By Otori Ozigi
“A good head and a good heart are always a great combination”–Nelson Mandela.
The above truism is an appropriate way to sum up the iconic and pragmatic personality of His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, the Executive Governor of Kogi state,as he is counting down to the end of his glorious 8 years tenure in office, in a matter of days from now.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the youthful governor has acquitted himself creditably, in all the thematic areas of his New direction vision mantra.
Recall that as at the time of his assumption of office in 2016, the political climate of the state was in a turmoil, with attendant security challenges and socio-economic upheaval in all fronts.This was a daunting scenario.
He quickly summoned the courage and political will to confront these challenges headlong and dicisively.
One area he showed his unwavering seriousness and dogged commitment, was his war against the hydraheaded insecurity issues in virtually in all the local government areas of the state.
The situation was so bad that travellers were avoiding the major link roads and federal roads that connects the state with her neighbouring states, including the Federal capital territory, Abuja.
Within a short period of time,he was able to tamed the crime tides and this won him the accolades and admiration of various segments of the society, including various security agencies.He even bagged an award from the then Inspector General of Police,as the best governor on security.
His seriousness in government must have informed his decision to clean up the civil service system, that was rotten and infected with widespread corruption and ghost workers syndrome in virtually all the key ministries and agencies.
He quickly instituted a holistic civil service reform and staff screening exercise, that eventually brought the desired sanity to the payroll of the state.
Still in pursuit of good governance,the governor entrenched fiscal accountability and transparency in the system, as a way of life. And this had won him the recognition and award from the World Bank on two separate occasions.
Today,Kogi state is one of the investments destinations and economic hubs in the country, because of the enabling environment put in place by the governor.
In the area of infrastructure and human capital development, the state under the watch of the focused governor, has been transformed beyond what was inherited from his predecessors.
.It is safe to conclude that GYB is really the father of modern Kogi state, with iconic and legacy projects in virtually all the wards and constituencies of the state.
His signature of giant strides was also extended to both the health and education sectors of the state.His administration gave birth to several landmark projects and institutions of learning in both sectors.
This piece will not be complete without the mention that the governor has been able to unite the state and entrenched peace in all nooks and crannies.
Since government is a continuum,we look forward to the incoming government of Alhaji Ododo Ahmed Usman to continue with the unfinished good works of GYB and give a good account of himself in the years ahead.
Good bye GYB. You are leaving the state better than you met it.
Your 8 years has brought an era of peace ,unity, progress, security and even development to the state.
Posterity will be kind to you.
If there is any area of your shortcomings,it is only because you are human. Nobody is infallible.
