Comrade Musa Wada is the convener and coordinator of Kogi Advocacy for Excellence, a non-governmental Organisation. In this interview with CHAMBA SIMEH, he spoke on the capability of Honourable Zakari A. Alfa, a financial expert, being yearned for to run governor in Kogi state, among other issues.
What is the political and economic situation in Kogi state?
Our dear freedom fighters and people who fought for the creation of Kogi state are poltergeists now. Those that are dead are turning in their graves over the rate of underdevelopment in Kogi. Today’s Kogi is not what they envisaged. The parlous state of the Kogi economy and the political environment is a shame. Our development physically and economically has been stalled by failed leadership. The hope we had during the early days of the formation of our dear state and what we envisioned and dreamed of have been shattered by bad leadership. The dreams we had about Kogi is not misplaced because Kogi state is blessed with both human and material resources. I can tell you that for a state to develop it does not need only dreams but a leadership that has a driving vitality to make that dream a reality.
Do you mean leadership is the bane of Kogi’s socio-economic development?
For every truthful and discerning mind, Kogi’s problem is that of leadership. Since the creation of Kogi state by the Gen. Ibrahim Babanigda military junta and the inception of the present civilian dispensation, Kogi state has an unbroken civilian leadership. The PDP, ANPP which lay claim to being political parties for the good of the people have ruled the state to ruin.
The political class which ruled the state at different times on these platforms have frittered away the opportunities to better the lives and lots of Kogites as well as transform the state. Today, we have a young man in leadership position in the state. Until now, he was regarded as the political messiah that will right the wrongs of the past, and solve Kogi state’s multiferous problems. But he has failed. The present leadership has made a mess of the APC, which coalesced to wrestle political power from the PDP in the state; the people were disenchanted with the poor leadership of Idris Wada. The APC, which has Muhammadu Buhari as the president of the country rode on the crest of incorruptibility and personal integrity. The people saw the leadership of the state by APC as a chance to key into the change agenda and slogan. Kogi state needs a better leadership.
Why do you think Kogi state needs a new type of leadership?
It is very glaring for everybody to see. Every patriotic Kogite must be praying that God should give us a new type of leadership. Albert Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I think our people have now seen the disadvantages in taking this position. We do not have the luxury of time in Kogi state. We are in a crisis situation and that crisis is leadership.
Who do you consider as the man that can take Kogi to the promised land of peace and development?
Without sounding selective and sentimental, I think Kogi state needs a man that is really both mentally and physically ready to govern the state. Most of the leadership that Kogi state has had over the years have been deficient – their unpreparedness for leadership. The only leader that I can attest to that was ever prepared for the leadership of our great state is Prince Abubakar Audu of blessed memory. Today, there is a man that is tested and ready to take Kogi state to greater heights. That man is Honourable Zakari Alfa, a former commissioner for finance in the Wada administration. Like the late Governor Abubakar Audu, Alfa is a financial expert, an icon of integrity, a self-made man par excellence, a man of knowledge and philanthropy.
If we must progress in Kogi state we must remove every social injustice and ensure a level playing field for leadership to evolve. Hon Alfa as a banker of over 25 years experience is successful because the reason private ventures thrive is because they are driven by merit rather than god-fatherism. Everybody now believes Kogi state needs a dynamic leader, a leader that can unite all Kogites and not a tribal and zonal champion. The best man for the job is Hon Alfa.
What new deal will Zakari Alfa bring to Kogi state?
A departure from the past – just like Albert Erinstein said, ‘Let us face it,’ we as Kogites have wailed in great agony through what, arguably, qualifies as the worst time in the state. Virtually, everything of importance that our state has touched in the past 23 years of democracy has been done in the dark and destroyed, and has yeided rancour, hostility, poverty, conflicts and bloodletting. This is what Alfa shall change. The government shall be done in the open and secrecy in governance will be a thing of the past. He believes government is about the people. The new deal shall give government back to the people of Kogi state.
The darkness in which government is being administered led us into dark plots by the elite against the people and into a future picture of conflict and doom. This is what the new deal will change. The leader of Kogi knows the state is blessed with abundant human and material resources, which is supposed to be used for the good of majority of the people. But our leaders’ response to this blessing is negative. Worse still, they abandoned the sources of wealth that Kogi had developed or has the capacity to develop before the coming of federal allocations- sources of wealth like agriculture, taxations, and palm produce among others. They gradually spread poverty into the lives of most Kogites. In short, the Almighty God gave wealth and prosperity to Kogi state, but the rulers and leaders of Kogi state turned it all into hopeless poverty for their people. But Hon. Zakari Alfa is a known wealth creator, he shall use this deposit of blessing in sourcing for more wealth internally to complement the paltry federal allocation to bring development and eradicate poverty from Kogi state – “A New Deal.”
What in your opinion can be done in Kogi to bring sanity back to governance?
Universally, leadership is a critical factor in state building process and it should be understood in two important but related ways. Firstly, there are the personal qualities of vision, integrity, honesty, commitment, and competence of individual leaders at the top. Secondly, there are the collective qualities of common vision, focus, and desire for development by the elite as a whole. Indeed, the pattern and standard for recruitment and the performance of our individual leaders over the years in Kogi state has left much to be desired.
Kogi state needs a leader who would not allow a small fire to become large fire, but a leader with cognitive consistency to differentiate between symmetric warfare and asymmetric warfare. Beyond the qualities of individual leaders, however, there is the equally important question of the quality of the collective leadership offered by the Kogi elite class as a whole. The fact is that Kogites recognise leadership when they see one. Nevertheless, followership must key into the necessary obligation of patriotism, dedication and hard work. This is because of the strong nexus between followership and leadership. Leaders cannot lead without having well mobilised and politically conscious followers, nor can followers follow without being led. This is the bane of Kogi state over the years.
When a Kogi leader, by words and deeds, is able to convince a large enough section of the Kogi society about the vision for a greater tomorrow, then Kogi will definitely be on the way to truly enhanced greatness. While our experiences in the past have been disappointing, today, we have every reason to believe that the future is likely to be better.
