By Danfulani Lukman Ohinoyi
As the 2027 political conversation gathers momentum in Kogi Central, the name of former Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello continues to attract attention, largely because of the developmental footprints associated with his eight-year administration.
The political landscape may be crowded with so many ambitions, but Bello enters the conversation with something every serious political contest eventually demands, a record that can be examined.
Like a lion leaving footprints across its territory, Bello’s administration pursued projects and interventions that Kogi Central residents say significantly altered the physical and institutional landscape of Kogi State, including Kogi Central.
Among the areas frequently highlighted are road infrastructure, education, healthcare, security, urban renewal, youth empowerment and public infrastructure.
In Kogi Central, the political significance of these interventions is particularly important because the zone was not treated merely as a geographical constituency but as a major component of the state’s development agenda.
The argument from Yahaya Bello’s supporters is therefore straightforward: political promises must ultimately be measured against what has already been delivered.
A campaign speech can promise a road; a completed road becomes a physical record.
A manifesto can promise educational improvement; renovated institutions and educational interventions provide something tangible to examine.
A politician can speak about security; policies and investments undertaken while exercising executive authority provide a basis for evaluating those claims.
This is where Yahaya Bello’s eight years in Government House remain relevant to the current political conversation.
His supporters believe that anyone seeking to challenge his political influence must do more than produce slogans or political structures. They must present a credible record, alternative vision and demonstrable capacity.
The coming contest, therefore, should not merely be about personalities alone.
It should be about developmental records, experience, legislative capacity and the ability to convert political authority into tangible benefits for the people.
The lion’s strength is not demonstrated by how loudly it roars.
It is demonstrated by the footprints it leaves behind.
And in Kogi Central’s emerging 2027 political conversation, Yahaya Bello’s developmental footprints are likely to remain one of the most closely examined aspects of his political legacy.
– Comrade Danfulani Lukman Ohinoyi writes from Okene.
