TO:
Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo
Executive Governor of Kogi State.
Your Excellency,
We, the entire members of Good Governance Connect (GGC), write to you with deep concern over the state of basic education (primary and secondary schools) across Kogi State. Education, which should be the foundation of development, has decayed to a pitiable level under the past administration and continues to suffer neglect.
Former Governor Yahaya Bello dismissed over 35,000 workers, including teachers, without adequate replacement. At the end of his tenure, less than one thousand teachers were recruited across the state, leaving our schools grossly understaffed. Today, many schools in our state capital operate with barely three teachers struggling to teach hundreds of pupils. This is unacceptable.
Furthermore, the past government stripped the 21 Local Government Education Secretaries and Chairmen of their constitutional powers to recruit staff or embark on meaningful projects. This centralized system has crippled governance at the grassroots. It is disheartening that even in the former governor’s own local government (Okene), the then Chairman, Hon. Mohammed Yusuf, cannot point to a single project executed during that period.
We recall that during Governor Wada’s administration, Dekina Local Government alone had a staff strength of over 2,300, yet salaries were paid at over 55%. When former Governor Bello took over, he reduced the workforce to less than 200 and consistently paid less than 25% of salaries throughout his tenure. Such retrogressive policies have left our education sector in ruins.
Your Excellency, Kogi State teachers form the largest workforce in the state, yet they are neglected and demoralized. We strongly urge you to:
- Declare a State of Emergency on Basic Education across the state.
- Recruit adequate numbers of teachers into primary and secondary schools immediately.
- Restore the powers of Local Government Education Secretaries and Chairmen to enable them function effectively as the government closest to the people.
- Invest in legacy projects that will directly impact education and other sectors, beyond the ongoing World Bank–sponsored road rehabilitation projects.
This is democracy; every organ of government must function independently for progress to be achieved. If this trend continues unchecked, we fear that by 2027, the people of Kogi will be left with no choice but to rally behind a candidate from Kogi West or elsewhere to right these wrongs.
We cannot continue in a state where individuals acquire hotels and build mansions while our children are left in dilapidated classrooms without teachers. This rascality must stop. We call on the Elders Forum of Kogi State to speak out and prevail upon your government to change this centralized system for the sake of our future.
Your Excellency, history will remember you not by what you inherit, but by the legacies you leave behind. The time to act is now.
Respectfully,
Dr Ibro Salifu, FCIB
Coordinator, Good Governance Connect (GGC)
