By joshua KOGI AT 35: KONGONET CONGRATULATES THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE OF KOGI STATE
The Kogi NGOs Network (KONGONET) warmly congratulates the Government and the entire people of Kogi State as our dear State marks 35 years since its creation on 27 August 1991.
Thirty-five years in the life of a State is an important milestone. It is a time to celebrate how far we have come, remember the sacrifices of those who laid the foundation of the State, recognize those who have contributed to its development, and, importantly, reflect honestly on how much more remains to be done.
Kogi State occupies a unique place in Nigeria. Our central location, agricultural potential, enormous solid mineral deposits, the confluence of Rivers Niger and Benue, our diversity, youthful population and strategic transportation corridors give the State advantages that few states possess. The challenge before successive governments and citizens has always been how to translate these enormous potentials into better living conditions for the people.
Recognising Progress
KONGONET acknowledges the progress recorded over the years and the efforts of the current administration of His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, to consolidate development across the State.
There have been visible interventions in road construction and rehabilitation, education, healthcare, agriculture, workers’ welfare and rural development. The State Government has continued its investments in Primary Healthcare Centers, educational institutions, and road infrastructure, while maintaining policy attention to healthcare, education, food security, connectivity, and infrastructure development.
We particularly recognize efforts to improve access to education, support students, strengthen primary healthcare, and expand infrastructure in communities across the three Senatorial Districts.
We also acknowledge the growing commitment to open and participatory governance through the Open Government Partnership. The ongoing engagement between government and civil society provides an important platform for citizens to contribute to decisions that affect their lives. These are positive steps that should be encouraged and deepened.
The Anniversary Must Also Be a Moment for Honest Reflection
As we celebrate, KONGONET believes that anniversaries should not only be about counting years; they should also measure progress in the lives of ordinary people.
Many communities across Kogi State still face serious challenges. Poor road conditions remain a major concern. While several road projects are ongoing, many state and federal roads remain difficult, unsafe, or economically costly for citizens.
Access to safe and reliable water remains a concern in Lokoja and several communities. Health facilities require not only buildings and equipment but enough doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory personnel, radiographers and other health professionals to provide quality services.
Flooding remains an annual threat to lives, homes, farms and livelihoods, reinforcing the need to move beyond emergency response towards sustained drainage development, flood-control infrastructure, early warning and community preparedness.
Insecurity, particularly kidnapping and threats along highways and within farming communities, also requires sustained attention. Youth unemployment, sanitation and waste management, rural poverty and the need to ensure that public spending produces visible results in communities remain important development concerns.
These are not criticisms for criticism’s sake. They are reminders that citizens’ experience ultimately measures development.
Infrastructure Must Work for the People
As Kogi enters another year, KONGONET strongly urges the Government to make citizen-centered infrastructure a defining priority for the State’s next phase of development.
Good infrastructure should not only be measured by the monetary value or size of projects. It should be measured by how much easier and safer it makes everyday life.
• a road that allows farmers to take produce to the market without losing half of it on the journey;
• clean water available in homes and communities;
• a Primary Healthcare Center that has both equipment and qualified health workers;
• classrooms where children can learn safely and effectively;
• drainage systems that prevent families from losing their homes every rainy season;
• motorable rural roads connecting communities to economic opportunities;
• functional markets, sanitation facilities and waste-management systems; and
• public infrastructure that is properly maintained after construction.
Kogi’s strategic location means that good infrastructure can do much more than improve convenience. It can transform the State into a major center for agriculture, logistics, trade, manufacturing, tourism and solid-mineral development.
However, infrastructure development must increasingly prioritize quality, durability, value for money, maintenance and equitable distribution.
Infrastructure planning must also take into account economic activity, particularly heavy mining traffic, enforcement of axle-load requirements, and the responsibility of industries whose operations place additional pressure on public assets.
Our Recommendations Going Forward
As the State celebrates 35 years, KONGONET respectfully encourages the Government to:
1. Develop and implement an accelerated State Infrastructure Renewal Plan, giving particular attention to township roads, rural access roads, bridges, drainage, water infrastructure and underserved communities.
2. Prioritize completion and maintenance over proliferation of projects. Citizens benefit more from a smaller number of completed, functional and durable projects than numerous projects that remain unfinished.
3. Resolve the perennial water challenge, particularly in Lokoja metropolis, while investing in sustainable water schemes across rural and urban communities.
4. Strengthen the health workforce. Investment in hospitals and PHCs must be matched by aggressive recruitment, retention and equitable deployment of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, radiographers and other essential professionals.
5. Strengthen flood prevention and climate resilience, including drainage expansion, desilting of waterways, enforcement against construction on natural channels, community early-warning systems and long-term protection of highly vulnerable communities.
6. Deepen security partnerships with communities, particularly along highways, farming settlements and vulnerable rural corridors.
7. Expand opportunities for young people through agriculture, skills development, enterprise support, technology and private-sector investment.
8. Strengthen maintenance culture. Every major road, public building, water facility, school and health facility should have a realistic maintenance plan and budget.
9. Continue strengthening transparency, accountability and citizen participation through the Open Government Partnership, public consultations, accessible budget information and meaningful engagement with civil society.
10. Measure development increasingly from the perspective of citizens. Government performance should ultimately be reflected in shorter travel times, safer communities, cleaner environments, functioning health facilities, better schools, affordable services and improved household livelihoods.
A New Opportunity for Kogi
At 35, Kogi State has every reason to be hopeful.
KONGONET particularly recognizes the approachable and consultative disposition demonstrated by Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo and the relatively amiable atmosphere that has characterized engagement among government, civil society and other stakeholders. This atmosphere presents an important opportunity.
Leadership that listens can identify problems earlier. A government that welcomes constructive criticism can correct mistakes faster. And a relationship built on mutual respect among government, citizens, civil society, communities, and the private sector can mobilize the enormous human and economic resources required to develop Kogi State.
We therefore encourage His Excellency to continue to strengthen this openness and to use the goodwill surrounding his administration to build a broader Kogi consensus around development – one in which political, ethnic, religious and geographical differences do not prevent us from agreeing on the basic things every Kogite deserves.
At this stage of our history, the aspiration should be simple: good roads, clean water, functional hospitals, quality schools, safe communities, productive agriculture, jobs and opportunities for young people, a clean environment, accountable institutions, and infrastructure that genuinely works for the citizen.
If the current atmosphere of accessibility and engagement is sustained and matched with disciplined investment in these fundamentals, Kogi State has the potential not merely to celebrate its years, but to become one of Nigeria’s strongest examples of how strategic location, natural resources, good governance and citizen participation can be converted into shared prosperity.
As we mark 35 years, KONGONET congratulates His Excellency, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, the Government and the resilient people of Kogi State.
Happy 35th Anniversary, Kogi State.
Long live Kogi State.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
_______________________________
HAMZA ALIYU
CHAIRPERSON