Will Detractors Ever Allow Governor Yahaya Bello Rest?
By Ozumi Abdul
POLITICS DIGEST- I stand to be corrected. But I am not sure persons who seem to have unbridled disdain for Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, the youthful, dynamic and vibrant Governor of Kogi State, will ever allow him rest. Never!
Since they have scores, and even grouse to settle with him, they will be quick in finding fault in every of his action, or even policy programme done executed for the benefit of all Kogites, and humanity, in general.
They will perpetually see no good in GYB, because their vision has been impaired by repulsive aversion and bitterness for the Sheriff in The Confluence State.
Truth, of course, has certain distinctive features. It outlives lies. It helplessly put lies to shame, because both truth and lies have no meeting points.
Metaphorically, when a knife is tossed hundreds of times, its landing position always remains the flat side. Such is the honourable distinction of truth.
In the area of insecurity, and for the the records, one of the States that has been in the eyes of the storm in the recent past is Kogi.
Before the whirlwind of insecurity shifted to Niger, Zamfara, Katsina, Benue and Kaduna States, some communities and roads in Kogi were dreaded for the crimes prevalent there.
Passing through some areas in the State was like passing through the valley of death. Kogi, the Confluence State, was gripped by all sort of crimes, ranging from kidnapping to armed robbery, terrorism, herders-farmers pogrom, internecine violence among rival communities, and political assassinations.
But GYB has changed the narrative, which has since the State been a safe haven of sort. And this was made possible only by the singular act of overhauling Kogi’s security architecture, no sooner than he assumed office in January 2016.
Governor Yahaya Bello’s efforts at combating crime begun yielding results such that in 2017, a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, indicated that out of the 134,663 cases of crime reported, Bauchi, Kebbi and Kogi States had the lowest rate.
That same year, Kogi had no case of burglary while the State with the highest level of crime had 1,213 cases.
It is apt to posit that Governor Bello’s approach to tackling the menace of youth restiveness in Kogi was using a homegrown solution. He first united the people of the State, jettisoning their religious, cultural and political background.
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Then, he provided relevant security agencies in The Confluence State not only moral support, but logistic materials that will enable them discharge their work efficiently.
At a recent parley with newsmen in Lokoja, Governor Bello, said: “We set our sights on security in the State and overhauled it.
“Nigerians may want to know that our police, military and other law enforcement officers are not cowards. The vast majority of our officers are good, intelligent and diligent folks.
“We discovered that they just needed the right tools to do their jobs and little motivation to give us their best.
“We distributed over 200 patrol vans, over 500 motorcycles and thousands of communications and other gadgets to our security agencies in Kogi within our first year.”
In the area of infrastructure, Governor Bello’s achievements are unparalleled, in the annals of Kogi’s existence. His administration has since remodelled Lokoja and other towns in The Confluence State. GYB has also flagged off and commissioned several impactful capital projects, that is already attracting both foreign and local investors to Kogi.
Needless to say, his administrative has given Kogi people a specialized tertiary instititution called Confluence University of Technology, while also engaging in aggressive construction and rehabilitation of both Trunk A and B roads, across the State.
How about the Kogi Reveue House, in Lokoja, and Kogi Rice Mill Factory, situated in Ejigba town of Yagba East local government? Do we even need to mention the
Mohammadu Buhari Event Centre in Lokoja, and the Ganaja Junction Flyover, also in the State capital?
Readers, and perhaps, even GYB’s dectractors, only need to visit The Confluence State to be dazzled by the wonder Kogi State has become, under the exemplary and transformational leadership of Nigeria’s youngest Governor.
In his attempt to generate revenue internally for the State, Governor Bello constructed the first ever Kogi Revenue House in Lokoja, which is now shoring up the State’s IGR.
The governance style of GYB has truly fostered accelerated development of Kogi, and then, the socio-economic growth of both the residents and indigene of The Confluence State, in a manner that supplanted the legacies of his predecessors in office.
Hence, it is imperative that persons who chose not to like Governor Yahaya Bello’s are left on their own.
But what must be addressed is the farrago of misinformation and barefaced distortion of facts as it concerned not only the glittering personality of the youthful Kogi’s State helmsman, but his exceptional performance in just seven years as Governor.
