Segun Olulade’s article on Pg. 44 of National Mirror on Tuesday, 3rd November 2015 is drenched in outright lies and half truths. Titled ‘Why Kogi must be rescued’ the work is an undisguised condemnation of Capt. Idris Wada, Governor of Kogi State and his party the People’s Democratic Party, PDP under which he is seeking re-election.. Conversely, and not surprisingly though, Olulade reserved his kind words for candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC and one time governor Alh. Abubakar Audu who has been serially rejected by the Kogi electorate for his unequalled records of arrogance, foppery and effeminacy.
For the records, Olulade is a serving member of the House of Assembly in far away Lagos, whose demand of duties afford the time and luxury to perform oversight functions on another state. So, as a Nigerian we conceded his freedom to pass informed comments on public affairs. No one begrudges his right to condemn or to commend as he may deem fit, provided the fundamental principles of fairness and objectivity are not in any way sacrificed. Unfortunately, the Lagos lawmaker is unable to rise above putrid, parochial and partisan sentiments in his diatribe. This rejoinder is necessitated by the need to set the records straight and liberate unsuspecting readers who may have been hoodwinked by the yellow writer. Now, let us consider Olulade’s fallacies and the sacred facts.
Yes, we agree with his opening montage that as the nexus between the North and Southern parts of our country, Kogi State richly harbours virtually all economic potentials of the two regions. Apart from being the confluence of two of Africa’s largest rivers- the Niger and Benue, its cocktail of solid mineral deposits easily qualifies it as a continental wonder.
The Capt. Idris Wada administration is conscious of this and has left no stones unturned in its thirst to attract foreign investors for the industrialization of the State. Till date, the administration has signed more than 20 Memorandum of Understanding, MOUs with various investors notably from America, Vietnam, China, Korea and development agencies, since inception in 2012. As someone who should be conversant with public policies and the workings of governments, Olulade may be aware that there is a gestation period between conceptualization of an idea and optimal implementation. Even at that, some of the MOUs on bilateral relations have started yielding fruits. They include the one with Korea International Cooperation Agency, KOICA which has produced a friendship institute of vacation and advanced technology in Felele; the one with Kagyl Investment of United States, a partner on the first Staple Crop Processing Zone in Alape; the one with the United Nations Habitat which is seeing to the development of Lokoja as a millennia city and lastly the one with CINOSREP cement at Itobe among others.
All the data supplied by Olulade to support his unjustified attack are cooked up and products of his confused imagination. For instance in one breath, he claims that from 2012 to 2014, under Wada administration Kogi State earned N240 Billion as revenue and in another he says the state earns N80 Billion as monthly allocation. What a rude knowledge of mathematics? We are at a loss over how a 80 Billion multiplied by 12 months in three years will give a paltry N240bn. In any case, the total amount that came to the state from the federation account from 2012 to 2014 is N161 Billion. The total monthly revenue of the state for 2015 on the average is N2.8 Billion. The figures are regularly published in the media for verification. We challenge Olulade to either come out with proofs of his wild figures or cover his face in shame.
The claim that civil servants of the state government queue to collect 20% of their total monthly income is completely untrue and perhaps intended to course public disaffection in the state. Till date, the Wada administration has never paid any of its more than 23,000 workforce less than their full salary. It must also be emphasized that Kogi State ranks foremost among states where civil servants enjoy full minimum wage. The writer must be living in a dreamland. He needs to crosscheck his information. What he probably meant to refer to is the local government work force. Yet, the situation on ground is not anywhere close to what the Lagos boy painted.
Olulade’s comment on the salary intervention fund is completely off the mark. What the state applied for is N80.9 Billion which would have been used to offset arrears mainly at the Local Government level, gratuities for pensioners and one month arrear for state government workers. We do not know how the Lagos busy body got his N210 Billion claim. In any case what was approved by the CBN is N50.8 Billion. Unfortunately, even that amount has not been released due to a grand treachery orchestrated by the APC, its candidate in the forthcoming governorship election and Governor Eneffiele of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The said writer laboured unsuccessfully to paint the Kogi Governor with the tar of indolence and cluelessness. Among other things, the governor has devoted enormous energy to transforming the state. Some of his legacy projects are conceived to impact positively on the state’s economy on the long run and shift focus from the federation account. Projects in this category include the Twelve Storey Kogi House in Abuja, the remodelling and reconstruction of Kogi Hotels, the newly inaugurated Korea-Nigeria Friendship Vocational Centre of Advanced Technology, the Six Hundred vehicles capacity ultra modern vehicle pack and the accelerated rice/ cassava production initiatives. The governor is also laying solid foundation for infrastructure and development. One landmark project in this area is the on-going Sixteen Kilometer dual carriage bye pass from Ganaja to Otokiiti town in Lokooja the state capital. The more than Twenty Kilometer road from Welcome to Lokoja through Zango city- Lokongoma- IBB Way down to the International Market is also being upgraded. A significant aspect of the urban development project is the land protection/ beach embarkation effort along the banks of rivers Niger and Benue. The exercise is a long time preparation against flooding. These are in addition to the continuation and completion of several projects that the administration inherited from its immediate predecessor. The inherited projects which have been completed include Greeter Lokoja Water Scheme, Phase Two of State Secretariat, the 40,000 capacity ultra modern Confluence Stadium, the Reference and Imaging Center of the Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, Anpka Township road and Idah township road.
The lawmaker either deliberately or ignorantly ascribed some of the project to Audu, his pay master. For the avoidance of doubts Audu did not build the stadium nor did he build the Specialist Hospital. They were initiated by former Governor Ibrahim Idris. Even the Lugard House Audu left behind was significantly remodelled and improved by Idris. It is rather unbecoming for a so called honorable public servant to rob Peter to pay Paul just to satisfy a paymaster.
Olulade’s picture about beggars on the streets of Lokoja and alleged increased level of violence in the state are misleading. It is public knowledge that there are beggars in every major town in Nigeria. In fact, clearly there are more beggars on the streets of Lagos than there are in the entire Kogi State. He should also provide further proof to his infamous claim of increased level of violence and criminality in Kogi State.
We are worried that an otherwise respected lawmaker will deliberately misinform the public in the name of politics. Olulade displayed his crash ignorance in the write up as he laboured all through to destroy the reputation of Governor Wada and the PDP. We sympathise with his ignorance and poor knowledge on Kogi affairs. However, we do not blame him. Those who should know as his informants are probably disconnected from their roots since they do not come home regularly. Now politics is in the air. They have been transferred to Kogi on errand, as prelude to making the Confluence a vassal state. God forbid.
