A lot has been written in recent times by those whose knowledge of politics of Kogi State is far from in-depth, and even suggesting that the state would fall to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming elections. They posited specifically that the ‘Buhari-whirlwind’, will sweep through all the axis of the state including the conservative east, which has consistently produced the governor since its creation, during the impending polls.
In one of such efforts, one writer tried, rather lamely, to justify why the presidential poll would favour the former military leader in a free and fair contest in the state. Names such as those of Air Vice Marshal Saliu Atawodi, Elder Ubolo Okpanachi, Barrister Dangana Ocheja, Samson Ihiabe, Malam Sani Ogu and Senator Nicholas Ugbane can hardly make the footnote when books on the PDP evolution in Kogi state is being written.
Among these names, Nicholas Yahaya Ugbane could be said to stand out having been privileged to be a Senator of the Federal Republic. But he hardly qualifies to be called a core party man. His place has been with the opposition all along from the days of the UNCP and later, the ANPP, where he became estranged until he found a soft landing in the PDP on whose platform he won a return to the upper chamber.
However, from all indications, that would be his last political outing. But it must be stressed here that the PDP will not lose sleep if the Senator chooses the path of dishonour by hobnobbing with a party that abandoned him in his hour of need. The same however cannot be said of Alex Usman Kadiri, also a former Senator of the Federal Republic and Air Vice Marshal Issac Alfa both of whom contributed in strengthening the PDP right from its embryo stage and transformed it into a colossus that has come to be revered by all across Africa.
As one of the party leaders in the state, it is only morally right for the Senator to serve as a unifying force in the event of misgivings within the party rather than opting to defect like an upcoming politician desperate for recognition.
With no identifiable structure on ground in the state, yet, he has to struggle to build a platform along with the strange bedfellows in the strange land he now finds himself.
The Prince of the Niger, Abubakar Audu has hardly gotten over the bruises he suffered from the onslaught the party unleashed on him to take the state in 2003. He did not only lose the state but the party that has come to be synonymous with him across the North central, as its structure collapsed with him. As in war situations, all notable party members surrendered to the PDP and pledged their allegiance, leaving him alone in the wilderness. Since then, the Prince hardly has an identified following in the state, except some rented few.
Until the APC later emerged, the Prince has been publicly identifying with most initiatives of the PDP in the state, including attending its function.
Today he is the supposed leader of the APC in the state as every of its activities revolves around him. He practically allocates party positions and tickets to whomever he wants. Unlike the last PDP primaries where positions were contested for, the APC’s which prides itself a symbol of internal democracy in the country, merely gives positions to their cronies without recourse to any zoning consideration.
Where are the leaders of note that can propel the APC to victory in the state? The state’s key stakeholders are all in the PDP. The Ogehas, Jemibewons, Ahmadu Alis and others so many to mention here fought to pull the carpet off Audu’s feet. These personalities are still very much around and in firm control of the state.
And then there is the issue of the Buhari factor that will surely work against whatever strings the APC may want to pull to enjoy some measure of acceptance in the state. The Kogi people will also hardly forgive the General for also halting the many road projects initiated by the Shagari administration which would have cushioned the suffering they now go through to access other states.
The Kogi East and West vote in bloc depending on where the sympathy lies. The two zones it must be stressed, decide the election victory in the state. Their sympathy as it were, is still with the PDP and the characters that make up the APC can hardly do anything to change the status quo before the general elections.
Ahmed wrote in from Anyigba, Kogi State
