I just returned to base a few hours ago from Lokoja, capital of Kogi State. I had joined over 100 top ranking journalists and online publishers who went for a two-day annual conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) to which we belong.
As a matter of fact, when over two months ago, a message came that Kogi State government would host the 2024 conference, first ever to be hosted by any state government and to be held outside Lagos and Abuja, the first thing that crossed my mind was that the message must have been sent in error.
The thought was predicated on the fact that Kogi State had never been known to be so exposed and matured in terms of publicity blitz, that it would think of hosting such gigantic media event. For a fact, states that had held such event, including the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the past, have been few and far between. They are Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Kwara, Lagos, Ekiti and one or two other states.
Well, I was not only proved wrong in my initial thought (of impossibility), but the event was successfully held between Tuesday, October 1 and yesterday, Thursday, October 3. In fact, the euphoria and smoothness that characterized the event spoke volume not only about the strength of character and receptiveness of the man in charge now, Ahmed Usman Ododo, but also about the new dispensation in the state.
My thought that was later proved wrong was borne out of the simple, can-never-hurt-a-fly appearance and mien of the new man in the Lugard House, Governor Ododo. In fact, the first impression one would get from him, resulting from his gentle appearance would be “a man that is warming the Executive Seat.”
However, being privileged to attend the GOCOP conference as one of the pioneer members, and being privileged to have a close-range interaction with the operatives in the government, and inspection of a few of Governor Ododo’s feet being planted on the sand of time, barely nine months sojourn in Kogi State governance, I would say, a far different impression has taken the better of me, and I’m sure, many of my colleagues too.
Deputy Gov Joel (middle), Amb Yusuf Mamman (left), Maureen Chigbo (right) GOCOP President
After all, many of such colleagues, in the buildups to the conference, had expressed reservations and even fear about the danger we were set to go into, with insecurity, especially kidnappings being witnessed regularly in the state. Others also raised the issue of flood around Koton Karfe, near Lokoja around this time of the year. The flood used to cutoff travellers between Abuja and those in the South South and Southwest. As a matter of fact, many of the colleagues traveled to Lokoja between October 1 and today, October 4, when we left, with some kind of trepidation. Of course, I’m sure that when all of them return to base – Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Katsina, Enugu and others – they would have a serious rethink, and longing for the return to the state, which even in dream, they would acknowledge is peaceful, fast progressing, in no distant future.
Kingsley (far left), Ismail (far right) at GOCOP conference.
Now back to the real thing happening in Kogi State: there is what I would call a rain of infrastructural development going on silently. They are roads, houses and several other constructions. There is restructuring of many sectors that have never been done before, all for the purpose of ensuring a faster move to the zenith.
One of the examples of, perhaps, the silent development revolution going on in Kogi is within the precipice of the structure housing the seat of government, known as Government House. As the saying goes: “charity begins at home,” so Governor Ododo has obviously bought into this wise saying by first embarking on the restructuring of the government house, which he has done within the short period he has been on the saddle, so much that one doesn’t need much grammar to know that he’s serious about development across the state.
We were briefly taken round the government house yesterday evening, October 3, by the Special Adviser to Governor Ododo on Media, Ismail Isah and were truly marveled at such structure like State Executive Council Chamber, Banquet Hall, Press Gallery, and others which have been put together within just nine months.
The governor wanted a situation where we would go on visit to numerous projects his government has executed in so short a time, but the online publishers were so preoccupied with the conference and other activities around it that they couldn’t make out time for such project tour.
One would want to make it clear that the governor has achieved so much and moving so fast because he’s synchronizing very well with the system and with the subordinates; as confirmed by the Deputy Governor, Elder Joel Salifu, who jocundly delivered the address of the Governor at the conference yesterday because the governor had an unscheduled urgent assignment to attend elsewhere. The deputy governor, spoke so glowingly about Ododo, especially for picking a school Headmaster like him as his Deputy.
Even the special adviser on media, Ismail Isah confirmed that the governor has been implementing whatever good and productive ideas brought before him.
Also, the state commissioner for information, Kingsley Famwo, who the governor inherited from his predecessor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, showed that the idea of hosting GOCOP emanated from within the system which he, the governor bought-into.
And therefore, such mind of listening to and implementing progressive ideas from the subordinates as has been identified with Governor Ododo, is definitely the key to personal and collective progress, for the general benefit of the state.
