Gov. Wada: The morning after

Now that the election in Kogi State is over and the battle appears ‘won’ and ‘lost, at least before the courts take the reins, we can safely delve into a bit of reflection. Away from the antics of the two leading parties in the state-People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), let me […]

Now that the election in Kogi State is over and the battle appears ‘won’ and ‘lost, at least before the courts take the reins, we can safely delve into a bit of reflection. Away from the antics of the two leading parties in the state-People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), let me x-ray the man in the centre of it all, the outgoing governor of the state, Capt. Idris Wada and his legacy of exemplary leadership, notwithstanding the outcome of the election.
Shortly after the APC was declared winner of the election, I sought to see our governor in his Abuja office. In booking the appointment, I asked his personal assistant whether ‘Oga was in a good mood’, to which he responded in the affirmative, and with certainty.
Wada has not betrayed any emotion since then. He was at his convivial best and relaxed mood, while we both discussed the new political development and bemoaned the fate and future of democracy where money rules the roost.
The governor has taken all the events that happened-the betrayals, backstabbing and controversies in their strides and with philosophical calmness, believing that God gives power to whom He wishes and at His appointed time even as he said elsewhere that fortune can smile on anyone at anytime as it did smile on Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the governor-elect, in his providence-ordained victory.
At the PDP stakeholders’ meeting after the supplementary election, the governor was at his affable best when he spoke to the crowd. He said: “From the inception of my tenure till now, I have been of the firm belief that God chose me to direct the affairs of our dear state at this point in time, not on the basis of my social pedigree, my economic resources or any unique ability, but simply by the scheme of the Almighty God who gives powers to whoever He wills. My case is a testimony to the veracity of the saying that the race does not belong to the swift, nor the battle to the strong”.
His words calmed all frayed nerves and doused tension at a meeting many were prepared to jaw-jaw and trade accusations.
Wada’s legendary humble disposition manifests in many ways, thus his readiness to offer apologies for offences that might have been committed by his appointees and lieutenants. Although this has often been misconstrued as a weakness and politically incorrect, there is no doubt about the fact that his action can be described as humanity at its best.
He has demonstrated respect for the power of the electorates by setting machinery in motion for the transfer of power to a new administration even though the courts are yet to dispense with the catalogue of litigations.
The governor has set up Transition and Steering Committees to work out modalities for transfer of power to the incoming government. The transition committee is chaired by the Secretary to the State Government Prof. Olugbemiro Jegede while the Steering Committee is headed by the deputy governor, Arc. Abayomi Awoniyi.
The Transition Committee has been working hard to meet the governor’s deadline. Such is the man, Capt. Idris Wada, in his characteristic promptness and painstaking scrupulousness in words and deeds.
Mahatma Gandhi, in one of his famous words on marble, said: “The weak can never forgive: forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”  Some people think that it’s politically suicidal to forgive and bring on board people who had worked against the governor’s interest and stabbed him on the back in the past.
Perhaps, Wada draws inspiration from his firm belief in God’s words and takes admonition from great men like Gandhi. One thing is, however, certain, his large heartedness and good spiritedness are not in doubt. At an executive council meeting held on December 9, 2015, the first after the election, the governor announced some of his itinerary for the next few days, among which was his planned trip to a part of Kogi West, to attend the funeral of the late father of a lawmaker, and he was there, still aligning and identifying with people even in adversity and at a time he no longer needs them, politically speaking.
As a newsroom administrator for years before I joined the Wada-led administration, I witnessed how people, critical of his government, caused to be published negative stories and advertorials against Wada. Yet, those people warmed their way back into his heart, he took them back, in his characteristic magnanimity and kind-heartedness.
The story is told of how he called labour leaders to introduce himself as “Capt. Idris Wada, the governor of Kogi State,” after he took over in 2012. The comrades were taken aback. That accounted, in part, for the rancour-free relationship he had with organised labour and the near absence of labour crisis throughout his tenure. His humility and transparent dealings with the workers combined to endear him to the usually ‘restive’ organised labour.
Recently, the governor inspected the Lokoja Mega Terminal in preparation for its commissioning. The project is one of the many laudable ones initiated and completed by the Wada-led administration. While at the site, I had a phone conversation with a friend, and I told him we were on an inspection visit to the site. He expressed dismay about the propriety of doing such a modern park and why the governor would still be so concerned “when he is on his way out of office.”
Similarly, some people argue that the Lokoja mega terminal at Felele, the embankment project at Kabawa, the General Hospital and the 16-km Ganaja-Otokiti road dualisation, and many others are all ideas whose time has not come in a rural backwater state like Kogi.  I do not blame the nay sayers. Wada was largely misunderstood. However, that perception can’t obliterate his legacies and his genuine desires to live the state better than he met it. With some of these projects, he is truly laying the foundation for a new Kogi State where, once upon a time, haphazard jobs were done, equity, fairness and justice were thrown to the dogs.
As Wada prepares to bequeath the affairs of the state to Alhaji Yahaya Bello, there is no doubt that posterity will remember him kindly.
Besides his legacies, Kogites will remember Wada as the man with ‘meek’ mien and undying faith in the Kogi of our dream, a man who sees humility as a virtue and not a weakness, who chose to walk with the weak, and a good manager of human and material resources.
His brand of politics might not have given him victory in a highly divisive terrain like Kogi, but his penchant for good work ethics and style of leadership will remain indelible in the annals of our dear state.
No matter how long it takes for the judicial logjam arising from the election to be resolved, Kogites will not forget in a hurry that, for once, a man of impeccable standing ruled and left the state safer, better and more peaceful than it once was.
Zainab Suleiman Okino is the Commissioner for Information in Kogi State