Comrade Musa Wada is the convener and coordinator of the 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 context the next governorship election 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 General 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. Sadly, the state’s leadership has failed. Today, the people of Kogi state are witnessing the unraveling of Governor Yahaya Bello, whose failure is embarrassing. The state under his watch is drifting into anarchy; 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 Hon Zakari Alfa, former commissioner for finance in the Wada administration. Like 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. The set upon the blessings with sub-human greed. 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 is your impression on the lack of unity among the Igala political class?
I believe that politics isfor development. Today, there is no ethnic group in Nigeria including Kogi state that is not crying of one form of marginalisation or the other. We believe that a leader should not be a tribal or zonal leader. I can authoritatively tell you that research has shown that the bane of our development in Kogi state politically and economically is the type of politics that we play, which is tribal and zonal politics. This type of politics breads hatred and lack of cooperation from the ethnic groups that feel that development favours only the tribe and zone that comes out victorious in the end. Kogi needs a detribalised leader, a leader that is not based on zonal consideration. That is the type of leadership that the man we are talking about shall provide. About your question on Igala unity, I believe that unity is a key factor for development and it is time the political class in the Igala nation see the need for the development of the Igala nation based on the unity of purpose of her leaders. We need unity for development of our people.
What in your opinion can be done in Kogi state 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 hardwork. This is because of the strong nexus between followership and leadership. Leaders cannot lead without having a 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.
What about the tribal and ethnic differences you talked about?
Building of a common citizenship has been an important aspect of our state-building exercise. But how can we have a common citizenship when the person in Kabba has a radically different quality of life from a man in Dekina? Through the development of the economy and equal opportunities for all, or through the development of social welfare safety nets, nature state tries to establish a base line of social and economic rights which all members of the state communities must enjoy. Not to enjoy these socio-economic rights means that the people involved are marginalised. In Kogi state, not only are many societies denied basic rights, there are also serious variations in the enjoyment of these rights across Kogi state. As a consequence, the citizen is not motivated to support the state and society, because he or she does not feel that the state is adequately concerned about their welfare. Secondly, socio-economic inequalities across the state fuel fears and suspicions which keep our people divided. This I believe shall change when we have a leader like Hon Zakari Alfa to change things and carry the people along.
What are the consequences of these inequalities in Kogi to its development?
These inequalities pose two related challenges to state building. Firstly, high levels of socio-economic inequalities mean that different Kogites live different lives in different parts of the state. A common statehood cannot be achieved while citizens of a state are living such parallel lives. Inequalities are a threat to a common citizenship. Secondly, even in those parts of the state that are relatively better off, the level of social provisions and protection is still low by national standards. The 60 percent that are poor and unemployed in Kogi state are still excluded from common citizenship benefits. We therefore need a social contract between the people on the one hand and the state on the other. The state and local governments must put the needs of the disadvantaged as a key objective of public policy. Such an approach can make possible a common experience of life by Kogites living in different parts of the state and elicit their commitment to the state. Instead of resorting to the divisive politics of indigene against settler as a means of accessing resources, a generalised commitment to social citizenship will create a civic structure of rights that will unite the people of Kogi around shared rights and goals.
