Yahaya Bello and the Echoes of Governance

Perhaps like Julius Ceaser, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the immediate past governor of Kogi State, can boast and proclaim that he came, he saw, and he conquered. The fact that he was able to produce his successor, Usman Ododo, in a very tigthly contested election last November 11 would suggest he (Yahaya) scaled all hurdles to the shoreland of satisfaction, like one who arrived from the warfront bearing the sceptre of victory. But he may yet have one more river to cross: the election that produced Usman Ododo is still being contested in the Court. As it has become in Nigeria, the courts, not the electorate, has the final say in who governs them.

While in office, Yahaya Bello was the youngest governor in Nigeria. He came like a stormy petrel shaking all the tables shakeable. He was full of guts and ideas. He even attempted to rule Nigeria when he floated his President Yahaya Bello (PYB) project with which he mobilized many youths (especially in the north) to embrace his vision. After much ado, he landed at heading the Youth wing of Bola Tinubu campaign organization after the All Progressives Congress primaries.

A recent assessment of his sojourn at the Lugard House, for eight solid years, showed that it was not all sounds of fury and fun. There are tangibles. Many tangibles. And they are broadly spread across the state. Perhaps the sectors that enjoyed the greatest attention are the education and health sectors, aside infrastructure developments et al .

In the said sectors, there are clear evidences of vision and courage on the side of the former governor. The investments in the education sector, for instance, are deep and hefty with a strong prospect of producing great and sundry fruits in the near future. The depth of commitment in the education sector can only come from one who believes assuredly that education is a catalyst for development in any and every society. The three Science Secondary schools—one per senatorial district, is a huge and expansive facility fitted with the most modern of educational materials suitable for productive pedagogy. Not in many statesor institutions will one find the type ofupdated ICT setting as seen at the Science Secondary School in Lokoja, what with the 300-CBT hall and another 60-seater Computer Laboratory, coaching students on core infotech skills. The amount of seriousness attached to these schools is state-wide.

Yahaya Bello launched Kogi State into the league of states with huge premium on tertiary institutions of learning. With the establishment of two more state-owned universities: Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara, and Kogi State University, Kabba, to join the existing Prince Abubakar Audu (PAAU) University, Anyigba; Yahaya Bello has shown his deep love for education.

At the CUSTECH, Osara, there is a construction buzz on a very wide expanse of land,previously notorious as the territorial hub of kidnappers in Kogi State, but now a budding Silicon Valley inKogi State, what with the audacious investments in growing the three year old university. With several courses already accredited and a partnering scheme with some private sector operators, the University promises to produce the much-needed IT experts in the country. The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Abdulrahman Salawu, an engineer, full of energy, explained how the institution is growing from stride to stride, including overcoming the signature malaise of the kidnapping menace in the area, forcing the university to engage local community hunters (and some security experts from Bauchi State) to protect the school and the students. The fear of sustained funding of the institutions was dispelled when Prof Salawu informed that five per cent of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is usually devoted to funding the institutions.

The other iconic development is the Referral Hospital, Okene which has become a near go-to health facility in and around the state. The Y-shaped health facility is broad and audacious, especially with the state-of-the art medical and laboratory fittings of a modern health facility. Fitted with four equipped surgical wards, accident and emergency wards over 230 bed spaces, and a team of medical experts and personnel drawn from across the country, the RHO has come to represent one of the signature achievements of the Yahaya Bello years in Kogi Government House. It appropriately stands to serve as the Teaching Hospital for products ofthe medical students of CUSTECH. With two mini-halls named after his mother and one of his wives, Yahaya Bello surely feels cool with the womenfolk. His ADC was one pretty young lady. His Secretary to Government, was a lady, just as all the Vice Chairmen of all the 21 local government areas were women. He is blessed among women.

With Ododo in the saddle, many believe that the legacy of Bello will continue, just as some fear that the Wike-Fubara scenario could break out in the confluence state. Will Yahaya Bello be having a third term by default as he retains the vitals buttons of governance in the state? Only time will tell.