As you take a tour from one end
of Kogi state to another, you are greeted with a perception that speaks ill of
the people ranging from a docile citizenry to an indolent leadership. What does
a people need from a democracy, but for the fact that it gives them opportunity
to be individuals and is able to translate governance cum leadership in its
minutest form for the benefit of the least persons in any society! We have
preoccupied ourselves with governance in Nigeria to the extent that we need to
take a journey inward, since even the presence of good governance at the
federal level may not necessarily guarantee a better standard of living for
citizens at the local level, if leadership at such level is faulty. I’ve always
asked myself why the little efforts made by the federal government has consistently
failed to yield economic progress that would metamorphose into better standard
of life for Kogites. One of the major reasons I’ve advanced to this question is
ethnic sentiment. In all states of the federation, we have people from
different ethnic/tribal groupings, with national representations at the
senatorial level cutting across districts. Like every other state, Kogi has
three senatorial districts, which cut across various major ethic groups in the
state, with the Igala race being the largest. Thus, like Benue state that has
the Tiv race in the majority, the Igala people of Kogi state have always been
in control of political machinery of the state. It is on this note that the
first error, which is the idea of creation of a state for the Igala kingdom
stems from. Surely, many Igala sons and daughters would have made a frail
comparison with the Idoma race of Benue state, as a basis for the argument that
there is need for a state solely for the Igala nation. As a trained
philosopher, I’ve learnt not just to look at immediate and peripheral causes,
but also to look at the substance in issues.
In all the states of the
federation where you have major and minor ethnic groups, those in the minority
always yearn for independence as a result of marginalization from major ethnic
groups in such states. That has been the cry of people who have not had the
privilege to control the machinery of governance. Let’s take Benue state as a
case study, where the Igala Kingdom once belonged. It is well known that the Idoma
and Igede race are in the minority (in terms of numerical strength) in the
state. Hence, the craving for a state that primarily takes into cognizance the
welfare of the people and makes them more democratically engaged. On the other
hand, in Kogi state, we have three senatorial districts, which cut across the
three major ethnic groups (Ibira, Okun, Igala) in the state, of which the Igala
race are in the majority. Like the Tiv of Benue state, the Igala race primarily
takes charge of governance. But the irony of the Igala race stems from the fact
that they conceive the idea of having a state that takes into cognizance the
welfare of the people and democratically engage the people in governance.
However, there is a dialectic of marginalization, in the sense that it is
unending. Give a state to the Idoma race and the Igede people would begin a
craving for a nation, since they would necessarily become minority in the midst
of the Idoma race; so do we have it in every society in Nigeria.
With the above in mind, let us
come to the crux of our discussion: since the Igala race as the majority ethnic
group in Kogi state, crave for a state as a result of marginalization and a
desire to get the people democratically engaged, then who marginalizes the
Igala people of Kogi state? Surely, we can’t suggest that we are being
marginalized by a minority race, since that would be laughable. It means that
nature has not always favoured numbers, but history has always aligned with
people who have leveraged on their numerical strength to their advantage. If we
cannot rely on factors from “with-out” as a justification of our debased
condition, then we could possibly locate causes from “within”. Looking at the
wind of politics as it blows daily, we know that as a country, we may not have
the kind of government we want to have, but the political dialectics in recent
time has shown that, though we may not be where we would have desired, we would
certainly not be where we had been; we are moving towards perfection. It is
however unfortunate that this feeling of optimism necessarily eludes you if you
are a Kogite, particularly of the Igala origin. This is made possible by the
fact that we have for a long time, run a system of government manned by the
most unscrupulous or unsuitable people, who have seen politics as a quick means
to a sharp end of amassing wealth, while at the same time, giving stipends to
those who dare to associate with them. The immediate reason for an average
youth who ventures into politics is extractive in nature; this is exactly the
idea that has been transmitted to them from an older generation that has
mentored them in the art of deviance. History has largely shown that a
politician of the Igala descent who assumes the role of governance, keeps his
position primarily for two reasons: repatrimonization (recycling goods and
services among family and friends) and extraction. Governance is the second
agenda. State creation would therefore fail the Igala race, since
repatrimonization and extraction couched in marginalization, are really the substance.
What do we stand to lose if an
opportunity is given to a man outside the Igala race to govern the state?
Economic prosperity? Certainly not! Because you have not been motivated by such
factor in the first place. Pride? Certainly yes! But of what relevance is our
pride without dignity, which we have been denied for some time? In the final
analysis, there is pride in dignity, there is however no dignity in pride. It
is on this note that this experiment called Igala agenda should be rectified
momentarily at the state level, since it has proven to be a deceptive phrase
put on the lips of the masses by the elite group, for the furtherance of the
agenda of the Igala political elites and not for the enhancement of the Igala
kingdom.
Secondly, at the national level,
if you have tried particular leaders at the state, or National Assembly and it
has yielded no positive result for the people, it is simple wisdom to try
others. The reason for this is that even if the new hands to be tried are not
predictable in terms of their success rate, it is better to have them to lead
for a while, since you have nothing to lose, because in the first place you
never even had any gain. In such a situation, change is what you need, even if
the change is not a reasonable choice for the moment. At least, let it be
penned down in history that for a moment, we had a consistent anthology of
failed leaders. We cannot keep doing things the same way, while at the same
time expecting different results.
Long live the Igala kingdom! Long
live Kogi state!! Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
