One major sign of the rising sophistication of Athenian society in the Golden Age was the upsurge of history as a diagnostic record of the nation’s past. As myth gave way to more accurate cataloguing and prose replaced verse as the medium for protecting facts, the fifth century Greeks came closer to the scientific spirit of free reconnaissance in modern times.
On the 27th day of January, 2016, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello was sworn in as the 4th Executive Governor of Kogi State in the fullness of the divinely-appointed time, and by a concatenation of predictable and unforeseen event from the offshoot of the gubernatorial election marred by circumstantial history itself as a result of the death of the All Progressives Congress’ candidate Prince Abubakar Audu midway into the election.
Governor Yahaya Bello; a chartered accountant with masters degree in Business Administration, an accomplished public servant who came second in the party primary presented himself as a dedicated realist and a reformer who was ready to bridge all gulfs of political polarity in Kogi State, levelled all mountains and put a lamp in every tunnel to reposition the confluence state for good. Kogi which can be described as a political microcosm of Nigeria with three major ethnic groups, multicultural with religion of different faiths has over the time proved to be a society that required extraordinary wisdom to lead.
As a result, the confluence’s ship of governance captained by Yahaya Bello keeps on rocking and weathering through the storm with unimaginable turbulence. Apart from having seventeen (17) consolidated electoral cases instituted against him by seven (7) different groups, and coming from the minor ethnic group that has never ruled the state in the past, Yahaya Bello has been acted upon negatively and in a frustrating manner by the centripetal forces of ethnicity over the year but in all these, he remained focused with huge enthusiasm and passion to make a difference.
To hit the ground running, and by the amplification of ideas which his campaign team coalesced, Bello came up with the ‘New Direction Blueprint’ to match them with his campaign promises and then build the technical infrastructure for their delivery. Based on the empirical evidence from social research, Bello expanded the raw data given and captured the stated aims and aspirations of the entire citizens of Kogi State into five (5) developmental agenda viz: Education for all, Health, job creation and youth engagement, infrastructure and utility and productive public service and pension reforms.
Unlike the past governments; Bello proved that strategic documents that should guide the government should be empirical and evidence based. The main thing Bello has done differently and which probably made all the difference in the mobilisation efforts of his administration was letting the people tell the government what they really want, rather than planning to do for the people what government consultants think the people want. The consultants went round the 21 LGAs of the state and in different MDAs to discuss with the people and their aims and desires were captured in the New Direction Blueprint.
Since the return of democracy, Kogi’s past leaders have sought to increase the capacity and legitimacy of the state in part via civil service reform. An efficient and effective civil service is critical for high capacity and legitimate government, which “good governance” seeks to achieve. Bids to perk up governance in Kogi by increasing accountability, transparency, participation, and efficiency and effectiveness in civil service to make the bureaucracy more meritocratic always hit brick walls.
Devoid of any form of partisan rancour and political polarisation, there is no gainsaying the fact that the ongoing workers screening in the state has its own pains in the life of the workers, subjecting them to rigorous exercise and financial losses as workers have had to travel some kilometres to screening centres, printing and photocopying of relevant documents, feeding and so on but these are not prices too much to pay to have an effective public personnel system characterised by a relatively high degree of institutionalisation which will ensure predictability; laying down a selection system that is able to attract “the best and brightest” in the state and to utilise talent appropriately; a performance management system that is able to motivate, eliminate corruption, minimise governmental wastages and improve the state’s earning. The battle to bequeath such civil service system in Kogi State is like that of Armageddon.
On infrastructure and utilities, Bello has made tremendous progress in this regard. Lokoja township roads network are pothole-free today while multi-billion Naira road construction and rehabilitation across the three Senatorial Districts of the State are currently ongoing. The construction of the magnificent SDGs’ Office complex with its over 15 spacious and fully equipped offices, the Board of Internal Revenue office complex are some of Governor Bello’s eloquent testimonies to show that his Administration is not only making a difference but living up to its billings for posterity in this State and in our country. These and many more other laudable projects embarked upon by his administration were signs that the New Direction government is under pressure and in a hurry to provide the key institutions necessary to build this State and make a difference.
After the sense of dejavu or drift that was the lot of Kogi State in the past, Bello has brought a refreshing change to the Confluence state and he is running a government which inspires widespread confidence across Kogi and even beyond. The Bello government has certainly raised the bar on government action and has raised people’s hopes and faith in governance. He has managed to galvanise a state that was stopping to believe in itself and has succeeded in instilling a sense of pride and patriotism not just in the kogites, Nigerian youths, but the entire kogians diaspora.
His acceptance by the people from the three senatorial districts of the state recently indicate that Bello has shown political sharpness in bringing the different ethnic groups in the state together for a common purpose along with a long term vision.
Today, Lokoja is being turned into a huge construction site with beautiful buildings all over the state capital. from SDG house, to Revenue house, to Ministry of Justice building to Audit house to street lights to traffic lights etc are a reflection of a developing society which is attractive for investors and tax payers to transact business in clean and modern buildings than the dirty, disgusting and archaic structures the Confluence city was once known for. These new structures will most likely encourage peer developments in the area leading to growth in commerce and Industry. Also, one of the best ways to create multiple job opportunities is construction. His Government is determined to improve tremendously on what he met on ground in the state. A buildings especially architectural masterpiece like the revenue house is a legacy to be remembered for a long time in Kogi State, and there is more to come in 2017.
As a financial expert, Bello’s government under one year has improved the state’s IGR tremendously, making more money for the state’s infrastructural development.
During the commissioning of the remodelled ultra-modern SDGs complex in Lokoja on the 27th of January, 2017, Bello assured the people of the state his government will do in one year what other governors could not achieve in ten years, noting that their support was all that he will ask for. He has energetically strutted the Nigerian political stage making Kogi more hospitable to investors by building on the security network in the state through adoption of Helicopter for aerial surveillance which has helped in rooting out criminals from their hideout, provision over 168 operation vehicles, motorcycles and other security gargets for all security agencies in the state. For all the good his government has recorded so far, Bello must ensure the ongoing workers screening does not last longer than the stipulated period of 28th of February, 2017
As his government completes 365 days, one thing that emerges is that Bello as leader of the government has certainly showed a marked shift in leadership and style of governance towards productive and progressive path compared to what we had in the past. A support for the current government in the state is not a support to enrich Bello’s pocket but support to move the state high.
Happy one year in office GYB.
– Onogwu Isah Muhammed
Lokoja-Kogi State.
