To set the record straight:
To start with, I want to use this medium to salute a brother, Comrade Azeez Adeyemi, in the spirit of Aluta which is the binding force that knits all students in unison and also use this medium to correct you sir on your article and verdict on the just concluded Kogi State gubernatorial election which saw his Excellency Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello emerge winner.
That sir, I put it to you that it was a fallacy of hasty, irrelevant and sentimental conclusion.
Sir, as the commander of all students in Kogi state, I Comrade Otaru Andah Abdulhakeem have the logical right in my state of mind to ascertain whether the election that involved many students is free, fair, credible and justifiable and this I shall do without fear or favour and neither will I allow chauvinism to becloud my intact sense of reasoning.
I must state it to you that the just concluded election is one of the ground breaking, and unprecedented process, and never oblivious of the fact that we have pocket of crises in some polling unit which should not be used to justify the over four thousand polling units.
Kogi state since its creation has suffered in the hands of some set of tribal bigots, who are hell bent in believing that Kogi State is rightfully theirs and other tribes are inferior. This statement can be confirmed when the PDP candidate went on national television and said verbatim that “Lugard House is their birthright.” This he confirmed by not staging any rally in Kogi central which is predominantly dominated by the Ebiras. Hence, such derogatory statement could trigger reactions whether positive or negative.
This tribal sentimental genes in the so called superior tribes have made them initiated several crises especially in their land where they will not allow anybody to vote for the other tribes. But His Excellency Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello, the youthful, useful and security conscious governor who value all citizens, who is a strong believer in youths and have moved across all nooks and crannies of the state to campaign for his re-election saw the result as there was mass turnout to support this bid.
Secondly, I want to make it clear to you that the issue of non payment of salaries was political slander motivated and perpetuated by the opposition to score cheap political point. Yes, he inherited the previous debt from his predecessors and he used the bailout to settle the debt particularly in the state and I must tell you that he is not owing genuine workers as they are being paid promptly and as at when due.
My comrade Sir, I advise that you should come to Kogi State and see the strides of development and achievements of his Excellency Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello within the past three years as it is obvious and glaring to people who could see devoid of tribal, religion and regional sentiment.
Some of these achievements include lots of road networking, agricultural development, security, civil service reform, educational upliftment and youths involvement in governance, to mention but a few.
Governor Bello is focused and resilient to bring all-round development to the state.
My Comrade brother sir, we are student leaders and we are mentally alert, physically fit, emotionally balanced and educationally inclined to make accurate judgements without fear or favor.
On this note, I want to let you know that the entire students of Kogi State have passed a 100 percent vote of confidence on his Excellency Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello because he is youth friendly and a student loving personality; this capacity he has demonstrated in different ways and on the above etiquette, we see no reason why you should not follow the suit, unless your judgement is borne out of personal hatred and calumny which I don’t want to believe.
I hope you do the needful while anticipating your good response.
Yours in the spirit,
Comrade Otaru Andah Abdulhakeen
Chairman, National Association of Nigerian Students NANS JCC, Kogi State chapter.
