A PAPER PRESENTED
BY:
ADEIZA YAHAYA OMUYA
POLITICAL ECONOMIST
TEL: 08036055897
On The Occasion Of The Inauguration Of State And 21 L.G.As Coordinators Of The Ododo Independent Campaign Council (OICC) By Hon. Bashir Gegu, The Commissioner For Solid Mineral And Natural Resources At The NYCN Hall, Lokoja – Kogi State On The 25th Of April, 2023.
ALHAJI ODODO AHMED USMAN (OAU): THE UNVEILING OF A POLITICAL ENIGMA
INTRODUCTION:
This paper is segmented into four parts for better analytical and comprehension purposes. Firstly, introduction: Secondly, the personality of Alh. Ododo Ahmed Usman: Thirdly, the challenges and abundance of resources in Kogi State. Lastly, Kogi State under the leadership of Alh. Ododo Ahmed Usman.
As the topic implies, Ododo Ahmed Usman is an enigma. However, for the purpose of the guber race, he has to be divulged for the people of Kogi State to know and vote him in resoundingly so that he can take Kogi State to greater heights.
Governance in a heterogeneous and young democracy like Kogi State is expected to pose serious challenges to political leaders. The challenges could range from building consensus among the various ethnic and religious groups to providing infrastructural and social amenities for the people. It could be incautious of any political candidate to believe that leadership in a young and heterogeneous democracy would be a smooth ride. The wisdom to appreciate the enormity and complexity of the challenges as well as the courage to confront and tackle them with conscious solution are what endear political leadership to the people.
Honourable Ododo Ahmed Usman aptly fits into the requisite leadership needed by Kogi State. It is the task of unveiling this phenomenal personality that has brought these vibrant and agile youths together under the umbrella of Ododo Independent Campaign Council (OICC).
ALHAJI ODODO AHMED USMAN:
Experienced and professional Accountant, certified Auditor per excellence. Alh. Ododo Ahmed Usman is passionate about improvement of lives in any way possible. This candidate of APC in the Kogi guber race is an unrivaled philanthropist of no mean refute.
Many have heard of the ultra modern hospital he built and equipped with state of the art facilities for the people of his community in Okene L.G.A. His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello commended him specially for executing such magnificent project from his personal purse.
Alh. Ododo Ahmed has used many NGOs to sink boreholes and provide toilet facilities for humanity in Kogi State. He bought vehicles for security outfits to ensure security of lives and properties across the state e.t,c. What makes OAU unique is that he does the aforementioned philanthropic gestures and many others quietly without giving it publicity. At some points, he had to evade group photographs with the beneficiaries of his uncommon benevolence in order to avoid publicity.
OICC is not in doubt that OAU’s passion for serving humanity would propel him to unprecedented success when he assumes the mantle of leadership on 27th January, 2024.
OICC must not forget to realize that walking on a quagmire requires treading with utmost caution to succeed. Concerted efforts must be intensified by the members of OICC to purge themselves of ethnic bias, religious sentiments, greed and pettiness, to mention but a few. This is because you cannot be guilty of what you are preaching against. The council is seeking to serve as a change agent and, must therefore endeavour to raise the bar of religious and ethnic harmony in Kogi State.
KOGI STATE OF NIGERIA: THE CHALLENGES AND RESOURCES
Kogi State is a state in the North Central Region of Nigeria. It is one of the nine states created by General Ibrahim Babangida on August 27, 1991. Kogi State is the only state in Nigeria that borders ten other states. The state has a land mass of 29,833 Kilometres square and it will interest you to know that Kogi State is bigger than the entire South-East Region with a total land mass of 29,525 kilometres square. Kogi State population was 3.3million according to the 2006 Census figure. The population of Kogi State is estimated to be over 5million currently.
This information is necessary to drag your mind into the opportunities that abound in the Confluence State. Little wonder, the government of GYB christened the state as the Confluence of opportunities.
Kogi State is the most centrally located state in Nigeria. The state is called the confluence state because the meeting of Rivers Niger and Benue occurs in Lokoja before their collective downward movement to the ocean through the Delta. The climate and ecology make it suitable for the farmers in Kogi to produce various crops including yam, cassava, cashew oil palm, soya beans, and millet e.t.c. In fact, Kogi State is the largest producer of cashew in Nigeria and one of the largest cassava producing states in Nigeria.
The Confluence State is blessed with many strategic mineral resources which include but not limited to limestone, Iron-ore, coal, crude oil, feldspar, tantalite, dolomite and gold. Kogi State is the home to Nigeria’s premier Iron and Steel Complex located in Ajaokuta. It is also the home to one of the largest cement manufacturing complex, Dangote Cement in Obajana. The National Iron-Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) Itakpe which provides raw material for the Ajaokuta Steel Company (ASCO) must be mentioned too.
Kogi has gold deposit in commercial quantities in Kogi West, a natural endowment that can be converted into greater prosperity for humanity. Yagba West, Yagba East, Mopa-Muro and Kabba/Bunu are all blessed with gold in commercial quantities. I don’t know how well the Gold Smelting Plant in Mopa-Muro is doing, but we need more of such investment in the manufacturing or secondary sector.
The ninety-nine million tonnes of coal in Ankpa L.G.A of Kogi State can turn around the fortune of the state’s economy and even Nigeria at large. Kogi State alone enough deposit of coal to supply all Nigeria with electricity for up to four centuries.
The limestone deposit in Kogi State can keep three giant sized cement factories running for over ninety years. I mean additional two of Dangote Cement Complex can still get sufficient raw material in Kogi State – Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. 2009.
In the area of tourism, Kogi State is blessed with wonders of nature like the Confluence. The Confluence Beach can still be further developed to full potentials. Monuments like the Residence and Office of Sir Lord Lugard, Mount Patti and traditional festivals e.t.c are potential tourist attractions in Kogi State.
THE YOUTHFUL POPULATION OF KOGI STATE:
Nigeria’s population structure is a potential economic asset. Nigeria has the largest population of youth in terms of proportion with 70% of the population under thirty years of age. Kogi State, with vast arable land and a plethora of mineral resources in commercial quantities has the youthfulness of the population as great potential for the expansion of the economy. The state can be stronger and more attractive in terms of prosperity.
This is how home-grown and sustainable development is achieved anywhere in the world. The resources – material, human and financial resources are sourced majorly from the local economy. With the achievement of GYB in infrastructure and security, Kogi State is enabled and properly positioned for economic growth.
HOPE FOR KOGI STATE UNDER ALH. ODODO AHMED USMAN:
OAU is set to contest and win the governorship election of Kogi State come November, 2023. Consequently, he is expected to assume the mantle of leadership in the Confluence of Opportunities (Kogi State) on January 27, 2024, In-sha Allah.
On assumption of office, OAU is poised to weave the multi-ethnic and multi-religious fabrics of Kogi State together in a manner that is most just and honest. The traditional rulers and every citizen of Kogi would be stakeholders in such a new society. The current administration of GYB has done a great job in this direction and the youths believe that OAU can take the unifier role to greater heights.
Leadership combines other factors; human, material, financial e.t.c into a coherent whole and gives direction to it. Kogi State, with its favourable endowment of great mineral and agricultural resources requires the quintessential and enigmatic leadership of OAU to evolve greater wealth and development in all spheres.
Kogi State stands a great and due advantage to set-up a steel based factory that can specialize in the production of either nail, ladder, knot and bolt, galvanized roofing sheet or any steel product for industrial or domestic use. The steel factory is expected to get the requisite raw material from NIOMCO, and also benefit from Ajaokuta Steel Company (ASCO)’s technology. The same approach could be used to create wealth and job opportunities from other mineral resources like coal, limestone, gold, and crude oil e.t.c.
Agriculture is the sector with the capacity to provide sufficient food and gainful employment for the teeming unemployed youths. The industrial values of crops like oil palm, cassava and cashew cannot be overemphasized. The visionary leadership of OAU would set-up agro-allied industries that need cashew nuts, cassava and palm produce as raw materials. As the largest producer of cashew in Nigeria, value chain development of the crop as well as of cassava is expected to create hundreds of thousand jobs. GYB has succeeded greatly in making the development of agro-allied industries easy because of his achievement in security.
As an Accountant and certified Auditor by profession, the government of OAU would utilize the abundance of wealth from investment in mineral and agricultural sectors to make Kogi State flourish and attractive for people and more potential investors. Kogi State would thus, be able to have its own Social Investment Programme that takes care of aged, unemployed, small enterprises e.t.c. The people of Kogi State would certainly have cause to thank Governor Yahaya Bello for producing OAU as his successor. This is possible when all hands are on desk and in this regard, OICC has firmly taken a position.
With the more prosperous Kogi State, the greater revenue available to the Government of OAU would be channeled towards the provision of infrastructure and public amenities like medical facilities, good schools, pipe-borne water, good roads, stable electricity, environmental and waste management to mention a few.
There is paucity of fund in the post covid-19 and naira redesign era. The gap in financing of investment could be filled with the appropriate utilization of the instruments of Public Private Partnership (PPP) and even sourcing from industrial and development banks.
CONCLUISON:
This session would help the vanguards that have gathered under the banner of OICC to be greatly informed and prepared for the task ahead of them in Kogi State.
The candidate and, by the grace of God, next Governor of Kogi State is through this session reminded of what we believe he already knew as a concerned public servant.
The campaign for the November 2023 gubernatorial election would be enriched as a result of this session. The OICC vanguards can now challenge the campaigners of other candidates to intellectual engagement.
It is believed that this type of session will continue to hold regularly to serve as refresher course or training for the change agents in OICC.
Thanks and God bless Kogi State.