Like it or not, the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Adoza Bello, will continue to be a positive reference point, not only in the North-Central State but in Nigeria.
Obviously, he is one of the most admired politicians in Nigeria today and the reasons are not far-fetched.
Two weeks after leaving the Lord Lugard Government House in Lokoja, those who are afraid of his rising profile are already waging a war of attrition.
But, like a cat with nine lives, Bello popularly known as GYB, is unperturbed.
The urgent agenda of these detractors is to create a wedge between Bello and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
And they have failed in this regard because Tinubu knows the support he got from Bello during the February 25 presidential election, not just in Kogi State but nationally.
Because Tinubu has refused to listen to them, there is now an attempt to use the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to persecute him.
Just like every other hurriedly-prepared agenda that is not perfect, EFCC goofed by charging Bello with fund embezzlement, when he was not even Governor.
Very ridiculous.
Because Kogites love him, it is obvious his detractors will continue to engage in a wild goose chase.
So, Bello’s rising profile since January 27 when he handed over to Usman Ododo has continued to be a threat to his detractors.
Without a shred of doubt, just like millions of his followers have vowed to continue to express their love for him, his enemies have also sworn to continue to openly show their hostility.
But, one thing going for him is that whether you love or hate him, you must fear Bello because his political sagacity is unmatched and unrivalled.
That this fear is real was shown in Abuja recently when Bello’s posters surfaced at the National Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with the inscription, “APC Next Level. Alhaji Yahaya Bello as APC National Chairman. Leading the Change, Building a Stronger APC.”
Once again, his detractors failed. For starters, Abdullahi Ganduje is still the National Chairman of APC and there is no plan to remove him.
So, that attempt to set him against the party’s National Working Committee members failed ab initio because it was later discovered that the posters were planted by detractors trying to create some form of bad blood within the ruling party against the fòrmer governor.
Bello, who reacted in a statement through his media office, said he did not authorise anyone to circulate any posters on his behalf as he remains a loyal party man committed to the leadership of Ganduje.
Because the attempt to embarrass him politically has failed, the resort to embarrass Bello by EFCC has also received condemnation from Nigerians.
To many of them, EFCC is gradually becoming a tool for some politicians to deploy in fighting their political battles and doing that in a most unabashed and shameful manner.
Last week, some more than 300 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) warned the Commission not to allow itself to be used to victimise Bello.
The activists drew the attention of Nigerians to a statement, the previous day, by the Kogi State Government wherein it pointed out the recent moves by the EFCC to witchhunt Bello, tarnish his image and bring his name to disrepute through spurious claims in the name of amended-charge. The CSOs agreed with the state that it was a clear case of political victimisation.
Below is the statement: “While we stand solidly behind any credible anti-corruption drive, we, however, oppose and condemn unequivocally any use of corruption allegations with trappings and trademarks of political victimisation as this Kogi State issue clearly seems to be.
“A court document at our disposal submitted to the court by the EFCC is alleging that the former Governor and his nephew, one Alli Bello, converted Kogi’s money to the tune of N80 billion since September 2015.
“This looks like a hurriedly prepared amendment targeted at an individual without paying much attention whatsoever to the facts. Except the Commission is able to prove before the Court that the duo had been involved in financial transactions with Kogi State money before Yahaya Bello assumed office in January 2016 as Kogi State Governor, then they have a lot of questions to answer Nigerians.
“This is how bad-intentioned and politically-motivated allegations are exposed and it smacks of profound dearth of professionalism on the part of the EFCC. If they come up with nebulous excuse of a typographical error, this further exposes their professionalism and calls to question the competency of the EFCC leadership and legal team/department.
“We agree altogether with those who have raised eyebrows about the way and manner the EFCC has gone about its crusade in Kogi State. The anti-graft agency can do its work of thorough investigation and prosecution of offenders of economic and financial crimes without attracting the kind of noise it has attracted to itself recently. Its every step has been dogged by controversies. Many Nigerians are yet to see the rationale and justification for declaring the ex governor, who just handed over to his successor less that 60 hours as being “at large”.
“It is either the EFCC failed to do enough work before amending the charge or it simply took instructions from somewhere. Claiming that a man was already involved in corrupt practices in an office he was yet to be sworn into is not only laughable but actually portrays the EFCC as an unserious body populated by jokers.
“At a time when Nigerians were still relishing the marginal gain announced by Transparency International recently, the anti-graft agency’s showing in Kogi, regrettably, comes across as a blight and a relentless pursuit of a hidden agenda against an individual whose only sin is being the governor of Kogi State.
“The previous case of 2021 is still fresh in the memory. Then, the EFCC, in a desperate bid to embarrass the Government of Kogi State then under the leadership of His Excellency Alh. Yahaya Bello, came out with a false claim that it had uncovered over N20 billion Naira of the state’s bail out fund in a Fixed Deposit Account in Sterling Bank.
“But like every innocent corporate body, the Kogi State Government boldly wrote a letter to Sterling Bank for clarifications.
“The Bank came out with a clean bill of heath for the Confluence State, saying that the State Government had no such account with it, rubbishing the blatant falsehood of the EFCC in a manner that was so embarrassing to the people and Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The new leadership of the EFCC led by Ola Olukoyede as Executive Chairman, must steer the ship of the anti-graft agency away from controversies that tend to impugn its integrity and distract its leadership. It must not yield to pressure that will not serve the interest of the larger Nigerian society. It must end this embarrassing dance of shame in Kogi State. The perception of the majority of Nigerians, from what is happenings in Kogi State, is that there’s no more war against corruption but a clear case of hired gun approach to hack down political opponents by certain elements within and outside the anti graft agency. This narrative must not be allowed to thrive any further for the simple reason that it’s at variance with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Stop the dance of shame. Enough is enough”.
Also 48 hours after leaving office, detractors came out with the satanic story of the creation of the Office of Immediate Past Governor, just to embarrass Bello and Ododo, his successor.
Expectedly, the lie fell flat on its face.
A statement by Oladele John Nihi, Ododo’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), reads:
“The attention of the Kogi State Government has been drawn to a mischievous report that the Governor of Kogi State, His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, has approved the establishment of the “Office of the Immediate Past Governor” to be domiciled in the Government House.
“The fake news should be disregarded as the handiwork of psychotic mischief makers, who have been thrown into confusion by the unprecedented achievements of our former Governor, His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, CON, and the realisation that the good people of Kogi State sincerely appreciate this.
“The laughable report was concocted to create disaffection and mislead the public but the authors failed woefully to confuse intelligent Nigerians.
“We thank the media for exercising restraint and detecting, on their own, that the report was fake.
“We, however, urge the general public to always fact-check before spreading fake news”.
Hours before, indigenes and residents of Okene stormed the streets to welcome Bello home after eight years as governor.
In what they described as a celebration of “eight years of unprecedented strides”, they trooped out in their thousands to welcome Bello back home after two impactful tenures.
They treated the White Lion, as he is fondly called, to a heroic homecoming ceremony at the ancient town, Okene, where Bello hails from.
With loud cheers, pomp and pageantry, the jubilant residents heaped praises on the immediate past governor over his sterling performance in office, with different clans performing with their masquerades amid the thick crowd that thronged the streets.
Before his arrival, a crowd of residents of Lokoja, the state capital, had assembled on the highway linking the former governor’s country home to bid him farewell.
They lined up at the roadside and expressed gratitude to Bello, saying he had successfully transformed Kogi beyond their expectations in his two terms in office.
To them, Bello left an indelible mark of achievements in the Confluence State.
When Bello’s convoy arrived at the entrance of Okene town, enthusiastic and proud indigenes/residents were seen waving at their kinsman in excitement.
The former governor visited his maternal ancestral home, where special prayers were offered in honour of the memory of his departed mother, seeking divine blessings for him as he returned home.
Also, Bello stormed the palace of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, HRM, Alhaji Ahmed Tijani, along with Ododo, where he was given a rousing welcome. The mammoth crowd seen at the palace was unprecedented.
The traditional ruler hailed Bello’s transformative impact on Kogi State’s infrastructure and economy, and congratulated Ododo on his inauguration.
For the eight years that he was in the saddle as two terms governor of the Confluence State, Bello’s imprints covered the entire gamut of Kogi’s socio and economic spheres and they will, for many years to come, form the yardstick by which the achievements of successive administrations will be measured.
First sworn on January 27, 2016 as Governor, Bello was again on November 16, 2019 elected to a second term after defeating Musa Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by over 200,000 votes.
Energetic and purposeful, Bello is a good example of the positive effects Nigerian youths can bring to bear on governance if given the opportunity.
From education to housing, security, sports, health, agriculture, rural and urban infrastructure, the achievements of Bello, born on 18 June 1975 in Okene, were unprecedented.
For years to come, they will continue to be a reference point in the state and Nigeria.
