A RARE MARK OF ALL-INCLUSIVENESS

Abubakar Achimugu writes that Yahaya Bello is making a difference in women’s empowerment in Kogi

All eyes today are on the youth to fix a lot of the things marred by the older generations. The refrain, “The youth are leaders of tomorrow,” has become almost an anthem in stump speeches and campaign promises.

Women inclusion, too, has been popularly weaved into campaign promises by politicians.

Yet, with little conscious policy and political will, the women and youth development aspirations have continued to sputter.

But one man has made a difference.

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State promised women inclusion and empowerment as well as youth development at the inception of his administration in 2016. And he has delivered on his promise.

The governor has continued to implement a robust plan of action on women and the youth in Kogi State. He prioritises gender inclusiveness, youth development, and religious/ethnic diversity in the grand scheme of things.

Bello believes women and youth empowerment are critical to achieving the peace and stability that Nigeria badly desires.

As a policy in Bello’s Kogi State, women have been supported to emerge as council vice chairpersons across the 21 local government areas of the state. There are also women counsellors in the 21 council areas.

The youth are not left behind. Chairmen and members of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) have been appointed secretaries to the local governments in the state.

NYCN called the Kogi State governor’s style a rare mark of all-inclusiveness, saying, “This is a kind of inclusiveness that has not happened anywhere in Nigeria, in this manner, and if this approach to governance in Kogi State is replicated in other states, it would change the ugly narrative in governance.”

The subtle exclusion of women and the youth from crucial decision-making positions has been an unpleasant narrative of Nigeria’s government and politics. But Bello is changing the story as he works devotedly towards realisation of the much desired 35 per cent women participation in politics.

The Bello administration has pursued a comprehensive programme of empowerment and development for women and the youth in Kogi State. This includes: registration of about 20,000 Kogi State participants for the second phase of the federal government’s N-Power programme; a feeding scheme for students on exchange programmes; and the hosting of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) under the Nationwide Micro-Small and Medium Enterprise clinic.

The government has also organised training and entrepreneurship support programmes for the wives of fallen heroes and other widows in the state, as well as training exercises on Small and Medium Enterprises for youths from the three senatorial districts of the state.

The “Governor Yahaya Bello Kogi Talent hunt” has become increasingly popular as a veritable platform for the discovery and nurturing of the abilities of young people in different fields of endeavour in the state. The initiative was launched in 2017 by Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Entertainment, Arts and Culture, Actress Mercy Johnson.

Johnson said the initiative was aimed at searching for Kogi youths with talent in acting and offering them the platform to feature in Nollywood movies to facilitate the actualisation of their acting dream.

The Bello administration has empowered thousands of youths and women through the basic skills acquisition programme held in the three senatorial districts of the state.

The Kogi Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation (KOWYEF), launched on March 12, 2016 by the wife of the governor, Mrs Rashida Bello, has been a key instrument for the training and empowering of the less privileged women, youth and children in the state. Hundreds of women and youths have been trained under the scheme in trades, such as hair dressing and fashion design. Participants are empowered with sewing machines, hair dryers, and other tools at the end of their training and given start-up capital of at least N100, 000 each.

The project is in line with the Bello administration’s vision of transforming the state through the creation of empowerment opportunities for the people.

KOWYEF has also embarked on the renovation and equipment of primary healthcare centres in the three senatorial districts of the state, as well as the stocking of the facilities with medicines.

Other projects that have been carried out by the Kogi State First Lady under KOWYEF include the donation of delivery items to pregnant women attending antenatal care at various health facilities in the state, amongst others.

National Co-ordinator of the political support group, Got Your Back Nigeria, Professor Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia, Jnr, said the Kogi State governor “is the best governor in Nigeria in the area of gender equality and youth inclusiveness, as recognised by a huge platform, like the United Nations.”

At a time when there is growing concern about Nigeria’s poor record of women participation in both elective and appointive positions, Bello has carved out a niche for himself as one of the most reliable and consistent promoters of women inclusion in government and politics in modern history.

Bello made history in 2016, when he appointed the first-ever female Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor in the state, Petra Akinti Onyegbule, who was also the second-ever female CPS in Nigeria at the time she took office.

He also appointed the first female aide-de-camp (ADC) to a governor in Nigerian history.

The inauguration of female vice chairpersons in all the 21 local government areas of the state in December 2020 was the icing on the cake.

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) has commended the Kogi State governor for the feat. Last year, the UN Women representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Comfort Lamptey, described Bello’s women inclusion agenda as a “bold effort”.



Early this month, women from various groups in the country converged on Akure, the Ondo state capital, during a rally, tagged, “South West Mega Women Rally for Yahaya Bello,” to express their solidarity with Bello in his 2023 presidential ambition.

Director General of the Yahaya Bello Presidential Campaign Organisation, and daughter of the late Chief Moshood Abiola, winner of the annulled 1993 presidential election, Hafsat Abiola-Costello, said the dream of a better Nigeria for Nigerian women, which her mother nursed, would be actualised with a Bello presidency. She stated the obvious.

Bello’s Youth O’clock campaign, anchored on a New Deal and a New Thinking, is a clarion call to Nigerians, especially the vast youth and women population, to choose a leader with the vision and competence to ensure money is spent where the shoe pinches.

 Achimugu writes from Abuja