His Excellency,
Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo,
Governor of Kogi State
Sir,
With deep respect for your office and the mandate given to you by the people of Kogi State, I write this letter with a heavy heart and a burdened mind.
Yesterday, the Kogi State Executive Council approved a series of laudable projects: a new Treasury House, hostels and staff quarters for CUSTECH, rehabilitation of the Ohimege Palace, completion of the Faculty of Engineering, supply of furniture, and renovation of official quarters for the Commissioner of Police.
These are important projects, no doubt. But one cannot help but notice the glaring omission — not a single primary or secondary school was approved for rehabilitation.
Your Excellency, this omission cuts deep. It sends a silent yet loud message that the very foundation of education — the level where the majority of Kogi children’s futures are shaped — is not being given the attention it desperately needs. Without strong and functional primary and secondary education, how can our children ever dream of becoming the medical students, engineers, or leaders you are building institutions for?
A child with no proper classroom, sitting on bare floors under leaking roofs, cannot aspire to the higher institutions you are expanding. Without this foundational investment, many will be left behind, unable to compete, unable to dream, unable to rise. Education is like a tree — if the roots are weak, the branches will wither, no matter how beautiful the leaves appear.
Your Excellency, hunger in the mind is worse than hunger in the stomach. When we starve our children of quality basic education, we rob them of the tools to feed themselves for life. As the father of the state, you hold the responsibility to nurture the youngest and most vulnerable.
I plead with you, sir, with every sense of urgency and sincerity: go back to the foundation. Rebuild our primary and secondary schools. Give our children the classrooms, libraries, and facilities they deserve. No palace, treasury house, or government office will ever be more valuable than the mind of a child who is prepared for the future.
History will remember leaders not only for the monuments they built, but for the generations they lifted. I trust that you will act swiftly to correct this oversight and place Kogi’s children at the heart of your development agenda.
May wisdom guide your decisions,
and may posterity judge you kindly.
Yours sincerely,
Princess Asmau Onyize Ametinigo
Coordinator,
Girls Child Education Initiative (G-CEI), Kogi State
