Few weeks ago, I read a post on Barr. Natasha Hadiza Akpoti’s facebook timeline about the amount of solid minerals present in Kogi state. I didn’t believe her at first, I thought its another campaign strategy.
Two days later, one of my facebook friends shared the same post and it caught my attention once again.
Without hesitation, I took my phone and searched through google for confirmation. The result I got was even more surprising, I discovered that Kogi state is even richer, in terms of mineral deposits than most of the so call developed countries.
But why is the state so poor? Why are there no job opportunities in the state? Are the government not aware of the wealth possessed by the state? After series of questioning, I finally got to know the root of our problem and the potential solution to it.
The state’s problem is not solely corruption as many people may have thought but it is centered on two factors:
1. Ignorance of The Poor Mass:
During the last general election, I was in the queue waiting for my turn to cast my vote for my preferred candidate. I noticed the women in front of me discussing seriously with three different party agents. I was curious to know what they were talking about; they were trading their votes. At the end of their discussion, they all agreed to vote for the highest paying candidate. To cut the story short, if those women would have known thee ‘power of their thumb’ they wouldn’t have choose to trade it at any cost.
They are not aware that a single vote can change their future for better, it can provide portable water supply, stable electricity, good job opportunity and standard education for their children. They are not aware that by selling their vote, they are eating their fruit with seed.
2. Lack of True Leader:
Bruce Van Horn famously said, “The function of a leader is to train more leaders.” Asiwaju Tinubu demonstrated this theory and it works out. We can all testify today that those Tinubu’s boys during his time as Lagos state Governor are leading Lagos and Nigeria today. Do you still wonder why Lagos state is different from every other Nigerian states in terms of development?
Our leaders sees politics as the easiest way to make money, they see political office as a money making factory while we the poor mass support them massively out of ignorance. If Kogi Should Get Better; INEC, State Ministry of Women Affairs, State Ministry of Youth and Sport and other relevant stake holders should work collectively to enlighten the women and the youth that there is power in number. They should be aware that by giving a popular vote to a patriotic candidate our state could becomes better and better while the leader will groom more hardworking leaders.
– Alim S Ubeida.
