KOGI 2015/16: Ebira, Okun political alliance needed

 It is obvious that the battle of who becomes the next governor of the state would be a major battle between the agitators for power rotation or shift, most especially from the minority ethnic flanks and the hang-on-to-power cliques. The concept of rotationalism is the fad of contemporary political permutations and has also shaped the character […]

 It is obvious that the battle of who becomes the next governor of the state would be a major battle between the agitators for power rotation or shift, most especially from the minority ethnic flanks and the hang-on-to-power cliques.
 The concept of rotationalism is the fad of contemporary political permutations and has also shaped the character of social dialogue in Nigeria.  In Kogi state, more than any other state in Nigeria, the idea of swinging governorship pendulum to other ethnic groups, Ebira and Okun that have not benefitted from the executive leadership in the state since inception is now a matter of discourse towards the 2015/16 governorship election.
 It is obvious that today, there has been a rejuvenated call for a change which involves the agitation of rotation or shift  of the governorship position in Kogi between the three senatorial districts that makes up the state. It is a fact also that there is hardly any notable politician of majority extraction that believe that other ethnic minority components deserve the executive position of the state. This can be attested to, smarting from a suffocating political domination of Igalas in Kogi state today; they believe in the political of majority having its way.  But the biggest undoing of the majority would be, not knowing when to stop, after all, slavery was never abolished because slaves had risen in number higher than the perpetrators of the evil act.  It is time up for change and shifting of power!
 It is against this background that a respondent climate of opinion leaders from Kogi Central and the West, have been consulting, outreaching and meeting to strategize on how to actualize the desired power shift in the state.  Political watchers in Kogi state too seem to have come to conclusion that achieving this feat would, no doubt, be a gigantic leap forward in harmonious inter-ethnic relation in Kogi state.  Having brought the issue of the conceptual importance of the Ebira/Okun governorship into bold relief, it needs be stated that, it is an elementary political knowledge that power is not given on a platter of gold, but wrestled on the basis of a sustained struggle and contestation with the holder of power.  The Ebiras and Okuns need to gird their loins in order to embark on this struggle, by way of harnessing their immense intellectual resources, understanding in mapping out the programmable strategies, ideological policies that would guide the realization of this viable project and most importantly, one of the two must be ready to yield ground for the other.  Anything outside this, I am inclined to believe, is a faltering step.
 Pundits agree with the new thinking, if it is well re-engineered, perfected and the spirit of forgiveness and ideal for way forward is portrayed among the stakeholders, that an Ebira/Okun alliance being contemplated would be a hard nut to crack for the large Igala electorate.  These are some of the issues expected to dictate the pace of the 2015/16 governorship race.
 First and foremost, vigilance should be mounted on the activities of     latter-day Judas of Ebira/Okun governorship project.  These Judas who abound in their numbers, politically and philosophically would stop at nothing to stab this project in the back just for their selfish and excessiveness.  This point of view, to be sure, is tempered by an understanding of past political experiences in the agitation of power shift pressure group over time.  It is in the spirit of this aforementioned understanding that what should concern all well-meaning indigenes of Kogi state now in the on-going agitation for power shift, is to carry Kogi state from  the dungeon of poverty and colossal backwardness.
 Looking at the agitation of the minority from a focused context, one may posit that while the minority sees a shift in power as its only route to emancipation from political domination, the other group, majority, sees it as a striking at the very foundation of its political cum economic relevance.   Interestingly, some of the notable aspirants said to have so far begun underground and open campaign towards the 2015/16 governorship election, include; Alhaji Yahaya Bello (FiarPlus Transport); Senator Mohammed S. Ohiare; Dr. Onukaba Ojo Adinoyi (veteran journalist); Prince Emmanuel  Otu-Adeku Omadivi; Prince Suffianu Atta, from Central, Ebiraland. Okunland also include; Clarence Olafemi; Mr. Yaqeen A. Habeeb; Rotimi Abadogin; George Olumoroti; Suleiman Baba Ali; and Idris Kashim, etc.
  Isah Itopa Idris, Media consultant/Public Affairs Analysts, Abuja, 08035130045