Kogi’s Blueprint for Holistic Regeneration, Reformation

Following the abysmal level of socioeconomic development on ground, Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that upon assumption of office, Governor Yahaya Bello, against all odds, launched the New Direction Blueprint, which has become the roadmap for proportional and accelerated development of Kogi State

“When I came into office for the first time on January 27th, 2016 our people needed change desperately and their expectations were sky-high. I was the youngest governor in the country and because of our youthful energies and perspectives I know everyone, even from outside the state, expected fireworks and magic, or in other words, an overnight success.

“As governor, I never once underestimated the amount of work that needed to be done considering the abysmal levels of socioeconomic development we inherited. But I also tell myself that I did not come into government to glorify impossibilities, but to solve problems. Thus I had a vision for the state even before I ran for office which formed the substratum of my manifesto during campaigns and I had it developed into a roadmap for my work once I was elected governor.”

Those statements above were made by the Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello at the first annual Governor Yahaya Bello (GYB) Seminar for Political and Crime Correspondents/Editors.

Inaugural Chat

To rub minds with journalists, crime and political corespondents and editors in particular, and bring to fore the achievements recorded under this administration, the first ever GYB inaugural meet and greet-cum-seminar was initiated.

Following the welcome remarks by the Secretary to the Kogi State Government, Dr (Mrs) Folashade, Arike Ayoade, the governor of the state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, fondly known as Essential GYB, shared the vision and mission for Kogi State under his watch, which led to an avalanche of questions for the governor and team. This was followed by several presentations covering security, politics, youth participation, governance, education, and even agriculture.

The seminar was wrapped up by the Director-General, Research & Development, Kogi State, Mr. Moses Okezie-Okafor with questions and answers before the closing ceremony/gala night/presentation of GYB Media Merit Awards/Presentation of Certificates, thus signalling an end to what was an eventful dialogue.

Presentations

Billed for the seminar were presentations on “Youth Participation in Governance: Effect on crime rate” by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pharm. Abdulkareem Jamiu Asuku; “Prioritising Education as pre-requisite for a peaceful society: The Kogi example” by the Commissioner for Education, Science & Technology, Kogi State, Hon. Wemi Jones Ojo; ‘Achieving food security in spite of global economic downturn. The Kogi story’ by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. David Apeh; “Reporting Nigeria for Nigeria’ by Editor-in-Chief, Leadership, Mr. Azubuike Ishiekwene; ‘Constructive reporting in crisis situation’ by former Presidential Spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati. This session was wrapped with a newsroom exercise anchored by THISDAY Columnist, Mr. Eddy Odivwri

The event also recorded presentations on “Taming insecurity across Nigeria: Special focus on the North’ by the Publicity Secretary, Arewa Consultative Forum, Mr. Emmanuel Yawe; insecurity and the role of women: Case study of Kogi State’ by the Commissioner for Women Affairs & Social Development, Kogi State, Hajia Fatima Kabir Buba; and ‘Impact of Civil Service reform on national growth: Kogi as Case study’ by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr (Mrs) Folashade Arike Ayoade.

Others include ‘Citizens’ participation and efficient security architecture: What we did differently’ by the Kogi State Security Adviser, Navy Commander Jerry Omodara (retd); ‘Peaceful coexistence in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society: How Kogi’s three main ethnic groups became one’ by the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Hon. Isah Idachaba; and 2023 elections: Journalists as agenda setters’ by President, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Chief Chris Isiguzo.

The Governor’s Vision

Disclosing his vision for the state, he said as the youngest governor in the country, many expected fireworks and magic, or in other words, an overnight success, adding that
he had a vision for the state even before he ran for office which formed the substratum of his manifesto during campaigns.

With the campaign over, he lived up to his promises by developing the manifesto into a roadmap called the New Direction Blueprint, which he said became the roadmap for proportional and accelerated development of Kogi State in all her constituencies.

He added that “as a leader, I have my eyes on leaving lasting legacies and not necessarily making good impressions on people who are hell-bent on making dents in our accomplishments through dishonesty. By its nature legacy cannot be frontloaded, it must always be a verdict delivered by posterity, in retrospect.

“This means that legacy is not a medal you award yourself, it is one earned by hard work the results of which extend into the future. For that very reason legacy cannot be permanently denied by malicious actors and a leader who must succeed must care little or nothing for distraction. With the foregoing always in view the GYB Administration has never, not even for one day, worked for applause but for positive impact and always in the overall best interests of the people of Kogi State.

“Did we magically transform Kogi State overnight? I wish I could say yes here, but no. My team and I promised to work hard and to work smart for the people of Kogi State but we did not promise them magic. Thus, the best I can do is to say that we tried, and that we have not stopped trying. This is because good things have processes that take time, including development and good governance of a society. Fireworks may light up the night but finally people must calm down and patiently wait for the day to dawn.”

Impact of Civil Service Reform

The civil service is the engine room of any government charged with day-to-day implementation of policies and programmes, as well as management of public expenditure.

Harping on the reforms initiated by Governor Bello in the civil service, Secretary to the State Government, Dr (Mrs) Folashade Arike Ayoade in her paper on ‘Impact of Civil Service reform on national growth: Kogi as Case study’ said if there is peer review among states, they can tap from some elements of the Kogi Civil Service Reforms.

Stressing that the role of the civil service in national development cannot be overemphasised, Ayoade said the first issue they tackled was the huge wage bill and debt due to undefined salary structure and over-bloated service compounded by ghost workers.

Noting that it was a drain on the government’s purse, with support from her principal, they set to work and can now boast of proper accounting, owing to the Treasury Single Account. They also weeded out 9,000 ghost workers which have stayed out given the constant auditing of the accounts.

Another issue they tackled was the lackadaisical attitude to work. But to deal with this, they first tackled the underlying factors like the poor conditions of service, working environment, backlog of salaries and delayed promotions including those without corresponding financial backing. Having done that, the system of reward and penalty was instituted. This is just as they carry out habitual training and retraining to improve their capacity.

Also, another drain in the government’s purse was the duplication of duties making it impossible to hold anyone responsible for shabbily done jobs. To tackle this, she canvassed a merger modality, thus cutting cost of governance.

This was just as infrastructural decay and lack of adequate and proper tools for work hampered effectiveness and efficiency. Additionally, to address the crave for ‘juicy ministries’ by top officials, she is there is a written examination to determine the fitness and suitability of top officials for ministries, based on their long years of service, experience, skills, conduct and public good.

Another massive reform taken by the Kogi Civil Service is championing life after retirement for its pensioners by keying into the Contributory Pension Scheme introduced by the federal government in 2004.

The state has also carried out reforms of the local government system in a bid to make it more effective.

Essentially, the reforms in the civil service in Kogi by the governor and team has led to seamless governance, which if sustained, will continue the state on a trajectory of growth.

Achieving Food Security

In the paper on ‘Achieving food security in spite of global economic downturn: The Kogi story’, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. David Apeh said the current global crisis is historically unprecedented worldwide with several factors converging to make it particularly damaging to people at risk of food insecurity.

“This global economic downturn is enveloped with a food crisis that pushed the price of basic staples food beyond the reach of millions of poor people. In addition, the crisis is affecting large parts of the world simultaneously. This current global economic crises that hit developing countries like Nigeria tended to be confined to individual countries or several countries in a particular region.”

Citing causes of underlying food crisis as drought, flood and conflicts (farmers/herders crisis), kidnapping/banditry, high rate of rate of population growth, and poverty also play a part within an already difficult environment, he said in achieving food security in spite of the global economic downturn, Kogi State having in mind the importance of food availability to her citizen is in true collaboration with government and non-government agencies across the state to easy the effects.

Noting that the mainstay of the state’s economy is agriculture and has comparative advantage in the production of cashew, rice, cassava, palm oil, maize, beniseed, cowpea, yam as well as livestock and aquaculture, he said the state collaborates with World Bank to fund programme such as the agro processing, productivity enhancement and livelihood support (APPEALS) project which empowers youth/women in rice, cassava and cashew production; International Fund for Agricultural Development/Value Chain Development Programme (IFAD/VCD) also in rice and cassava.

Also the state collaborates with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to fund project, which will empower youth and women in the development of aquaculture and cassava production and processing under this programme known as Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS).

Also, some agricultural implements like 100tractors were purchased by the governor and is trusted to two local government areas; 1000 power tillers which were distributed to women farmers all over the state; irrigation facilities e.g water pumps etc. procured for use during dry season along the bank of River Niger and Benue; as well as procurement of implement/farm inputs across the state facilities which were distributed to farmers.

He further stated that barring factors of COVID-19, flood, farmers/herders clashes, cattle rustling, declining soil fertility among others, the state is poised to record increased food production and food security, adding that the gains of the past which slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic are picking up again.

Conclusively, “not minding the shortage of resources, Kogi State will not relax in making sure that the availability of food for it citizenry will be her top priority,” he added.

Youth Participation and Effect on Crime

Noting that youth participation is pivotal in governance, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pharm. Abdulkareem Moh’d Jamiu, while quoting Kofi Annan, the Former Secretary General of the United Nations, posited that any society that cuts itself from its youth severs its lifeline.

In his presentation on ‘Youth Participation in Governance: Effect on Crime Rate’ he noted that youth participation in politics and governance is a subject that has continued to generate nationwide interest because it pertains to the socio-economic development of the Nigerian youth.

He said: “Nigeria has the third largest youth population in the world and a median age of 18 years. However, the youth demographic is grossly under-represented in Nigeria’s governance process. A cursory overview of the median age of Nigeria’s leaders will show that the nation’s political echelons are dominated by persons older than the age of 50.

“The general and if I might add, biased perception about our youth is that they are inexperienced and not mature enough to be trusted with the affairs of the state. Consequently, youths have been left out in major decision making and policy formulation processes that ought to serve their interest. This has led to the systemic marginalisation of youths in politics and engendering leadership succession in the country.

“The average Nigerian youth is well equipped with the skills and technical knowhow to make a difference in Nigeria’s governance architecture but hardly are they given the opportunity to put these skills to work in mainstream development and governance.

“More so, the youth in Nigeria is confronted with a lot of micro and macro challenges that stands in his/quest to becoming a part of the governance process. In Nigeria, youths face poverty, displacement, barriers to education, multiple forms of discrimination and limited employment prospects and opportunities. All these have constituted a clog in the wheels of growth and development of both the body and minds of the majority of our youths.”

But beyond the socio-economic problems that these challenges portend, he opined that the perception of alienation and marginalisation of youth has led to problems of insurgency, banditry and insecurity in certain regions of the country, adding that the fundamental obligation of any democratic society is to ensure the security of lives and properties of the citizenry.

Proffering solutions, he said early action to ensure fair representation of youth in the process of governance builds resilience and social cohesion, as well as serves as a medium for curbing crime and conflict prevention for vulnerable and at risk youths.

For youth participation in governance to go beyond the enactment of the Not Too Young to Run Act, he noted that it is expedient that strategic measures for the active participation of competent youth and equal opportunities for governance are created.

Commending Governor Bello for walking the talk, he said the governor has ensured adequate representation of youth in all stratum of government, full gender affirmation and the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the process of governance.

Having noticed the insecurity situation and marginalisation in the governance system of Kogi State, he said the governor joined the gubernatorial race at the age of 39 in 2015 and by God’s grace was sworn in as the fourth Executive Governor of Kogi State on the 27th January 2016 at the age of 40.

“Evidently, at 32, I was appointed DG protocol in 2016 and at 36 I was upgraded to the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Kogi State in 2019. His youngest political appointee, Mr. Edogbo, the Technical Assistant to Kogi State Governor on Private Sector and Digital Economy, is 25. A host of other vibrant youths are now decision makers in Kogi State, as against being used as political thugs or member of an organised criminal syndicates; they are off the street thereby curbing insecurity. Thus, Kogi State is unarguably the safest state in Nigeria today despite having borders with 10 states including FCT.

“Governor Yahaya Bello’s brilliant legacy and his accomplishments are a true testament to what can be achieved when youths and women are given the opportunity to participate in the process of governance. It is imperative to note that, power is not given, it is taken. Young people must determine their own destinies and chart a new course for the desired future that they want.

“As 2023 approaches, young people must start asking questions as regards what the future holds for them. They must demand to be participants in the governance process of Nigeria. The numerous endorsem theent of Governor Yahaya Bello by youths and various groups across the nation represents a democratic ideal for the youth demographic: that it is time to be part of the decision making governance system of our country.

“Suffice to say that, Governor Yahaya Bello is the modern day Yakubu Gowon who is working assiduously to unite the North and the South through a handshake across the Niger. Governor Yahaya Bello is without mincing words, the bridge between the north and the south, between the old and the new, between the fast and the slow and we young Nigerians have a duty to ensure that he is given a chance to lead Nigeria to a prosperous promised land.’

Finally, he postulated that judging from Governor Bello’s achievement, it will be right to say that political exclusion of youth and woman has direct correlation with insecurity that Nigeria is facing today. As such it is time for the youth to rise and take that which belongs to them!

Citizen Participation and Efficient Security Architecture

Security is an important and critical element to the progress of any government or organisation as valuable development can be achieved without adequate security. Kogi is no different as his efforts against insecurity has brought the crime rate in the state to its barest minimum, making Kogi State a safe haven for settlers, investors and a connecting bridge between the north and southern regions.

But it wasn’t always like this as the state was once plagued with a host of insecurity challenges which were inherited, prominent among these includes terrorism, kidnapping, assassination, political agitation, pipeline vandalism, herders/host community clashes, communal clashes and high rate of cultism.

To tackle this, government found the need to restore peace and confidence to the people by embarking on programs and policies as immediate priority and strategic solutions.

Speaking on ‘Citizens’ participation and efficient security architecture: What we did differently’, the Kogi State Security Adviser, Navy Commander Jerry Omodara (rtd), said the concrete programmes and policies embarked on by the government have been yielding the much desired results as the security situation in Kogi State today has improved tremendously as compared to what obtained in the past.

Noting that because the state shares boundary with nine states of the federation and the FCT, Abuja, he said this has made it vulnerable to all sorts of criminal activities as people of questionable characters from different parts country converge to cause havoc on innocent people.

Meanwhile, the governor noted “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 folk. We discovered that they just needed the right tools to do their jobs and a little motivation to give us their best. We did our best to give them both. It took a huge toll on our resources, but we got and distributed over 200 patrol vans, over 500 motorcycles and thousands of communications and other gadgets to our security contingents in Kogi State within our first year.

“In the last five years, our results speak for themselves. By 2018, after about two years in the office, Kogi went from being a violent crime hub and the kidnap capital of Nigeria to the ‘second most peaceful state in the country’ and ‘the state with the second lowest crime statistics in Nigeria’ according to the rating agencies and law enforcement records. The ubiquitous armed robbery and communal clashes we inherited are largely extinct now.

“We still record kidnapping but only as opportunistic attacks far removed from the franchised operations they used to be in the past when bus loads of passengers were routinely abducted for random on our highways. Much respect for our gallant law enforcement contingents in Kogi State who generally subdue such criminality with professional despatch and extreme prejudice.”

On what they did differently, Omodara noted that by “defining the geographical location and providing the right security apparatus, it is worthy of note that no two states in Nigeria are the same as it relates to people, typography, geographical location access roads, infrastructures religion, ethnic diversity All these helped in determining suitable security applications.

“We rooted out several bandits and kidnappers camps as well as cultists in some local government areas of the state through cohesive intelligence gathering and operations; intervened, resolved and resettled communities involved in one communal crisis or the other through well structured meetings with stakeholders particularly security agencies, traditional rulers and community leaders.

“The construction of 23.7 kilometers access road from Achara covering Rhombo, Kpokpolobi, Tsaseri, Kpari, Gbubudu, Ishua, Adingere in Kogi LGA to Uttu Forest in Nasarawa State on the advise of the Nigerian Army to minimise or eradicate incidences of banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery in the wide forest; training of 441 Special Police Constabulary at Police Training School, Ilorin. The IG approved 16 each for the 21 LGAs of the state, amounting to 336. The governor added five each from the LGAS making 105 and bringing the total to 441. The constables successfully passed out on 29 December, 2020 to strengthen the security of the state;

“Strengthened human and technical intelligence; provided synergy among security agencies; monthly Review, Re-appraisal, Respond (RRR); and debriefing of kidnapped victims by security agencies.”

According to Omodara, the target security-wise remains that the state government “will ensure the activities of various components of our Internal Security as harmonised with informed policy guidelines towards strengthening internal security and community policing;

“With the success story in the use of local hunters and vigilantes in our deployments, will soon look into amendments of the Kogi Vigilante Service Law to integrate hunters into our system; we will continue to coordinate activities of various security agencies for the enhancement of adequate security and observant of human rights in the state; we will equally continue to call of relevant of stakeholders and companies to contribute substantially to the state Security Trust Fund.

“We recognised the need for sensitisation and aware campaigns to guarantee the required support and confidence of the public towards strengthening internal security framework in the state; while the will continue to seek for Special Security Intervention Fund from the federal government because of our strategic location in the country”, Omodara surmised.

About Kogi State

Kogi State of Nigeria, which is covered with a land mass of about 28,313.53sqkm, is bordered has borders with 10 states including the FCT. Located in the Northern Nigeria, it was created in 1991 from parts of Kwara State and Benue State.

Kogi State is nicknamed the “Confluence State” due the fact that the confluence of the River Niger and the River Benue occurs in its capital, Lokoja. According to Wikipedia, due to its strategic position in the middle of the country and its access to these major rivers, Kogi State is a key center of commercial trade in Nigeria. The majority of Kogi State residents are Igala, Ebira and Okun. Agriculture remains dominant in the Kogi State economy.