The Kogi of my dream?
When a child is given birth to, it is expected that the child develops rapidly or follows every stage of the growth process. From lying on the back or stomach, to sitting down, crawling, walking, and running, the child grows and develops into a fine young man or woman.
It is the dream of every father and mother that the child develops and grows physically, academically, spiritually, culturally – in all his/her endeavours. There comes a point which is said that the child has reached the age of maturity- a ripe age to get married or settle down as the case may be.
Our dear State, Kogi is 34 years. The state was created on 27th August, 1991, by the then Head of State or Military President as he chose to be addressed, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. It was state created out of old Kwararafa and Benue/Plateau regions (parts of Kwara and Benue States). The creation of Kogi was one of ten others created at the same time.
There are many things that are expected of a thirty-four-year-old person. At 34, one is classified as an adult. The adult has gone through the teething stages of sitting, crawling, standing, walking and now running or probably flying. In the African clime, it is expected that a thirty- four-year-old adult (male or female) is married with a lot of other responsibilities at that.
Kogi was created while I was in the secondary school. My parents relocated from Benue, precisely Makurdi to Lokoja, the capital of the new state, but I remained in boarding house to finish my secondary school education. The first holiday which I had to travel to Lokoja from school was through Ankpa, Anyigba, Itobe, Okene to Lokoja. It was quite a distance and was tiring. We got to Lokoja at about 10pm. Over the years, it became better as the Ajaokuta-Lokoja road was constructed and we didn’t have to go through Okene any longer. However, in recent times, the road and all other roads have become deplorable. Some parts of the State Capital, Lokoja are nothing to write home about. We shouldn’t still be at this level.
At that time also, housing was sparse and having a decent accommodation was a luxury. I guess my parents were among the lucky ones to a get an accommodation of four rooms at Adankolo.
Over the years, Kogi has grown in leaps and bounds. Gone were the days of the sleeping towns at night, deserted streets at a particular time of the night and wee hours of the morning. Where there were vehicles, you could count the number on the roads. Schools, hospitals, government offices, markets, private establishments, hotels and fueling stations could be counted at the tip of one’s finger. However, the state has grown and is still growing and there have been developments all over. Buildings are springing up every day, public and private hospitals abound and so are private and public schools, hotels, etc.
In spite of all the seeming growth in human, economic, infrastructural and all-round development, a lot still needs to be done. I believe we are a far cry from where we ought to be as a people.
The Kogi of my dream is one where we all see each other as brothers and sisters. A place where the human person is placed before tribe, religion or ethnicity. A place where you can call everywhere you find yourself home. A place where no one is victimised for any reason whatsoever. A place I do not seek to know your tribe or creed before I do what I can for you. A place where everyone’s right is respected, everyone is treated as a human being first, where colour or creed does not determine the opportunities that you can access.
I have a dream that the resources of the state will be used for all round development whether Central, East or West; black or white, short or tall, fat or thin, literate or illiterate, educated or uneducated.
When you go around Kogi, you will still be surprised or taken aback by the state of underdevelopment in some areas. You will be surprised to know that some communities have never experienced electricity, never had potable water or experienced government presence in any form. At thirty-three years, the state of growth and development is slow and not a t a steady pace. While successive governments are appreciated for all their efforts, there is always room for improvement.
More than ever before, we are polarised along ethnic and religious divides. From Kwara and Benue States, we used to be our brother’s keeper. There were a lot of inter-tribal and inter-religious marriages without the question of superiority or inferiority. Even in the minimal situations we had such cases, the bias was not as pronounced as it is today. Ethnic, tribal, religious and sometimes political segmentation has become the order of the day.
Patriotism has been thrown to the wings. What a person can get for himself/herself is the order of the day rather than what can be done for the good of others. We no longer want to wait for our reward from heaven, we want to get it while on earth. We are no longer patient to eat the fattest bone for we may not eat any bone at all.
Mediocrity or who you know has been sacrificed where merit should take precedence. That I am connected to someone somewhere somehow is enough to get me what I ordinarily shouldn’t have. Well, this is not in Kogi alone but a national thing.
As a confluence of opportunities, Kogi State should be a place thriving with different kinds of businesses. It should be a place of convergence of different kinds of businesses at affordable prices. However, as at today, Kogi is the second most expensive state to live in Nigeria. Why is this so? We need to do something about it and speedily too.
Everyone is a law unto himself and people do whatever they like. There is no regulation of prices and people fix prices arbitrarily. This needs to be monitored.
The rate of insecurity in the state is becoming increasingly worrisome. Almost on a daily basis, you hear of people being kidnapped and the end doesn’t seem to be in sight. The government and security agencies can do better in addition to what is already being done to secure the lives of the people both on the highways and in their living spaces.
The level of infrastructural development is slow compared to what it should be. The road network has not got to the level of what it should be and even the existing roads are not in good shape. Potable water is beyond the reach of the people and they have to go walking miles to get water.
The environment is another area to be looked into as there is so much filth around the town. Cleanliness they say is next to Godliness. Don’t we think it’s high time we did something about it?
What about our mineral resources? These abound in no small measure in the state. What have we done to harness these mineral resources beyond the limestone and coal that are being mined by others?
At thirty-four, it is high time we went back to the drawing board to begin to work on the things the agitators for the creation of Kogi State desired. We can begin to walk, run and fly when we are really ready. I believe more than ever; the time is now. I can’t wait to see the Kogi of my dream.
