Breaking news! Criminals’ resurge hubs in Kogi state, governor Yahaya Bello and his deputy told gentlemen of the press. They expressed unusual malaise over their incessant acts with recourse to primed actions against them. Wonderful! But who are these sleep-murdering criminals? How renascent are they in a state His Excellency was awarded the security conscious governor? Who are these ‘Pocket’ of criminals?
I inquisitively delved into severally effectuated crimes (since November 16 2019) in order to adjudicate from my governor’s perspective. Truly, there are criminals in Kogi state. In short, three gangs of criminal are so far identified; the criminals in uniform, those in civvies, and the hooligans. The criminals in uniform (security agents) and the hooligans (thugs) perpetrates crime at whims and caprices of the criminals in mufti (politicians).
The November 16, 2019 governorship election in Kogi state was an unprecedented electoral heist. It was a colossal crime against humanity, a daylight robbery that had left the heart chilling. The criminals in uniform in cahoots with the hooligans robbed the entire Kogites of a mandate and eventually handed it to the criminals in mufti. And while international community stares in utter-disbelief, Nigeria and her democracy were dragged to the mud. And Kogites wallows in conceptual perplexity. It was a conventional theft on our democracy premised on a ‘backslapping celebratory mood’ by those principalities.
The sham governorship election remains an emerging threat to global peace and democracy. It is eternally a high-level deceit from the deity of Fraud. The governor was not oblivious of his rejection. Still, he ganged up with the police, the thugs, and the INEC to truncate a thunderous voice of resistance that was echoed in the various polling units. Even the professor who eventually made mockery of his credentials and all he ever attained academically immortalizes our perception of a rotten educational system.
Fellow Kogites, each time I flip through my personal account of what transpired in the governorship election, especially how the people’s will was suppressed by guns, I weep. In fact, the desperate tenets with which the polity has been made fragile calls for brain surgery among our leaders. No time in history, has the police became such a compromised tools for an election.They claimed they are helpless in defending the state’s territorial integrity from kidnappers and Fulani Herdsmen. Yet, helicopters were used to dispatch lachrymator on innocent voters so as to aid ballot snatching.
This is aside vote buying and inflation of results that eventually backfired in Okene LGA. Imagine, where the total number of registered voters stood at 118,543 and total PVCs collected was 48,065, APC polled 112,543. That is to say, there were no invalid votes and the 7,839 PDP’s vote during the presidential election suddenly disappeared. Little wonder, Yahaya Bello bragged on a wide margin that would eventually discourage whoever come far second from going to court. The police should be ashamed of itself.
Meanwhile, in an election that violence, vote buying, ballot snatching, killing and destruction of boxes marred fair and credible processes such as Kogi’s, we watch whether or not the judiciary would uphold its integrity against the churlishness of Nigeria’s APC.
Who are the criminals in Kogi state? The suspension of the chief medical director, Kogi state specialist hospital, Dr. Ahmed Attah, the Vice Chancellor, Kogi State University, Prof. Mohammed Abdulkadir and the rector, Kogi State Polytechnic Lokoja, Prof. Muhammed Atureta over alleged insubordination without procedural and substantive due processes poised sacred questions.
Agreed, it was told in the media that the trio could not comply with Bello’s Treasury Single Account directive (which in essence seems political). But the part of the reports which quoted the institutions’ inability to comply with state government due to administrative bills where trashed and dumped in bins by merchants of fallacy. Hence, an infraction in the governor’s action with references to principle of fair hearing.
Of course, it won’t be necessary discussing Bello’s negligence for both health and education sectors throughout his first tenure. An average Nigerian knows about it. I have also followed ardently the various account of his stewardship, no one has shed light on the governor’s achievements in such critical sectors. Not even the recently published gibberish titled “consolidating on the gains of Bello’s first term in Kogi” by leadership newspapers. Therefore, it is unruly to establish disciplinary action against such institutions in a state where government takes everything without returning anything.
Moreover, in such clime, Yahaya Bello morally lacked the espousals to suspend or probe anyone. Why? Because, he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. What calls for urgent and critical scrutiny is Bello’s parlous first tenure. At least we can trace why the state debt is currently been serviced with over N800 millions. It’s unequivocally substantial.
In short, if the new direction government wants to be just, accounts of the previous administration should be published. After all, a precedent set today would eventually become a conventional practice for tomorrow. Yahaya Bello should set the right precedence.
Barely two days after the institution of the said probe, Edward Onoja in company of the newly elected chief of staff, pharmacist Asuku, and some NYSC members protested an alleged corruption in Kogi polity. Although, for Edward, we can virtualize the hypocrisy. At least we are aware of non performing accounts opened and funded for propaganda, payments made to jobless DATA Boys to Praise the White Lion’s incompetences.
Whereas, the government wishes to live by the principles of equity, why patronizing sycophants over critical issues of governance? Pharm. Asuku can do well by cleaning up such mess.
Finally, who are the criminals in Kogi state? The Kidnappers who are likely to have emanated from the clans of hooligans or the Herdsmen who were openly invited and coronated into government? Could it be the perpetrators of financial crimes hanging on the corridors of power? Well, it’s easier to trace the latter to the rotten state of affairs- corruption which is endemically propagated by the norms of longevity of tenure of political office holders.
But without apology, I have also traced the lingering kidnappings and killings by Herdsmen to government’s churlishness/(in)actions. Of course, the world witnessed how the power of bullet was wielded during the governorship election by thugs.
Now, whoever wishes to be fair would ask, had the guns been retrieved from those guys? Or were they shown a legitimate means of post election survival in place of crumbs they were armed for? It’s appropriate to call a spade a spade. You don’t expect those guys to go hungry when all that is needed is sleeping under their bed.
I have often said this, Yahaya Bello’s open invitations to Fulani Herdsmen as well as their sudden incorporation into government escalated killings in Kogi state. If you are familiar with history, you will understand better, that both Fulani and farmers in Kogi state had age long bonds before the advent of this government. But he has so far appeased some hearts in Aso-Rock and jeopardized the peace and security of his people.
Fellow Kogites, let no one misconstrue this, the criminals in Kogi state are not those kidnapping for monetary ransom. They are not the Fulani Herdsmen killing our people even before the policemen. They are the breeders of thugs, and those who sycophantically invited Fulani Herders, and incorporated them into government. Until Yahaya Bello revokes that invitations, name those who gave arms to miscreants to rig election (in case he wishes to exonerate himself), we would continue to see his fight against crime as a breathtaking hypocrisy.
As a matter of fact, they should stop deceiving the people from the media space as the very reality stares at them. I have spoken.
– John Paul.
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