By K.S.S Enebe
I want to start by asking the usual statement/question about “politics” branded as “Dirty Game or practice. To me, politics is like any other field of discipline or study like medicine, law, accounting administrations, engineering etc. Therefore, it’s the people that are involved in the game or practice of politics made it appears dirty irrespective of intersts.
Since the emergence of Hon. Ahmed Usman Ododo, a kogi origin from central senatorial zone, the media and social platforms has been heated up either against or for on basis of ethnic interest by igallas in particular who has ruled the state for 21 years out of the 32 years of the state creation and the Egbiras who is about to finish their first 8 years of rule in the state.
Having most of the conversation between igallas of kogi east and Egbiras of kogi central so far, I will be more concerned for the purpose of this historical relationship between the Okuns of kogi west and Egbiras of kogi central.
At the creation of Benue and Kwara states among others in 1976 from old Benue/plateau protectorate, the igallas choose to remain with their kits and kin in Benue state while Egbira and Okuns were carved into Kwara state.
Alh.Adamu Attah from the Egbira tribe was elected the first executive civilian governor of Kwara state in 1979-1983 during which the Egbiras did not enjoy the expected cooperation, brotherhood or as boundary neighbors from Okuns; but notwithstanding, gov. Adamu Attah demonstrated patriotism and magnanimity by given the deserved democracy dividend to all sides and Okuns in particular.
Gov Adamu Attah gave two out of three commissioners slots to Okun axis and one to his Egbira axis, He established Ife-olukotun water works, established Egbe Nursing School, constructed road from ogaminana to kabba which uptil date has remain the main motorable road in and out of okunland since the Federal/obajana cement industry road was impassable over decades due to damages.
In 1990/1991, Egbiras struggled for the creation of kogi state from Kwara state towards which the Okuns were reluctant rather they attempted to be merged with their neighboring Ekiti state but unfortunately the Ekitis rejected them and we eventually came to form the new kogi state which Egbiras equally facilitated the merger of the igallas who also failed to get okura state they agitated for.
Furthermore, with the support of Egbiras which allowed the igallas to produced the first civilian governor of the new state in the person of Late prince Abubakar Audu in order to give them sense of belonging from the denial and torture they faced under TV/Benue state.
The igallas took the advantage and used the government instrumentalities to subject and reduced the Egbiras and Okuns to almost slaves and second class citizens under their 21 years rule with nothing to show in terms of development in kogi central and kogi west.
Kogi central- Egbiras with 5 LGA and population of 928,655 and kogi west- Okuns with 7 LGA and population of 909,746 making total of 12 LGAs and 1,838,401 population by 2006 census were subjected to survival of the fittest in the state.
Consequently, the Egbiras has been at the Frontline of the struggles for power shift who had paid supreme prices during the struggles through political instrumentalities and biase against Egbiras.
At this juncture, it’s imperative to remind our Okun supposed brothers and sisters at home and in diaspora, the support the Egbiras has given them during the struggles till now and why they should not all the time play the “Dirty politics” but reflects on the relationship and remember the saying that “Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are”. The Okun can not forgot In a hurry when the Okun and Egbiras were bluntly told ahead of the 2007 Governorship election by our igalla brothers in a Parliament BEEFS magazine publication Tittled:- IGALLA KINGDOM WITHOUT A GOVERNOR?- NEVER. and it reads:- *Mr.Alapa who dropped a thought provoking argument, said the igalla and the rest of the country should imagine a situation where 36 state governors are meeting at a council of state and an igalla with it’s 9th position is not represented. God forbid. He said the Egbiras had always shared the same aspiration with igallas, that’s why they will continue to occupy the Deputy Governors position, and Iam sure the Okun should be comfortable with what they are having in the state at the moment, saying that it would have been possible to have igalla as the Governor and still have igalla as deputy governor with numerical strength, but the igallas are not greedy, they believe in sharing with others. He also told his audience that since politics is a game of number it will be possible if all the rest of the state refused to vote for an igalla candidate in an election, with our population we will still win the Governorship and even the deputy governor’s slot”*
DURING THE STRUGGLES:-
In addition to the few mentioned dividend of democracy in okunland under late gov.Alh. Adamu Attah in Kwara state, okunland has benefited from the Egbira political struggles for emancipation to mention but a few:-
√ During the succession struggles at the Federal Medical Center Lokoja headship on the retirement of prof. Anate from kogi central, Egbiras supported Dr.Eleshin
from Okunland who succeeded prof. Momoh Anate.
√During the manipulation and approval for a third term of 4 year to Dr. Omada from kogi east- igalla as the rector of kogi state polytechnic Lokoja by gov Ibrahim Idris, the Egbiras spearheaded the protest that stopped the 3rd term elongation following which Chief A B.OJO from Okun was appointed acting rector and later appointed prof. Mathew Ajiberon, a substantive rector of kogi polytechnic Lokoja at the expense of qualified Egbiras without complain.
√During the annulment of gov Ibrahim Idris election in 2007, igallas vehemently refused the kogi state assembly sitting speaker Hon.Abdulahi Bello from kogi central -Egbira to act as governor and was forced to resigned. Hon. clarance olafemi from Okun who also had his election at the tribunal/court was equally gambled to denied him the acting governor but the Egbira state assembly members declined to sign for his impeachment to enable the deputy speaker from kogi east- igalla to act as governor when gov. Ibrahim Idris election was annulled by the election tribunal/court which hon.clarance Olafemi eventually acted. Low & behold, the acting gov. Clarance Olafemi eventually dealt with Egbiras when he ordered the joint security agents to attack, kill people and burnt properties worth billions of naira in Ogaminana township because the vigilant youths of the area accosted and stopped about seven trailer load of iron ore concentrate from Itakpe which was suspected to be stolen from the Federal government’s Itakpe/Ajaokuta iron and steel sites with the collaboration of the state govt functionaries.
√During Obasanjo/PDP rule at the Federal and state levels, Mr. Olusola Akomode from Okunland was the deputy Chief of staff to the vice president, Alh. Abubakar Atiku, under the same regime prof.Tayo Lambo was appointed minister of Health and Mr.Ojo Bayo SAN was minister of justice and Attorney general of the Federation who played influencial roles in jacking the population figures of kogi west up in the 2006 census respectively while the igallas took to the streets of Lokoja and demonstrated against the Lopsided federal government appointment, the Egbiras that was left with nothing do not only supported the sons of Okun appointment but wrote and sponsored congratulatory messages on the state media outlets.
EMERGENCE OF GYB IN 2016.
Okunland has equitably enjoyed dividend of democracy more than ever in terms of appointment and state governments patronage for which records and living witnesses are there.
PROJECTS EXECUTION IN KOGI WEST UNDER GYB INCLUDES:-
1. Construction of kabba township roads with street lights.
2. Built GYB model science schools in isanlu
3.Built the anex of reference hospital in isanlu and gegu.
4.Established Omi rice milling in yagba west.
5. Construction of ganaja flyover bridge in Lokoja.
6. Kogi reference hospital, Lokoja.
7. Kogi state revenue house, Lokoja
8. GYB model school Adankolo, Lokoja
9. Internal road network and faculty building at kogi polytechnic,Lokoja.
10. Newly built presidential house chapel, Lokoja,
11. Newly built Muhammadu Buhari civic center, Lokoja.
12. Rehabilitation of Lokoja mega terminal at felele.
13. Construction of internal roads in kogi west.
14. Construction of Lokoja township roads.
15. Renovation and construction of kogi specialist hospital, Lokoja.
16. Construction/renovation of mosques and churches as ways of religious tolerance across the 3 senatorial zones.
Citizens of kogi west should challenge their conscience if the zone or the entire state has had it better over the 32 years of the creation of kogi state.
The essence of this historical highlights is to educate the public both the kogites and non kogites from being mislead with wrong informations in the name of playing ethnic politics and to say emphatically that “politics” is NOT Bad rather the players do!
SUPPORT Hon. Ahmed Usman Ododo, APC Governorship Candidate come 11th November,2023 and be rest assured of more equitable Democratic dividends and general development.
*ODODO IS TESTED AND TRUSTED UNBIASED ACHIEVER AND A BLESSING TO KOGI STATE AS A GOVERNOR WHO WILL NOT PRACTICE LEADERSHIP OF “MAJORITY OR MINORITY” BUT EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMANITY FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTING LIKE HIS FOUNDATIONAL PREDECESSORS -GYB.*
#God bless Nigeria
#God bless kogi state
#God bless GYB
#God bless OAU
#God bless well-wishers
CONGRATULATIONS KOGITES.