By Prince Friday Ogungbemi.
The Okun Yoruba speaking people of Kogi state are currently faced with the challenge of how to really settle down with one out of the three candidates for Kogi State governorship position who are contesting on the platform of various political Parties.
The candidates and their political parties include Hon. Leke Abejide on platform of Africa Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator Dino Melaiye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Dr. Olayinka Braimoh of the Action Alliance (AA).
The agitation for power rotation has been on for so many years but with the swing of the political pendulum towards the Okun nation, the dilemma of fielding a single candidate is now rife with the various candidates scheming and strategizing to be able to win in the election.
Over time though, the efforts of politicians of Okun extraction to become candidates has always been futile save for in 1999 when Dr. Stephen Olorunfemi emerged as PDP candidate the rest is history today.
Today, the Okun people are having three formidable candidates in the contest for Governorship of Kogi State. As a people, I ask, what is the way forward for us as a block or as Okun nation?
The question agitating the mind and begging for answer is whether the Okun people can go into the contest with all these three candidates?
Secondly, can we appeal to two to step down for one for us to have a candidate we will all support, before the November, 2023 Governorship Election? Who do we appeal to and Who will respect and honour our appeal among them?
Thirdly, can Okun people break the jinx and present a consensus candidate from among the beloved sons of the land who have individually and personally, struggled to emerged as candidate of their various political Parties.
To my beloved Okun people these candidates are all highly commendable personalities for creating rooms for us to be in the contest. Their participation has brought us to the stage of having representatives in the contest and brighten our chances of being able to become the Governor of Kogi State in 2024.
What I think now is that the Okun people should understudy the various personalities and undertake an objective examination of the chances and challenges of the three candidates of the three political parties in question, both the internal and external factors that can help and assists them to success in their aspirations.
The Okun people should be prepared to go all out to accomplish the task ahead, since we are living in a society where equity and justice are rarely upheld. It is the struggle and survival of the fittest.
I sincerely crave the indulgence of every son and daughter of Okunland home and in diaspora to come together in unison, oneness, to consummate the onerous task of Okun people producing the next Governor of Kogi State.
The chances of the three candidates of Okun extraction on the surface looks bright and promising, but on the whole there are much more factors to be given high consideration in arriving at conclusion on this matter.
Let us firstly consider some internal factors that may assist these candidates in the course of their aspirations to becoming the Governor of Kogi State.
Speaking on the chances of Dr. Olayinka Braimoh, the Action Alliance (AA) candidate. This young man is an intelligent personality to behold, highly articulate and visionary with a robust packaged blueprint for development. If our political stage is as advanced for people of high substances, his chance would have been very bright, but with the situation today, speaking from the point of his political party it will be a herculean task for him to make serious waves in the contest.
For Senator Dino Melaiye the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 Governorship Election. He is a very brilliant individual with a lot of courage and political experience, as a former member of both the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The chances of Senator Dino Melaye would have been brighter than the rest candidates as the most popular candidate among the three contestants, but considering the internal and external factors, his chances are more likely to be dimmed than the other candidates. One of such issues is his continuous encounter and confrontation with the President-elect, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, among others.
The Okun people must take note that by human nature, the propensity to forgive others especially, presumed political sins and transgressions are not easy to come by among politicians. Our fear is that by the time the President-elect becomes a sitting President, will he not put everything humanly possible in place to ensure that Senator Dino Melaye does not emerge as Governor of Kogi State moreso, that they are in opposing parties.
The third candidate is Rt. Hon Leke Abejide a member of the House of Representatives who single-handedly brought African Democratic Congress (ADC) to limelight and currently won his re- election for his second tenure back to House of Representatives and the governorship candidacy of the African Democratic Congress.
The performance of Rt. Hon. Leke Abejide won him his second tenure and by extension influenced the electoral victory of Arc. Salman Idris for KabbaBunu/Ijumu House of Representatives and Hon. Idowu Ibikunle for Yagba West constituency in the Kogi State House of Assembly.
The chances of Rt. Hon. Leke Abejide aspirations could be more bright looking at his personal support for the Presidential aspirations of the president-elect prior to the General Elections and his financial commitment to that course as its external factor among others.
My position in this write up is borne out of my personal concern that if this opportunity should elude us as Okun people, when will such an opportunity comes our way again.
Okun elites, opinion leaders and moulders should wade into this matter and appeal to conscience of the three sons for understanding and acceptance of decisions arrived at after a proper disect of the chances, challenges and prospects of these three governorship candidates.
The three of them should be religiously scrutinised, examined and be made to support a position on who Okun people should generally declare as their resolved candidate.
This is my personal submission on the issue.
– Prince Friday Ogungbemi
Publisher,
The Policy & Lawmakers Magazines
