Kogi East Elders are seen trying to present a unified candidate for the November 16th Governorship Election in Kogi State. What they are doing, we have done severally within Central, on one side, and with the West, on the other, trying to form a formidable coalition to dislodge the hegemony, highhandedness and marginalization that characterised the administrations of Kogi from inception.
Their action reminds me of a similar body in 2015 named ‘Kogi Central and West Forum for Equity and Justice’ that drew leaders of thought, Elders and Aspirants from the Central and West Senatorial districts. Their objective was to produce a visionary, competent and dynamic candidate from any of the districts, irrespective of their party affiliations.
In their maiden meeting, they decried the deplorable state of our social, political and economic development and the gross marginalization and oppression of the two districts by the Igala-led administrations. Despite the calibre of the people that formed that coalition and the importance of their agitation, these people ended up in disarray as grapevine held, albeit unofficially announced, that they presented an uninteresting, unpopular and obviously an extemporaneous candidate, Suleiman Baba Ali, for the districts through the Search and Screening Committee. That coalition fell like a pack of cards even before the APC primary election.
Governor Yahaya Bello and Engineer George Olumoroti were attendees of the maiden meeting of the coalition in Abuja and later pulled out because they felt the coalition was getting too big for their shoes and hence sees them as juvenile politicians. They both subtly dissociated themselves from the activities of the coalition while advancing their political reach. Particularly, GYB exhibited an all inclusive posture, spreading his tentacles to the three Senatorial districts.
But for the fact that they all went into the Party primary, holding their cards close to their chest, they all failed to clinch the party’s ticket.
I see the same scenario playing out in Kogi East. First their real objective is to reclaim their ‘birthright’. Then they pour a lot of emotions and individual interest in the midst and now they have come up with a streamlined list of candidates they think should be supported to snatch power from Governor Yahaya Bello come November 16.
I dare say that I haven’t seen an aspirant from that side blazing the trail of honesty, intelligence, acceptability, willpower, and innovation, jettisoning the Kogi East Elders’ preposition and going forward to prepare for the forthcoming primaries. For such aspirant I would declare my unflinching support, despite our differences. But I haven’t seen one.
By this time, in 2015, interesting things were already happening and first timers were innovative with campaigns and strategy, especially leveraging on the penetrating power of the Social Media. Sadly, till now I haven’t seen any aspirant with their plans written down and graphically represented. Some aspirants are even still operating from outside the perimeters of Kogi State. What a time! Is this an indication that Yahaya Bello is truly on ground starring the political atmosphere of Kogi state alone? Time will tell.
In any case, one thing to note is that Kogi East Elders are not just selfish, they are equally greedy and I see them falling and failing in their quest to dislodge Yahaya Bello on the ground of ethnic consideration. I’ll not be a party to their endorsement even if the recipient possesses the requisite skills expected of a performing governor.
Unfortunately, this contest is tending towards a battle between the devil and his cousin brother. Las las, voter apathy will have its way in the resolve of many, myself inclusive, since we cannot glorify failure.
– Alabi John Ozovehe
