Two people definitely cannot walk and work together except they are agreed.
There must be singularity and oneness of purpose ; there must be a common vision between them; there must be shared purposes, shared goals and shared interests between two people for them to walk together. This common dictum governing the relationship between friends pertains to our leaders and our people too. Kogi State will never progress until there is oneness of vision and purpose between the Governor/Government and the people of Kogi State.
We have preached this message many times from different pulpits and different podiums. Kogite must put aside all tribal, regional and other self interests and work with their Governor and Government , if we must see any ray of hope in our socio-economic and state endeavours. There is no way we can progress in Kogi state if we walk at cross-purposes with our leaders.
When Governor Yahaya Bello came to power in 2016, he launched the Agenda For Change. The purpose of the Agenda For Change was to alleviate the suffering of the Kogite through positive changes and developments in Agriculture, Energy, Infrastructure, Health and Education . ”The Agenda For Change reflects our people’s belief that the government they elected in a free and fair election will work in partnership with them to improve their social and economic conditions”, Governor Yahaya Bello cried from the rooftops. When he was elected in 2016, the Governor declared : “We will need to construct roads and bridges, improve on our agricultural practices and expand on the smallholder commercialization programme. We will need to empower our women and youth and create more space for their voices to be heard “.
The Agenda For Change metamorphosed into the Agenda For Prosperity, and when he addressed Kogi people during his one year in office, the Governor promised the good people of Kogi State : ” In our Agenda for Prosperity we will act to diversify the economy, induce growth, and empower human capital with appropriate education to be part of programme implementation. The gains of the Agenda for Change have brought to our shores huge foreign investments in infrastructure, agriculture and tourism. In the Agenda for Prosperity we will act to enhance the capacity of our people to make them an integral part of this new dawn.
” Therefore, Kogi State is moving forward. All Governor Yahaya Bello wants is to develop his state and improve the welfare of the people. What is not manifest is the total and unalloyed support of many of the educated elite who are still in bondage to negative and unprogressive emotions like tribalism, regionalism , vicious propaganda, sectionalism, selfishness and enslavement to destructive partisan politics. Some of the so-called editorials and op/ed articles we read in newspapers and views articulated in the social media expose an intelligentsia that is more enslaved to partisan political, tribal , regional and other parochial interests than being in tandem with their government’s development initiatives.
Kogite must rise and unite together to fight a common enemy, we must not allow the force of darkness overshadow that of light. We have seen enough of what the cabals has to offer, they have ruled us for over 17yrs but have nothing to show for it. The future of our state can only be better if we support the golden initiative of Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello.
Written by Comrade Ahmed Omeiza Lukman, Former Chairman Nigeria Community In Ukraine.
