In Igalaland, political change moves slower than the creeping harmattan wind, dry and stubborn, cutting through the spirit of progress. While the rest of Nigeria debates, strategizes, and acts, Igalaland seems trapped in a season of political inertia, where promises fall like unwatered seeds; there is loud talk, but no growth. As an elder once said, “A land that waits too long for rain will watch its crops die.” In governance, as in farming, neglect yields famine.
The dilemma is clear: local leaders are caught between old allegiances and emerging expectations. Voters clamor for accountability, yet entrenched elites cling to power as if it were a sacred inheritance, ignoring the winds of change. One young activist lamented, “Our leaders speak of progress, but their offices are dry wells, offering nothing but echoes.” The metaphor is apt: ideas exist, but nourishment, action is missing.
This inertia has consequences. Development projects stall, youth voices are silenced, and the people’s patience thins into total apathy. It is a political drought that stunts Igalaland’s potential, much like a river that dries before reaching the fields. As an Igala proverb warns, “A river that forgets its source will lose its path.” The lesson is haunting: political stagnation risks erasing generations of hope and trust.
Yet, within this challenge lies opportunity. The same winds that bring harmattan also herald change if harnessed correctly. Civic engagement, strategic alliances, and visionary leadership could transform the “dry season” into a fertile one. A community organizer pointed out, “Even the driest land responds when hands finally work the soil.” Action, not rhetoric, is the rainfall Igalaland so desperately needs.
Igalaland stands at a crossroads, between seasons of neglect and renewal. Without deliberate courage and accountability, the political fields will remain barren, a landscape of missed possibilities. But if leaders and citizens alike embrace responsibility, the rains of reform may finally come; slow, steady, and life-giving. As one scholar reflected, “The measure of a people is not how long they endure drought, but how they prepare for the rain.”_
Today, the political dry season risks turning into a storm. Rumours swirl that former Governor Yahaya Bello may be importing 10,000 voters into Kogi Central, a move that could dilute Igala influence if unchecked. Meanwhile, Igala leaders remain largely passive, watching from the sidelines as outsiders plan to sow seeds in their backyard. One elder warned, “A garden left untended will welcome strangers’ weeds before its own fruits ripen.” The message is stark: inaction now may cost Igalaland its political harvest, leaving a fertile land barren for generations to come.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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