Kogi :, Redirecting The New Direction

I don’t stay in Kogi.

I have no business interest in the state.

I don’t think I will at any time be based in Kogi State.

None of the major political stakeholders is related to me.

Then you will now ask me, what is my issue? Why am I fighting for better governance? Why have I been on the neck of the government on the closure of six tertiary institutions in the state due to an on-going strike by workers?

The answer is simple, because I am Kogi.
That is enough reason for me.  I have been at the forefront of demanding for a better Nigeria. I have led groups, organised civic clinics and been part of initiatives focused on building a better Nigeria; but how do I stand to build a nation when my state is in shambles?

Kogi State is arguably a one City State -Lokoja. No industries, the ones we have are moribund; thank God for Dangote in Obajana. We can safely assume that the state is a Civil servant state. The health sector is not top notch, education sector is in shambles and it has struggled to even build a reputation as a business friendly environment.

However, the issues did not start with the incumbent governor, Yahya Bello. A lot of the issues predate his administration. But as they say, the buck stops at the head.  For now my grouse is the Education sector, it is sad that 6 state owned tertiary institutions are on strike and the government has been spinning propaganda.

Governor Yahaya Bello-led Kogi State government’s continued indifference to demands spelt out by the staff unions in all state-owned institutions, who have been on strike for over 3 months is appalling. Countless number of times, I tagged the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Petra Akinti Onyegbule on several social media posts trying to find out the thoughts of the government on the Strike, there was no response. The only seeminly government based response was from Gbenga Olorunpomi, who as at the time the crisis first began argued that GYB was on the issue. It’s been over three months after, there has not been any amicable resolution and the students have been at home, when their mates in other states are engaging in academic activities.

On a normal day, the Kogi State University, which is going to be my focal point, is not one of the best in the country. It needs a lot of attention, infrastructural rehabilitation, funding, and employment of adequate staff has hindered its growth and development, the on-going strike is just a reflection of the rot that the signature tertiary institution in the state represents.

One would expect that a Government that claims, it is focused on charting a new direction for the state will prioritise the education of its teeming youths, but the direction has slacked in this duty. For an administration to be in charge and six tertiary institutions are on strike at the same time? There is no excuse.

Weeks turned into months; there was no response from the government. The students who were at the receiving end of the seeming irresponsibility by relevant stakeholders were not engaged by the government- no constant communication to show that we are on the issue. Now, the students took their future into their hands, increased momentum on the social media and now the government is trying to spin it?  Wow.

Why wait till now?

My activism on the issue got fired up when I saw a reaction from the supposed Chief of Staff to the Governor, Edward Onoja. Students who are at home for something they are not responsible for, some of them even voted for a government they believed will be able to act on their behalf on important issues and then after being ignored for months, they protest and you are giving them guidelines on how to air their grievances?

The only place I slightly agreed with him is the second part of the first sentence, “The lingering closure of Tertiary Institutions in Kogi State is not the handiwork of the Kogi State Government but it is our duty to reopen them by all means at our disposal” He should have just gotten busy with achieving this, than sending a very appalling pseudo-intellectual Facebook post.



In my efforts to get to the root of the matter, I put a call across to the ASUU President, Kogi State University, Dr. Aina. Before the day I made that call, I had never had any communication with him, but to make sure, I heard from all sides, it had to be done. He confirmed the strike and made it clear, that the major issue of concern was salaries for the lecturers. In his exact words: Have they paid the salaries and we have refused to come to class?

Anyway, the handling of the strike on the part of the Government has been poor. No effective communication, little or no show of empathy, and to think that there has not been any meeting specifically with ASUU as at Friday, 28th, 2017(Which is over two months since the strike started) is   a “no no”.

There is no development in a state without a properly educated and well trained youth Population. Nobody will develop Kogi better than Kogi indigenes that have a connection to the state, as natural participants.
Sadly, the students are at home, how do they gain the necessary skills and training to champion the new direction?

Ondo : The Stage is set

Iroko.

I got to know that about this alias while I was in Secondary School.

It was particularly interesting because since my school was in Ondo State, my teachers, classmates, seniors and juniors were drawn against each other in terms of choice for the Governorship elections in the state. We had die- hard PDPians and some others who could almost enjoy a dance in the market at the sound of the Labour Party themed Mimiko jingles.

So the elections held in 2007. I was in SS1. I had spent an appreciable 3 years in Ondo State. I did not know much but I realised that a lot of the people around me, especially during my Mid –term breaks in Oka Akoko, lined up behind the Iroko - Like he was the big tree in the forest that could take Ondo State to the promise land. Although, they didn’t have many reasons to fault the outgoing Olusegun Agagu administration, I just saw an energy that demonstrated that they believed that Mimiko was a better option.

The election ended, Agagu was adjudged the winner.

My Teacher, Mr. Aminu was happy. For that reason alone, a lot of the students were not happy; he is not someone we really loved. But countdown to the journey to the tribunal which ended in the Appeal court on February, 23, 2009, the Joy returned! And there was an unusual burst that the saviour has arrived.

Fast forward to February, 2017….8 years of the Mimiko administration of two terms; a good number of the population are heaving a sigh of relief that the Iroko is going back to the forest. I wonder why! What changed?

Is it because he joined PDP? Or was it his policies or decisions?

I began with my secondary school story to show the depth of hope; even Secondary school students hoped for the best.

Mimiko’s administration began when I was leaving the state, I was in SS3. And the end of his tenure coincided with my return to the state for youth service, two different times and I met a hugely opposite level of reception.

To his credit, we have wonderful mega schools in almost all LGAs of the state if not all; we have an improved health care system, even if people will complain that the options are majorly around the central senatorial district. During his  administration, Ondo State produced one of the best female football teams in the country- Sunshine Queens, Best Volley ball team in the country and some of the best wrestlers in the country – Odunayo Adekuroye and Ameenat Adeniyi etc.

However, the focus is Arakunrin.

After a hard fought victory, weathering the storm of intra – party struggles, and two strong opposing candidates in Eyitayo Jegede of the People’s Democratic Party and Olusola Oke of the Alliance for Democracy,he has emerged  as the Governor of Ondo State. The second coming!

Although there is a difference in the level of excitment! The hope levels are not as high as that of Iroko so  the onus lies on the Newly inaugurated Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to know that time and chance happens to us all, and the main question is what will he be remembered for when  he leaves office?

Photo credits : Aketi media page.

Ondo State is blessed. It is blessed with a rich and unpolluted waterway, a good shoreline, excellent deposit of Bitumen, wonderful tourist attractions and an army of well-educated indigenes.  It is strategically located, as it connects the Northern and southern part of the country. It connects to the South South – Benin, to the North – Kogi, Abuja, East – Via Benin, Delta to Onitsha and to all parts of the South West. The potential embedded in this location is huge.

Ore. This town for me is the most underutilized and unexploited in the world.  Yes, the world. Its proximity to Lagos – the economic capital of Nigeria and the vast available lands is a huge potential that is not being properly exploited. It can be an alternative industrial hub, with a national reach, a cargo /Passenger airport (It’s just few hours to Akure) and deep shoreline that can accommodate ships ( it’s close to Ilaje/Okitipupa). Can we have more efforts like the Olokola Deep sea port and free trade zone?

What of the state’s Bitumen? This is an issue I am tired of thinking and talking about. Since we now have a government that is close to the Centre and a Minister of Solid Minerals that visited the state more than twice during the Election campaigns…we shouldn’t have an excuse. This time, bitumen must be properly mined for the economic benefit of the state. If we cannot do the exploration, we can sign an MOU with construction companies to do modular exploration. I wait.

Cocoa! How much more can we talk about this? I still do not know why we do not have a budding Cocoa processing industry in Ondo State. Can we court chocolate and other front -end products industries to set up in the state and not just the many “Buy and take away” structures that we have? Anyway, a major part of Arakunrin’s campaign was massive development of the Agriculture sector; we can only hope this sector receives massive attention. I visited Araromi Obu and the Rubber plantation I saw there was huge…there are so many other crops that can grow on our wonderful arable lands.

Ondo State is blessed with one of the most educated populace in the country. The state has about ten tertiary institutions which includes one of the best Technology school in the country (Federal University of Technology, Akure), A University of Medical Sciences, Adeyemi College of Education and some of the best secondary schools in Nigeria. I know this last part because my school went on different competitions and I know how much exploits we did in national competitions. So the state is not lacking in terms of manpower. It has the human resource to drive industrialisation, Agriculture and economic development…Will we get a political will to ensure that massive all round development happens in the state?

We can still talk about tourism: Idanre Hills, Ebomi Lake and a variety of potential tourist attractions that are of historical, culture and artistic values.

Let me stop here.

If we can work on the very few ones I have listed, we can begin a revolution that will change Ondo State and make it the darling of the south west. As a state, we have the capacity to be the pride of the nation. My friend, Kitan says Ondo State is rich but rich in potentials; sadly having potential does not translate to development.

We can build; we can shine….will Arakunrin be the man?