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Idris Wada |
By Phrank Shaibu
Five months
have passed since the infamous and controversial inconclusive Kogi governorship
election, yet the cracks that emerged on the Kogi political sphere are far from
being mended. While the Election Tribunal is busy hearing the cases of
dissatisfied contestants in the said election and judgement awaited, there have
been many thought-provoking situations and commentaries that have created many
obvious holes in Kogi politics.
First, is on
what is perceived by many as dubious legality of misdeeds of the Independent
National Electoral Commission which ironically thrust Kogi’s exceptional
peaceful governorship election in this political era of Buhari’s administration
into an issue of confusion and near disorder. Second, is that the political
problems of Kogi state have widened with the sudden death of three of its
major politicians, Prince Abubakar Audu, James Ocholi and Rotimi Obadofin in
quick succession. Indeed, the death of these men in an era of Kogi’s
inconclusive governorship election and its baggage of mysteries have left many
Kogi voters deeply disillusioned, thus making the prospect of Kogi politics
intensely worrisome as they await the decision of the Electoral tribunal. The
third issue is that the Kogi people have not demonstrated genuine desire to
fiercely and boldly confront the sad point of political impunity and sleaze
which have hampered their political growth and overall development of their
state.
Unfortunately,
the issues raised herein were shaped by the combination of actions of the Kogi
so-called political leaders and their misguided intentions including self
aggrandizement, skewed identity and ethnic politics which have led to the
crumbling of the real and great Kogi dream. With all sense of modesty but
candor, these setbacks could have been checked or probably avoided with a
better informed and less gullible electorate. Sadly, in a State like Kogi where
many people are still in a struggle to keep up, the issue of a weak electorate
is most often overlooked and neglected because most politicians find joy in
using such platforms to confuse or dubiously attract voters. Indeed, this is
why the Kogi people will need to rethink the status quo which advances
ethnicity, greed and embezzlement above common good and opportunity for all
even before a verdict is pronounced by the Electoral Tribunal on the fate of
Kogi politics.
Specifically,
any credible analysis of the situation on ground would suggest that such has
given rise to Kogi’s most uncertain political era of our time. Indeed, this may
not be out of order because right now, Kogi politics is like watching a
football match in which you cannot even differentiate players by the colour of
their jersey. Already, with members of the APC split into many camps and
the PDP trying to rebuild, it will be difficult to predict voters’ choice in
any new election in Kogi by the political affiliation as such has been lost to
confusion.
Thus, to blithely assert that if a new election is conducted today in Kogi, the
voters will vote along party lines is like claiming that divided loyalty brings
more unity than political distortions. This is where the Kogi voters will be
confronted with the tough choice of selecting a determined leader should the
need for a fresh election arise.
Indeed, Kogi
situation deserves a broad minded analysis and proper dialogue than criticisms
based on political divides. For now, the Kogi people must go beyond
inconsequential politics to developing ideas that will confront the biggest
challenges facing them and the future of their children which has been the
looting of the state treasury. Contrastingly, in the recent past, the
administration of Idris Wada appears to be the only exception in the long
history of the pillaging of the Kogi state treasury. Any objective observer of
the Wada-led government would attest to the fact that Governor Idris Wada
demonstrated that he was rather into working for the state than possessions.
Unfortunately, Wada in the eyes of the press may not have had a remarkable
record of desirable progress for the age long neglected state. However, the
whole of Wada’s stay in office should not be tarred with the non-performance
brush because he remains the only Governor Kogi State has produced that
transparently demonstrated capacity for honesty and still stands firm as a
selfless leader. In the end, Wada’s performance or lack thereof, should be
measured by how many projects and programmes he engaged in with the little
money available to the state and not necessarily assumptions that he ought to
have corrected all the decay of decades by past administrators of the state.
Yes, at
times, without regular salaries for workers, the situation may look very gloom
but let us not forget that even beyond Wada’s administration, payment of
salaries of an over-bloated State civil service work force has remained a very
difficult task to surmount especially in the absence of bail out funds which
was offered to many states that shared similar problems. Indeed, there is far
more work to do than unjustly condemning the efforts a government based on
delayed payment of salaries for few months with limited resources. In
fact, mere demonizing a government for not meeting all expectations of the
voters can only be termed justified where there exist evidence that money has
been looted, mismanaged, misapplied or cornered to private use. But this is not
the case in Kogi under Wada. First he inherited huge debts and accrued pension
payments, so describing Wada as a non performer because he could not do more
than the financial strength of the state is a wrong premise for arriving at any
meaningful conclusion on the rating of his performance.
It will make
enormous sense for any good analyst to assess Wada’s performance based on the
nature of revenue received, perhaps this will provide some vindication for his
administration especially given that of all past governors of Kogi state, he
stands out as the most determined leader Kogi has produced. Indeed, what others
before Wada thought was not possible was what he achieved in terms of
greater teamwork and even spread of development across the state.
So, If we
must salvage Kogi’s politics and development, Wada’s style of compassion,
honesty, humility and offer of opportunity for all will not amount to asking
too much from Kogi politicians. I am talking of the innocuous, easily forgotten
initiatives and temperament of a man whose tenure made the state more united,
peaceful and irrevocably hoisted on a path of identifiable progress and
development.
In fact,
Wada’s peace and freedom from the usual harassment of embezzlement and
corruption which greets governors when their successor is from another party is
a testament to the kind of administration he conducted while in office. Most
likely, that could have been the reason why the Kogi election was never a do or
die affair by the then incumbent Governor.
In any case, as Idris Wada awaits the verdict of the election tribunal
while living in a house he built over fifteen years ago, may his
self-denial, contentment and sacrifice find a valuable space in the
documentation of Kogi’s unfolding history. Certainly, any society that means
well should advise its leaders to draw lessons from Wada’s exemplary conduct of
honesty and dignity in public office.
(Shaibu is the Chief
Communications Manager to Idris Wada)
Good write up but the fact is that Idris Wada could have done better at least by acting like a politician that ought to know that propaganda is a vital tool in politics. If only he had amplified the work he did, the Kogi people would have been very hopeful and reassuring about his well intentions.
ReplyDeleteOlajumoke Adeleke
Most likely if Idris Wada is given another chance, he will do very well because most political comebacks with self respect and financial discipline are usually more interested in pleasing the people to retain their dignity than denting their image.
ReplyDelete