Will this piece make any impact few hours to election? Maybe; and maybe not. But here I go. Yahaya Bello is Nigeria’s youngest governor. Yet, the most dangerous, rogue and brutal. That is why I’m not a fan of ‘Not Too Young to Run’. The young could be very inimical to Nigeria’s fragile democracy. They are mostly inept, inexperienced, uncultured, unmannered and stubbornly difficult to engage in any meaningful conversations that could embolden national cohesion and development.
Yahaya Bello has many unforgivable sins that should retire him, get him arrested, get him tried and get him jailed immediately after he’s stripped of the section 308 immunity clause that is shielding our executives governors from being tried and jailed while in office.
He’s is the most dangerous politician Kogi state has ever produced. He’s serially abused established norms and conventions, undermined the constitution and betrayed the very principles of democracy that got him elected. For instance, Yahaya Bello does not have regards whatsoever to other arms of government and has serially abused the most cogent elements of democracy.
Yahaya Bello for example led his political thugs, in the most brutal way to invade the Kogi state house of Assembly to beat the state legislatures he considered enemies of his regime. He serially and unapologetically disregarded the legislature in a Machiavellian style dictatorship and led to the unceremonious exit of 3 different speakers within the first four years of his reign.
The judiciary under his watch as governor was starved to comma, forced to strike for more than 8 months without salary and other emoluments they deserve as legitimate workers of the state.
His administration is greeted with lack of infrastructural development spanning all the senatorial districts of the state including his village. Although he’s build a personal multi-billion naira mansion for himself using state’s resources.
Doctors in kogi have been on strike for months, abandoning patients to retire to their fate, and many have died in the process. Yahaya Bello has insatiably looted from the death, and has ignominiously continued to brutalized health personnel in the state by denying them salary and other allowances that would enable them function.
The bailout funds Kogi received from the Federal coffers were not used for the benefit of the masses neither were the funds used to settle months of salaries owed to Kogi workers. As acknowledge by Elrufai and the First Lady Aisha Buhari, the governor has been very brutal to kogites in his regime. He has turned deaf ears to calls of wisdom from within and outside the state against his brutality and what many regards as ‘power exuberance’.
Under his very eyes, insecurity escalated, thugs came back to the street and were embolden by the government to terrorize people. For instance, an NLC official was brutally murdered few days after he’d led a protest against the governor’s refusal to pay salaries to Kogi civil servants. He has downsized to a point of no return, the fragile IGR system that was about to take shape in the state prior to his election as governor.
Unemployment got exacerbated under his watch. No employment since he came to power, but more billions are spent in the name of salaries and pension even without new employment. Civil servants owed 30 months of salaries while the governor, his family members and close cronies wallow in wealth and luxury.
Kogi educational system has broken down to its lowest ebb in recent memories. Statistics continue to suggest massive failures on WAEC and NECO. Primary and Secondary education has continually been degraded under Yahaya Bello. All the structures and legacies of his predecessors are being eroded.
Since it’s now few hours to elections, I hope Kogites will ponder over these, reason and chat a better future for themselves, and their unborn generation. Get this guy retire tomorrow and let him bear the brunt of his actions while in office. I’m not from Kogi, has no interest in the state whatsoever, but I feel for you as a concern citizen.
The recent action of Elrufai and others on the campaign podium has concluded in defining who Yahaya Bello is, were he a decent governor, El-rufai wouldn’t have knelt down before the electorate and seek for forgiveness for this guy. And the notorious Bello was watching, unapologetic and couldn’t even kneel down himself to apologies. Get this guy out of Kogi government house as urgently as possible. Please get him out! God bless you, have a peaceful election!
Haruna who tweets @haruna_babale could be reached at [email protected]
