Every generation inherits a choice. It can build ladders for those who come after it, or it can spend its energy pulling down anyone who climbs too high. Too often, Kogi East has chosen the latter. This is not a comfortable truth, but uncomfortable truths are often the beginning of genuine reform. The region’s greatest losses have not always come from hostile governments or economic neglect. Some have come from an old habit of turning gifted sons into rivals instead of allies.
Across Kogi East, success is frequently welcomed with applause until it becomes influential. The businessman who expands his enterprise is suddenly accused of arrogance. The academic who gains national recognition is dismissed as disconnected from his roots. The civil servant who earns promotion becomes the target of whispered allegations. The politician who begins to command wider respect is no longer judged by competence but by whom his rise threatens. Character assassination has become a substitute for honest competition. In many circles, destroying credibility is easier than building achievement.
This culture reflects a deeper insecurity. Many men have been conditioned to believe that leadership belongs to a select few and that another person’s progress reduces their own relevance. It is a false belief. Progress is not a fixed pie. One successful lawyer can mentor dozens of young advocates. One respected entrepreneur can create opportunities for hundreds of families. One credible public official can attract investments that benefit entire communities. A rising tide does not drown the shore; it lifts every boat willing to leave the harbour.
Perhaps the most destructive habit is the refusal to support our own until outsiders validate them. A son of Kogi East may struggle to gain local trust, yet the moment he receives recognition in Abuja, Lagos, or abroad, those who doubted him suddenly claim him with pride. We wait for strangers to certify our excellence before we believe in it ourselves. In doing so, we surrender the confidence that every thriving society must cultivate from within.
This failure of solidarity carries a heavy price. It discourages innovation, isolates capable leaders, and convinces ambitious young people that their safest path to success is to leave home and never look back. Communities do not decline only because talent departs. They decline because talent concludes it is unwelcome.
The solution is neither blind loyalty nor uncritical praise. Kogi East needs a culture where men compete with integrity, disagree without malice, and correct one another without seeking destruction. Criticism should sharpen excellence, not suffocate it. Rivalry should inspire higher standards, not personal vendettas. Brotherhood should mean more than shared ancestry; it should mean shared responsibility for the region’s future.
History is unforgiving to societies that consume their brightest minds. Communities that wage quiet wars against their own achievers eventually discover that there is no one left to lead them. Kogi East cannot afford that fate. Its future depends less on producing exceptional men than on learning how to keep them, support them, and allow them to succeed without making them enemies of the very people they seek to serve. Only then will the curse of familiarity give way to the strength of genuine brotherhood.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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