing in tact and wisdom to win other ethnic groups in Kogi State due to electoral processes now different from when Igalas held power, but now a product of strategic lobbying and horse trading. They put pride of majority even without unity, as a card. Elections came and gone. Only Igalas voted for themselves.
Those who stayed in one party then were demonized and branded ethnic-betrayals. These are individuals who were prophetic visionaries who saw that power returning to Igala land would be run by alliance and strategic lobbying.
Those who championed the Igala project who were only selfish in their ambitions, leaving lies and confusion as the spoil of election from Igala land have soon returned to the ruling APC and sent their political errand signals to the ADC. Before the coming of the ADC, few Igala elites saw the political future to align. They stayed docile. An Okun man went into the movement and stole the show. His name is Senator Dino Melaye.
As the Igalas emptied the PDP in Igala land to rent into their lack of political masterplan, dividing themselves into multiple parties, using many deceptive narratives to deceive the Igala proletariat, one Ebira daughter, Barr. Sen. Natasha Akpoti- Uduaghan stayed, funded the party and became the life of it. In a strategic shift, she installed the PDP leadership in the state.
In 2026, she has aligned with the current owner of PDP at the national, Barr Nyesom Wike. By extension of being the highest political office holder in PDP currently in Kogi State and her funding of the party, she has in spirit assumed the Leadership of the party in the state.
Follow the story;
APC is controlled by Ebiras in the state.
PDP is controlled by Ebiras in the state.
ADC is controlled by the Yoruba Okuns in Kogi State.
Which party do Igalas control? SDP? Their former Governorship candidate has decamped to the APC. He even went by night. The party Echelon have all deserted the party and inserted themselves into APC, PDP and ADC. The SDP which was a reincarnation of the Achema philosophy which made Prince Audu win in 2003 was a tablet of scam sold by the emerged Igala elites.
As they played their own cards like people above everyone and a larger than life demeanor, none have blamed and taken responsibility with a view to play the politics the right way.
They have started attacking their brothers for going to Okene to bend the knee.
To the chagrin, whilst they focused on illiterate politics, attacking their brothers and sisters, in reality, everyone seeking power and ticket must lobby those who control it.
Under APC, you must go to Okene to bow.
Under PDP, you must go to Okehi to bow.
Under ADC, you must go to Ijumu to bow.
If you dont like to bow, bend the knee. If you cant bend the knee, take your empty arrogance, pride and lack of responsibility to social media. Become ALL Good Governance Advocates and Comrades. Maybe if you fake it too long, you may make it.
For now, allow everyone to bend their knee in peace in Okene, Okehi and Ijumu.
If they ask you why, ask them, “what did you old people leave as legacy”?
My name is Promise Ojonugwa Emmanuel. I am an Igala Boy who is bowing to supreme politics. If you think I am too stubborn, call me Kogi Rebel.
– Promise Ojonugwa Emmanuel (Kogi Rebel)
Prodigypromise.emmanuel@gmail.com
