NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG writes that Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State is, by major yardsticks, finishing strong, as he begins the countdown to his exit from Lugard House
About eight years ago, Yahaya Bello, was a greenhorn, tiptoeing into politics from the transportation business, where he had made a huge success. Then a bag of mixed fortune containing the governorship of Kogi State was handed over to him after the unfortunate death of Kogi All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Abubukar Audu, during the poll. Against some of the most daunting odds, Bello became the party’s candidate.
Thus, on January 27, 2016, one of the boldest and clearest handwriting by God was written and unveiled concerning Bello. For if not by providence, there was no way he would have become Kogi’s Number One citizen at that time. The odds against him were further increased because he was from a minority Ebira ethnic group. But God had it all covered and orchestrated the lines to fall in pleasant places for him.
For the plethora of youths yearning for inclusion in governance, Bello immediately became the epitome of what was possible. From that time, the Kogi governor has retained the distinction of being the youngest leader of a Nigerian state, in fact the only one born after the Nigerian Civil War.
Apart from the encumbrances and challenges which come naturally with the office of a governor, Bello was, as well, under pressure to prove that a youth could be trusted with enormous powers.
For a season, he was bugged down with litigation from those trying to take the seat from him. The dark pall of judiciary challenges had to clear before he could have the presence of mind to give his undivided attention to the task at hand.
Often misunderstood, Bello didn’t waste time coming into himself. After being bashed a bit by the realities of the office and pressure from those who perceived him as an usurper, he quickly reached a stage of maturity; gaining strength, confidence, security, respect and social acceptance, by understanding that he was accountable only to the people of Kogi. Instead of trying to please political chieftains, he made the sound judgement of working for the greater good of the majority.
Kogi was under siege from all manners of non-state actors which fostered an air of insecurity. Uniquely placed in a position where it borders many states, Kogi was a haven for criminals. He immediately engaged in the effort to end the reign of lawbreakers. His success was resounding and widely acknowledged around the country. Now, residents of the Confluence State can go to sleep with their two eyes closed.
“Merit, fairness and justice determined the selection and placement of persons who worked with us, and when it came to projects, we have tried to spread the love proportionately between our three senatorial districts. Tribe, religion and class are no longer the determinants of who or where gets what. They play no role except as a measure of proportionality, and only in the pursuit of inclusivity”
Bello noted, “To me, Kogi State is a metaphor for our nation. We are the intersection at the heart of Nigeria where compatriots from different parts of Nigeria meet everyday on their journey of life, share a meal or a short rest and travel together to mutual destinations.
“Our aspiration is a Nigeria where we can all meet in our rich diversity, unite in our nationhood and travel together towards our shared greatness.”
It may be argued that Kogi had never had it so good. The results, all around the state, speak for themselves. Bello deliberately assembled a team of consultants drawn from every discipline to package a roadmap calledthe New Direction Blueprint.
While the Kogi governor is not making noise about it, the people will forever remember him for building the first overpass in Lokoja, the state capital. The Ganaja Flyover Bridge is a showpiece for the Bello administration.
As he counts down to the end of his eight years at Lugard House, Bello is actually finishing strong. It was in his second term that Bello, having paced himself like a skilled long distance runner, with the myriads of litigation that he had to contend with in his first term, made indelible marks in the development of Kogi State.
In all of the 21 local government areas of the state, there is not one that has not been impacted by Bello’s development strides, sometimes called The Kogi Agenda, which encompasses an array of thousands of projects spread from the city centre in Lokoja to towns, villages and hamlets.
Bello has been steadfast to his oath of office, leading to the delivery of extraordinary achievements and milestones. He set out to implement innovative policies, infrastructure development initiatives, socioeconomic reforms and tirelessly pursue endeavours to enhance the well-being of the 4.5 million people of Kogi State.
These life-transforming projects have positively turned around the perception of Kogi at abysmally low levels of socioeconomic development. “We refused to glorify impossibilities.” That is the mindset with which Bello approached the job of governing the state.
“Put simply, we met great problems, but we also mobilised great courage and inventiveness to solve them together. Till today, we continue to tackle our challenges with stoicism and the heart of a lion. For the first time since Kogi State was created, we programmed equity into the spread of government appointments and projects.
“Merit, fairness and justice determined the selection and placement of persons who worked with us, and when it came to projects, we have tried to spread the love proportionately between our three senatorial districts. Tribe, religion and class are no longer the determinants of who or where gets what. They play no role except as a measure of proportionality, and only in the pursuit of inclusivity,” Governor Bello said.
This statement anchors what he said on the day of his inauguration at the Confluence Stadium, Lokoja. He told the cheering crowd: “Like President Muhammadu Buhari, I belong to everyone and to no one.”
This year, the Kogi government proposed a budget of 172,090,787,292.00 as against N167,301,926,197.00 approved in the revised budget for the year 2022. The 2023 budget also has a recurrent expenditure of N101,315,129,341, representing 58.87 per cent of the budget and N70,775,657,951 as capital, representing 48.13 per cent.
Confident that history will be kind to his stewardship of Kogi, Governor Bello said he would exit governance with a clear conscience, confident that he did his best for Kogites with the time and resources available to him.
Arguably, his last assignment and one that is very dear to his heart is to successfully perpetuate an APC regime in Kogi by convincing his people to vote for the governorship candidate of the party, Usman Ododo, in the November 11 governorship election.
