EXPLAINER: 8 Reasons Why Kogi Governorship Election Matters To Nigeria

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Janetl/ Kola/Muslimat/Faith/Idachaba/Victoria

Saturday, November 11, 2023, 1.6 million registered voters will file out to elect a new governor who will take over the state’s mantle of leadership from the incumbent Governor Yahaya Bello whose tenure will lapse on January 27, 2024.

The registered voters will file out to vote at 2,548 polling units spread across 239 wards in 21 local government areas of the state.

They will vote to decide the man that will preside over the affairs of the state with a projected population of 4, 486, 800 people scattered over 29,833 km2 of land mass called Kogi State.

Kogi State, a strategically located state in North Central Nigeria is the 13 largest state in Nigeria in terms of land mass and the 20th most populous state in the country.

The state created from the old Kwara and Benue State on August 27, 1991, by the military administration of President Ibrahim Babangida is at the very center of the entity called Nigeria and serves as a link between Southern Nigeria and Nigeria.

Its capital, Lokoja narrowly lost to Abuja as Nigeria’s new Federal Capital Territory due to a lack of enough land and many hills dotting its landscape according to former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon.

It is a very strategic state to Nigeria in terms of economy, security, unity, agriculture, industry, commerce, mining, etc.

Indeed, Kogi State is the future of Nigeria, it holds the ace for the economic and food security, prosperity, and unity of Nigeria.

It is in light of the above that the coming governorship election in Kogi State should be of interest to all Nigerians irrespective of tribe and religion.

We premised this submission on EIGHT (8) Major Reasons ;

  1. Historical,
  2. Unity,
  3. Economy,

.4. Security

  1. Agriculture,
  2. Solid Minerals/Oil
  3. Tourism
  4. Power
  5. History: A major reason why the coming governorship election matters to Nigeria is the historical importance of the state, especially the state capital, Lokoja to the emergence of the country called Nigeria.

Nigeria derived its name from the confluence of River Niger and River Benue in Lokoja.

Floral Shaw, wife of Lord Fredrick Luggard, Nigeria’s first colonial Governor General was the one that named this country Niger Area which was later modified to become Nigeria.

Floral Shaw was said to have peeped out of the window of the Luggard’s Apartment on Mount Patti, saw the beauty of the meandering River Niger, and said ” This Niger Area.’

It was from her statement “This Niger Area” that the name Nigeria was adopted as the official name of Nigeria.

Aside from from this Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State was the capital of the Northern Protectorate for many years.

With this status, the first primary school, the first hospital, the first post office, the first bank, the first church in Northern Nigeria, etc. are all located in Lokoja, Kogi State.

When the Northern and Southern Protectorates were merged in 1914 to form the present entity called Nigeria, Lord Fredrick Luggard was resident in Lokoja.

He left Lokoja a few days later to resume in Lagos, the capital of the newly formed Nigeria to preside over its affairs.

  1. Security – Another major reason why the coming governorship election matters to Nigeria is security.

As said earlier, Kogi State is right at the center of Nigeria.

It is the main bridge and link between Northern Nigeria.

The South South, South East, and South West connect to the North through Kogi and the North and vice versa.

It shares boundaries with NINE (9) states; Benue, Edo, Anambra, Enugu, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Kwara, Ekiti, and the Federal Capital Territory.

It is occupied by no fewer than 14 distinct ethnic tribes.

Any security concern in Kogi will most likely spill over to the nation’s federal capital Territory of Abuja and nine other states in North Central, South-South, South East, and South West.

The security implication of this for the country is that four out of the six geographical zones in Nigeria will be affected.

Any security breach in Kogi State will also negatively impact the movement of goods and services between the North and South.

Any natural disaster like the floods that happened in Kogi State always impacted negatively on Nigeria’s security and economy.

It always become a global issue, the 2012 and 2022 flood disasters in the state are clear examples.

  1. Agriculture – Another major reason why the coming governorship election in Kogi State should be a matter of concern to Nigerians is the agricultural resources of the state.

As of today, Kogi State is the leading producer of Cashew and cassava, two of the major cash crops attracting forex to Nigeria through exportation to other countries.

The state is also the source of major food crops like rice, yam, beniseed, beans, groundnut, and watermelon among others.

Any security breach in the state before, during, and after the election will affect food production, food supply, and food shortage which will further compound the woes of Nigerians.

  1. Economy – Another major reason why the coming governorship election should be a matter of concern is that the economic prosperity of Nigeria is tied down here.

Nigeria’s quest for an alternative to oil and gas revenues depends largely on Kogi State.

The state is home to 28 out of the 32 solid minerals found to be in large commercial deposits in Nigeria.

Limestone, gold, precious stones like marble, and tin among others are all available in commercial deposits in the state.

5 – Power: Power is another major critical reason why the coming election should be a matter of concern to Nigerians.

Kogi State is home to the Geregu Power Generating plant supply about 300 megawatts of electricity to the national grid.

The thermal station is the source of power supply to the FCT, five states in the North Central.

The state is also hosting one of the three biggest power injection sub-stations in the country.

The injection sub-station located in the Zango Daji area of Lokoja is a critical electricity infrastructural supply in Nigeria.

Aside from this is the availability of the largest coal deposits in the Eastern part of Kogi State.

The state has the largest coal mines in Nigeria.

Apart from the coal to power plants in the country, coal is also a major forex earner for Nigeria.

The state is also blessed with the availability of crude oil deposits.

This has made the state to be one of the oil-producing states enjoying 13 percent derivation since November 2022.

  1. One other important reason why the coming governorship election should be a matter of concern is the critical role of the state in the country’s Build Sector.

This is so because the state is home to the biggest cement plant in Africa, Obajana Cement Plc.

The cement company produces and supplies a greater percentage of the cement needs of the country’s Build Sector.

It was the cement company that was used to implement the backward integration policy of the Federal Government which eventually made Nigeria stop the importation of cement into the country and make Nigeria become a net exporter of cement in the world.

The yearning of Nigerians to own houses and the government’s desire to bridge the housing deficit through the provision of mass housing schemes also substantially depend on Obajana Cement Plc.

The Obajana Cement Plc is also critical to the job creation efforts of Nigeria as it provides direct and indirect jobs to thousands of Nigerians.

Therefore, any attempt to disrupt the operation of the company will lead to socio-economic crises for the country.

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