It has been proven that the good legacy of a man is a more forceful representation of his position in history. In that wise, Prince Abubakar Audu, the pragmatic former Governor of Kogi state, is a man of history for whom many in digenes of the state and other stakeholders who desire development cannot hold back a feeling of nostalgia. And that includes people who had little or no appreciation for him while he held sway at the Lugard House in Lokoja.
In recent times, my mind has been unwittingly drawn into contemplations about government, development, democracy, leadership quality and the condition of the people. I had a ride on an eastern Nigeria bound bus and as we were traversing through the towns and settlements in Kogi state, I picked on the conversation of a couple of young idealists, who as it turned out, were noisily analysing the same thoughts I had on my mind at the time.
On hearing them l found myself missing former Governor Abubakar Audu and contrasting the glorious days of his government in Kogi state with the present condition of the state. The young idealists were quite chatty and fondly discussed serial topical political issues. They said Kogi, which in the beginning was a vibrant, sweet and a developmental high- flyer state, has stagnated and is nose-diving into ruination. Among other things, they also said, ranking new states like Akwa Ibom, Katsina, Edo, and Jigawa would have paled upon comparison with Kogi if the tempo of development created by Prince Abubakar Audu had been sustained.
At this point, I began to reflect on how sometimes, human minds, depending on relationships or interaction forum tend to work in sync with one another. I found it utterly amazing that other people’s minds can so simultaneously hold the same thoughts as mine. Then my mind drifted to a certain remark ascribed to Prince Audu shortly after his hugely federally conspired defeat in the 2003gubernatorial elections in Kogi state. As the people’s prince made his exit out of Lugard House, he had remarked thus, “Today, I step out to face the shame of my defeat but woe (and regrets) betides the people”. I am tempted to call these remarks the Audu curse for even after a decade those words still haunt Kogi state with a voice of thunder. The confluence state has lost its glory and grandeur of the Prince Abubakar Audu era. Kogi state has lost in some many ways, but above all, the sense of purpose and vision for harnessing the many and varied natural endowments of the state for its eventual launch into the pedigree of self-reliant economy.
Indeed, the revolutionary ideas of Prince Audu did not just speak of a greater Kogi state theoretically, he worked towards it. Prince Audu came into Kogi politics knowing his onion. A vivacious and energetic governor, Prince Audu was determined, people-oriented, and had Kogi state working on all fronts. He was, indeed, working with a mind to set Kogi state on a path of development that matches the Abuja strides and perhaps, beat Abuja to the run. This is not surprising, Kogi is as proximate to Abuja as can be convenient for such ambitions, and far better endowed with natural resources.
Sadly, all of these dreams were thwarted when concerns of Abubakar Audu growing too popular and powerful for comfort grew in the top hierarchy of the PDP-led federal government. The removal of Prince Audu became a top priority and no effort was spared in ensuring that the objective is achieved, not minding how he was to be removed or who was to replace him. To cut a long story short, anyone who cares to know the Abubakar Audu termination strategy needs only recall the recent defeat of governor Ayodele Fayemi of Ekiti state in the just-concluded gubernatorial election in that state.
And so Prince Audu was removed and Kogi went into comatose. From being an economically viable,debt-free hopeful, Kogi has been reduced to a pitiable and ridiculous state of development inertia. For a fact, over a decade of a negatively static leadership disposition typified in a brazen “it is my turn to eat” mentality and a helplessness tethered by an encumbering obligation of loyalty, Kogi has been confined to the bottom of the rung of development ladder at a time when we have to cast our glances skywards to see the attainment levels of the Akpabios, the Oshiomholes, the Lamidos, the Fayemis, the Fasholas and Kwankwansos of this world.
Abubakar Audu is the first with the new in more ways than one. His remarkable business acumen and amazing friendship networks credited him with many unparalled achievements. The establishment of institutions such as the Kogi State University, and others are evident of his seriousness of developmental focus. Prince Audu in addition to ensuring that over 250,000 kmof township roads were reconstructed across the state in his first tenure of office, admirably leveraged his business experience to mobilize an international consortium for the establishment of Kogi Cement Company, which later transformed into Dangote Cement company Plc, Obajana. The establishment of the Confluence Hotel, Lokoja, the state capital, is another landmark project of Prince Audu. The Prince Audu adminstration was a boom period for Kogites – unemployment was checked, the state economy flourished with upward prospects, citizen morale was high and students thrived academically, and received regular scholarship grants; sports and cultural development received attention; citizens of Kogi were generally a happy people.
Wada wrote from Abuja
