We have read in recent times many articles postulating the many aspirants’ interest to contest the November Governorship election in Kogi as a gang up against Yahaya Bello who is seeking for second term.
I want to state categorically that this is a fallacy. Gang up means to act as an organized group to achieve one purpose. But what is happening in Kogi today is not same as acting as “organized” group. We have several aspirants who bought the form to individually contest for the ticket of their parties at the primary, everyone bought their own forms with their own money and to the field independent of the other person.
How this situation translate to ganging up is yet to be understood by me.
These set of writers presents it as if the ticket already belongs to Gov Yahaya Bello and everyone else is trying to take it from him. This is not true. The ticket is still like a cloth in the market for sale, whoever prices it well takes it home as his. And this includes Gov Yahaya Bello.
Are we saying because Yahaya Bello is seeking for the ticket, others should not do same? Is the ticket his or the party’s?
Historically, this very election is the one with low turn out of aspirants wanting to fly their parties tickets.
Only 14 persons bought the APC ticket while just 13 bought that of the PDP. Totalling 27 from the two major political parties that one will eventually produce the next governor.
In 2015, only APC had 27 aspirants seeking for their party ticket to wrestle power from captain Idris Wada who was at the time seeking for his party’s ticket to run for the second term.
Why did we not tag that of Wada “gang up” when he had more people fighting against him but tag that of Bello so? We should critically look at this things and come out with the right words to use in the case of Yahaya Bello.
Is there a gang up against him? I will emphatically say Yes! However, not from the aspirants but the united majority of Kogi citizens who has seen his leadership in the last for years as nothing but a monumental failure.
Majority of the members of APC and that of all the major opposition political parties are saying “Bello must go”. This is the real gang up. It is from the electorates wh bear the brunt of his poor performance and misappropriation of the State resources since his assuming office after inheriting the votes of Prince Abubakar Audu who was coasting to victory in 2015 election before his sudden death.
This is the first time Yahaya Bello is really contesting election and no one should expect a free ride for him in any form as others are interested in the same position too.
This is democracy, whoever have the majority should take the day but it should be without any form of intimidation and fraudulent activities
– Comrade Maji Isah writes from Anyigba, Kogi state.
