By joshua 
The outstanding political exploit and the indelible legacies of Governor Yahaya Bello in Kogi State will make more appreciated if we go down memory lane to remind ourselves how the entity called Kogi State was birthed on August 27th, 1991, and the bedeviling challenges the state faced before the emergence of GYB.
The agitation for the creation of Kogi State started as far back as 1981 when some prominent personalities of the defunct Kabba Province took it upon themselves to demand for her creation. The likes of Professor Albert Ozigi, Walter Bako, Joseph Abu Ogbeha, Timothy Elukpo, Liman Usman, and a host of others were instrumental to the creation of Kogi State.
The creation of Kogi State was a dream come through, and just like any new states, Kogi state faced challenges of leadership, sharing of power, integration struggles and the likes. These challenges to say the least were not properly managed and the state was going the way of irrelevance and comatose in the comity of states.
The state was drenched in the heinousness of politics and muddied in the avarice of ethnicity. The affairs of the state was fast becoming the birthright of the select few who often manage the state like a conquered territory and treat her resources like a spoil of war.
To say the least, Kogi state was only existing in name and not in substance. This is due to the fact that, the men of underworld turned the state into a crime scene and rudderless politicians turned it into a theater of comedy and the state became a pariah of anything noble and sublime.
The emergence of Governor Yahaya Bello turned the tide and gave a new breath into the dying state. GYB embarked on a herculean task of rebuilding the state from the foundation. The revolt from the political Darken Rahl was intense and great was the sniveling of the children of Philistine, yet GYB like an untiring Spartan warrior endured all and began the building of new Kogi state.
GYB like a dexterous physician began the surgery of the state with a scalpel of political inclusiveness, unity, security, and development. As it stands today, the wholesomeness of Kogi state is at its best. The political malady and sectoral misfortune are things of the past; courtesy of GYB.
It is however befuddling to see some semblance of destructive little foxes that are creeping into the political vineyard of Kogi state. These little foxes are desperately trying to resurrect ugly past of politics. They wear the toga of ethnicity and mundane considerations to advance their selfish interests. They do not care about the ultimate sacrifice paid to be where Kogi state is today.
They soon forget the ethos and tapestry upon which Kogi state thrives and like destructive foxes, they are hellbent to bring down the new Kogi painstakingly built by GYB.
Those who seek the good of Kogi state will as a matter of our peaceful coexistence, unity and progress of the state trust the judgment of the very man who ushered in a good renaissance in the state. Therefore, it is more than a clarion call for the people of Kogi state to reject those who seek to drag the state back to things that do not give us progress and we must all strive to sustain the good things that GYB have achieved in the state.
Written by
Barr E.O. Shadrach, FICMC.