By Kingsley Femi Fanwo
The last 10 months have been so reassuring to the good people of Kogi State that indeed, the new administration is committed to consolidating the achievements of the immediate past administration, ensuring continuity of the lofty projects and programs inherited as well as creating new channels of dynamic governance.
Kogi has always been in the news for issues that are security related. The immediate past administration created a security architecture that was effective in battling criminals and criminality. It employed a crack-down approach which was quite necessary at the time.
We needed a GYB when we got him. In farming, the role of bulldozer is quite different from that of the tractor. A bulldozer has to be ruthless, decisive, uncompromising and hard. Without those features, the land won’t be ready for cultivation. GYB was the bulldozer that got the land ready. GYB remains the father of a new Kogi State who set the template and a robust agenda for development. He radically changed the colour of leadership in the state and created a platform for the youth and women to excel.
The past 10 months under the leadership of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo have witnessed intentionality in addressing the issue of insecurity with the non-kinetic approach.
AGRICULTURE
The massive investment in Agriculture has made it possible for people to produce food and also earn incomes without being criminal. It has significantly created alternative sources of income to young people, thereby, diverting their attention from criminality.
The Farm Centres opened up by the State Government and allocated to young people and women is poised to be the game changer, stretching a value chain of opportunities for the people.
Agriculture is creating prosperity at the grassroots at the moment and the farmers have received tremendous support and empowerment to make Kogi the national focus on agriculture and food security.
This has no doubt reduced criminality in Kogi State.
WORKERS’ WELFARE
The enhanced welfare of civil servants in Kogi State under the present administration has no doubt, stimulated the economy of the State as well as the standard of living of the people.
The promise of the Governor to take the welfare of the people forward from where he met it has impacted on the socio-economic development of the State.
There is a link between the poverty index and payment of salaries. As a result of financial engineering, reduced cost of governance and improved revenue, all the civil servants in the State now receive their full salaries before the 26th of every month.
The full salaries received by Local Government staff have also increased the amount of money circulating in rural areas. Local traders and service providers now benefit from the amount of money in circulation and many of them now have the resources to engage in weekend farming.
Civil servants can now pay their children fees and provide accomodations for their children in higher institutions of learning, thereby reducing the vulnerability of getting them recruited into criminal gangs.
The industrial harmony between labour and the government has also engendered peace and security. So much more than labour is now at the forefront of massive support to the Governor and his administration.
FREE EDUCATION POLICY
The Free Education Policy was introduced by the immediate past administration of Alh. Yahaya Bello. However, the Ododo Administration has expanded the scope.
Now, parents do not have to bother about school fees and even registration fees for ALL internal and external examinations. This policy has encouraged many people to enroll their children in school.
The more people we can get off into the darkness of ignorance into the light of education, the farther we move away from radical criminality. Education is a veritable tool against insecurity.
Aside making education free, the Ododo Administration is also investing heavily in expanding the capacities of our higher institutions of learning to take more students. Projects worth billions of naira are ongoing in all higher institutions across the state to give them the rooms to accommodate and secure more students.
INFRASTRUCTURE TRUMPS INSECURITY
Shettima and Zango were becoming very dangerous zones and they are very close to the capital city of Lokoja.
What guns and ammunition wouldn’t do easily, the beautiful road and streetlights are doing it already. A trip to Zango at night now is fun instead of the horror faced some months ago.
Criminals now know it is a no-go-area for them. This is one of the non-kinetic approach to security in our dear Kogi State under the Ododo Administration.
The ongoing township roads across 8 Local Government Areas has also created jobs for artisans and food sellers, stimulating the rural economy. The fact that Kogi has become a construction site has also meant that more money has been injected into circulation and many jobs created.
THE HEALTHCARE REVOLUTION
Currently, the Ododo Administration is upgrading 74 Primary Healthcare Centres to a status whereby they will be able to render secondary healthcare services.
According to the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Adams Abdulazeez Omeiza, minor operations referred to General Hospitals will now be handled by Primary Healthcare Centres.
Insecurity will reduce when the standard of living of the people improves. This is the Kogi way.
YOUTH CAPACITY BUILDING
Over the months, thousands of Kogi youth and women have been exposed to training for the purpose of capacity building.
As at the time of filing this report, scores of Kogi youth and women are in Jos where they are going through training in agricultural processing. This is a bold initiative to strengthen the agricultural value chain in the state.
Also, today, the State Government has commenced the training of hundreds of young people in collaboration with the KOICA here in Lokoja in different fields such as CNG Installation, Plumbing, Solar System Installation, Electrical Works, Welding, Photography and Graphics and Software Engineering. The idea is to train them and empower them with start-up kits.
Everyday, the Ododo Administration is intentionally depopulating the idle ring from which criminality emanates.
The State Government has also leverage the opportunities provided through its partnerships to empower the youth and women across the state.
BURSARY AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Just last week, the State Government announced bursaries and scholarships for her students in higher institutions of learning, with students in Law School getting as high as N300,000.00.
The Ododo Administration is gradually creating a population that is fiercely patriotic towards the development of the State. Insecurity will be suffocated when the people are determined to move their state forward.
DIALOGUE, PEACE AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The Chief Servant of Kogi State, His Excellency Alh Ahmed Usman Ododo is always prepared to talk to the people. He believes in bringing all Kogites together to be part of the development plans for the State. This approach is already shining positive impacts on the security of the State.
Also, the Governor is championing community -led security approach that will make each community the major player in the security of her people.
You can’t secure a people that are not part of the security plans. This approach has led to the foiling of many life-threatening attacks without shooting a single bullet.
With the way Kogi State is moving under the leadership of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, she will soon become the epicenter of security in Nigeria.
The Governor has been very smart enough to build on the legacies of his predecessor and also fine-tune it where and when necessary.
Kogi is setting the pace in the area of non-kinetic security approach.
Kingsley Femi Fanwo is the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications and writes in from Lokoja.
