One of the most intriguing side shows of last week that took our minds of the Boko Haram onslaught and other higihaga in Nigeria was the woeful result of an image laundering gone bad. The governor of Kogi State, the attention loving Yahaya Bello, was on Channels Television once again. He was eloquent and fluid about his dreams for the presidency of Nigeria.
According to him, ‘All’ Nigerians are ‘pressuring’ him to run the fruitless race he is embarking on. His response to the phantom Nigerians was that he would not disappoint them.
Then it was time to test his popularity. There was a poll on whether to vote for Bello or not. Bello got a woeful 6 of 100 votes this development has once again vindicated some of us who are his friends on the sides telling him the needed and naked truth, which he so much hate.
On Deji Adeyanju’s Facebook timeline, Nigerians showed their unrestrained anger, obviously because of Bello’s deplorable performance and the audacity to wish himself on Nigeria.
This is coming on the heels of the collapse of a bridge that Bello commissioned one week earlier. This form a damming verdict on the person of Yahaya Bello and his style of leadership.
One thing that emerges from this is that Bello, is obviously having an exaggerated opinio of his own popularity. He has a lot of hangers-on who are writing wishy washy write ups encouraging him to contest. They know that as a local emperor, you dare not tell Bello the truth.
Truth be told, Nigerians are angry that Bello had the nerves to say they were pressuring him. What kind of pressure would that be? A man under whose administration the state of Kogi is experiencing a screaming deficit in infrastructural and human development should know when to stop the joke about wanting to be president.
I want to sincerely encourage Bello to beat his ego to the game. He must not give in to selfish people urging him on. He should go back home and utilise the two years left in his administration to write the wrongs he has done to the good people of Kogi state.
One of the things that destroy a man is his love for praises and worship. He should summon courage to come back to Kogi state and redeem his name.
Finally, he should see me as a friend and brother. Any reasonable adviser should tell him that I mean well for him and his administration but as is usual of us, Africans, his advisers are too busy frustrating for peanuts to tell him the truth. Bello is chasing shadows instead of sitting on Kogi State to provide leadership.
Kogi state already has lean resources. Nothing tangible has been added to it. Yes, nothing. Instead of Bello to do the needful, he is wasting time chasing a wild goose of becoming the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Personally, I think Govenor Bello should sit down and use the remaining two years left to his administration to better his catastrophic record. He should stop wasting the money and other resources. He can commit that money to ensuring at least the people of Lokoja can boast of running clean, potable water.
God bless Kogi State.
Usman Okai Austin CNA
Writes from Abuja
