GYB and the Times

By Kingsley Fanwo
It all started with the build up to the 2015 governorship election in Kogi State. A certain Alh. Yahaya Bello was in the mix, ready to battle for the ticket of the All Progressives Congress with political heavyweights such as the late Prince Abubakar Audu, AVM Atawodi (rtd), Senator Alex Kadir and many others. AYB, as he was known then, was considered a busines giant but a political liliputian. He was underrated and considered a greenhorn.
Few days to the primary election of that year, the powerful players began to take note of the unknown force that GYB was. Then came the script unknown to many. Let me tell you the factors that shaped that primary election in 2015.
Prior to the 2015 General elections, there was crisis in the All Progressives Congress in the state. Party tickets were hijacked and the western wing of the party decided to move to the Accord Party with the likes of Hon. Sam Aro Hon. Ganiyu Salaudeen, Hon Folusho Daniel and many other heavyweights.
Although the Accord Party candidates lost their elections basically to the tsunamic force of President Muhammadu Buhari, it was obvious that the Accord Bloc constituted majority of the APC EXCO that would determine the governorship flag bearer of the party. They were basically dominant in Kogi West.
Smartly and swiftly, Alh. Yahaya Bello was able to corner the Accord bloc through the likes of Asiwaju Idris Asiru who was, despite his banking job, one of the pillars of Accord bloc.
With the West in the kitty, Hon. David Edward Onoja, the brain-box of the Yahaya Bello Political Machine made an unimaginable foray into the East, winning majority of the delegates through the Kogi Youth Arise Group, a political group which was set up and funded by GYB to support the 2015 presidential aspiration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The same group was also heavily popular in the Central Senatorial District and also in the West.
By the time the rest of the aspirants realized the impending political wave in GYB, it was almost too late. He was already on ground across the State. His Team lacked nothing in terms of reach, grassroots connect, strategy and young men who were on the move to realize the ambition of a generation.
But as it is always with politics, the theoretical advantages didn’t translate into practical realities completely. Such is the dynamic of the game of politics. The break in the ranks of the Accord bloc affected AYB in the West. The emergence of many aspirants from the Central affected his votes there. The last minute push of the late Prince Abubakar Audu also affected us, not only in the East, but across the State.
A political scheme was hatched by AVM Atawodi, rtd to split the Western vote. He told the Accord bloc he was going to give them the Deputy Governorship slot. That threw the bloc into disarray. Older members of the bloc like Hon. Gani Salaudeen and Commodore Folusho Daniel, rtd backed out while the younger generation like Asiwaju Idris Asiru, Alh. Taofeek Isah, Ijagbemi Razak, Moses Sunday Alumo, Timi Joseph, Bolanle Amupitan and many others decided to stand by GYB.
GYB lost the primary to the late Prince Abubakar Audu but came second. I was sad, shattered and confused. I never thought we could lose the primary. But little did I know that God made that happen in order to bring GYB in a miraculously way to reset the social psyche of the people. He was to be the antidote to tribal politics in the state.
The demise of Prince Abubakar Audu before the rerun election thrusted on GYB, the historic responsibility of leading the State.
Expectedly, he went through a lot of legal battles. He survived them all. His policies which were aimed at saving the state, made him unpopular to those who wanted the state to continue in that trajectory down the line. He chose to save the people, putting his political correctness and career on the line.
His opponents were brutally critical, with absolute absolution of a terrible past before GYB assumed office. While some were politically motivated; others were ethnically oriented. The forces were everywhere. The maladies of the past were transported to the present, using the vehicles of politics and ethnicity. But the man was undaunted. He had a date with history.
Many of the critics were not informed about the situation in the state. Some refused to believe the fact that GYB had come to clean up a state in shambles. And their songs were : He is not popular. He can’t win any election. He inherited votes. He has never contested any election.
In February and March, he led the All Progressives Congress to a titanic political battle. Today, we have almost all the Senators, 6 Reps members and all of the 25 Assembly members.The traducers won’t rest. They went to town with dog-ear permutations. Throwing up all forms of punditry. APC had a free, fair and peaceful primary which was won by the Governor, landslide.
The next verse was: APC can’t win with GYB. He will be defeated by Musa Wada.
And the electioneering commenced. The crowd was out of this world. They said ‘no, they were rented’. Today, we have been vindicated. It was a record shattering win. He won better than what he ‘inherited’. He won in the Central. Won in the West and shared the East with the PDP candidate who was from the East.
Significance of the victory
Since Sunday, I have been ruminating over the big win. I knew GYB was going to win but never thought he would break any record. This is a sweet triumph over lies and those who wanted to reverse us to the dark days.
One, the victory confirmed that the Governor is loved by the grassroots people. He has improved infrastructures. He has boosted Agriculture. He has built beautiful schools in rural areas. He has empowered rural women and youth. He has improved security. These, but not the big grammar of old politicians, are the needs of the people. The election is a referendum on the performance of the Governor.
Two, Saturday was the day ethnic jingoism was finally buried in Kogi State. A Governor of Ebira extraction won in Olamaboro and Kabba/Bunu. It was the death knell on ethnic bias. The people spoke and spoke loudly. It was a red card on tribal politics.
Lastly, since 1999, no Governor had won with the staggering margin like the 2019 guber poll.
With Saturday’s victory, Kogi has confirmed her place in the comity of great societies where class and ethnic considerations give way to competence and capacity.
Congratulations to the people of Kogi State.
Let me also salute our party men and women who toiled day and night to inscribe that name on the trophy. You are the real heroes.
To those who lost loved ones, I commiserate with you. It is heart-shattering to lose lives in the process of electing leaders. Lives are sacred and must be protected at all times. Those found liable should be punished no matter their party affiliations because life is superior to politics.
To our brothers and sisters in the PDP, it is time to prove that your interest is collective and not personal. I urge you to join the Governor in consolidating on the gains of the New Direction.
May Kogi continue to rise and shine.
Kingsley Fanwo is the Director General of Media and Publicity to the Governor of Kogi State.