By Jacobson Zebedee, Lokoja
Perhaps for his youthful exuberance and leadership style , the immediate past governor of Kogi state, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello is largely misunderstood.
His commitment, passion and sometimes excitement on the job rather than earned him accolades conversely offends some. Even Bello himself recognized that his actions elicited envy of a kind , but he was resolute that whichever side of the coin, the job that has to be done must be done no matter whose ox was gored.
Right from the beginning of his first term in January 2016, he committed himself to the transformation of the State by reforming the machineries of government, its security architecture, and ensuring ethnic cohesion and development at all levels.
To achieve his goals, he assembled eggheads competent enough across the ethic and religious lines in the state.
Though, his first term was almost marred with loads of litigations and the intra and inter political battles, he was not deterred in implementing his policies. He took stock of the situation and deployed his administration’s blueprint as a compass to address the pressing needs of the state.
The first problem he encountered in the course of governance was the civil service. It was weak, allegedly corrupt and unproductive. Using the democratic and legal means to ensure an effective and productive civil service, Bello embarked on a screening exercise that ab initio generated an outcry from suspected ghost workers and employment racketeers who were arguably the target of the exercise.
On completion of screening in 2018, Bello gave a standing order for the civil servants’ salaries to be paid between the 24 and 27th of every month, an order that was sustained throughout his administration.
The democratic nature of Bello in policy implementation boosted the morale of the workforce and propels them to be productive albeit patriotic. Added to that is the fact that even in the face of the crippling national economy, Bello approved the then National Minimum Wage Scale for Kogi civil servants.
Speaking recently, Michael Ohiare, Senior Special Assistant (print Media) in the former governor’s administration, while chronicling various efforts of former governor Yahaya Bello said his swift action when he mediated between the Northern food transporters and their Southern counterparts and brokered peace between the two regions remains a reference point.
He pointed that in the build up to the 2023 Presidential Poll, a number of impediments and political cum economic landmines were laid on the road by those bent on truncating the Tinubu’s presidential ambition, including the Naira Redesign Policy.
According to Ohiare , ” it was the same Yahaya Bello with some of his colleagues then that dared the system and secured the judgement that set that aside at the Supreme Court. It was a landmark intervention at a time that the national economy was almost collapsing.
“In the Presidential Poll, Yahaya Bello mobilised Kogites massively to deliver victory for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“He also mobilized the youths across the country as the Youth Mobilization Committee Chairman because of his faith in the leadership capacity of Mr President”.
EDUCATION
Prior to the emergence of Bello, the state of education in Kogi State lacked clear direction. A comprehensive 2017 survey conducted by ACTIONAID/PIBCID krevealed critical insights into the education sector’s performance and challenges in the state. These findings highlighted deficiencies in performance and instructional delivery that hindered the achievement of critical goals: improving literacy rates, advancing Early Child Care Development Education (ECCDE), enhancing the quality of education from basic to tertiary levels, promoting girl-child education, and elevating ICT skills and STEM education.
In response to these challenges, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology in Kogi State organised the 2018 State Education Summit, known as the ‘Education Roadmap.’ This summit gathered stakeholders to devise strategies for the state’s educational development. Subsequently, the Kogi State Education Law of 2020 was enacted to provide guidance and regulation for the education sector’s operations in the state.
The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology under Bello had gone a step further by developing the State Education Strategic Plan (SESP) 2021-2030 and the State Education Operational Plan (SESOP) 2021-2027, which aligned with the Ministerial Strategic Plan (MSP) to address gaps in the education sector.
Under the leadership of Bello, the administration transformed the education landscape from one marked by neglect and decay to one filled with hope, improved access, equity, infrastructure development, and enhanced service delivery.
One of the administration’s groundbreaking achievements in the education sector was the allocation of 30% of the budget to education in each fiscal year from 2021. This allocation exceeded the UNESCO-recommended benchmark of 26%, thus underscoring the government’s unparalleled commitment to education in the state.
To ensure effective utilization of this investment, the state government conducted training sessions for over 2,000 school managers, focusing on curriculum delivery, quality assurance, and enhanced efficiency in partnership with NTI, NPC, NERDC, and FME. Additional training sessions on conducting the Annual School Census have been provided to over 1,500 individuals by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology.
To enhance the workforce in the education sector, the government recruited an additional 3,979 teachers in February 2023 from a pool of 22,342 applicants.
Before 2015, Kogi State’s education landscape was a cause for concern. The performance of Kogi students in national examinations like WAEC, NECO, and JAMB was disheartening. However, the Bello’s administration ushered in a transformative era. Substantial investments in educational infrastructure and the welfare of of teachers and management staff have elevated the standard of Kogi students. This is a testament to the power of commitment and strategic planning.
According to statistics from the Federal Ministry of Education, the number of out-of-school children jin Kogi State stood at 554,943 between 2014 and 2015. Through concerted efforts, the Bello’s administration has reduced that figure to 86,803, ranking Kogi as the 9th state with the lowest number of out-of-school children in Nigeria as of 2019.
With the renewed commitment of the government under the leadership of the incumbent governor Usman Ododo , it is anticipated that every school-age child will be in the classroom before the end of 2024.
Achieving this involved investments in primary education, renovating 833 classroom blocks, constructing 1,800 classrooms across the state, and establishing GYB Model Science Schools in the state. It also involved training and retraining of teachers across all schools in the state.
Recalled that Bello took a visionary and audacious step on September 21, 2023, by declaring free education from primary school to secondary school levels in all public schools in Kogi State. Furthermore, the government committed to paying examination fees for WAEC, NECO, and JAMB candidates is a testament to the leadership’s understanding of the importance of investing in the future.
Bello’s magic wand was also evident in putting an end to the incessant ASUU strike in the state-owned institutions in 2017 through strategic negotiation with stakeholders. The agreement there from normalised activities in the institutions and ensured prompt and regular payment of staff salaries. The development encouraged the governor to establish the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara after obtaining approval from the NUC in 2020. The specialized institution took off in 2021 with 245 students. On February 12, 2022, the Kogi State government disbursed N6b to contractors handling projects in the university while construction of the college of medicine, Prince Abubakar Audu University,Anyigba for full medical accreditation was also getting final requirement. Another deft move in reshaping the education in Kogi State was the establishment of the Kogi State University, Kabba in 2023, making his administration the first to establish and nurture two-state-owned universities under four years. Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja; College of Education, Ankpa; and College of Education Technical, Mopa are not left out too.
In a nutshell and whichever side of the divide in Kogi under Bello , it is incontrovertible that Bello left a legacy for future development in confluence state.
*Zebedee wrote from Lokoja,
Kogi state.
