
Subject: Reflections on the Conclusion of Your Tenure
Dear Governor Yahaya Bello,
I trust this letter finds you well as you conclude your tenure as the Governor of Kogi State. I am compelled to share my reflections on the past eight years, a period that has been marked by challenges and, in my view, missed opportunities.
God, the maker of the earth, who lifts up and brings down powers, kingdoms, and principalities, has, by His infinite knowledge, captured in His Holy Word the reality of tenures – “To everything, there’s a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” This is the harsh reality that you now face as you exit the office, having desecrated the untainted empire that God gave to you on a platter of gold eight years ago.
The inglorious tenure of Yahaya Bello was a true reflection of the refrains in one of the popular numbers of the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti, ‘Dem bring sorrow, tears and blood, their regular trademark.’ These were the hallmarks of your governance of Kogi State. The seed of pain planted in the early years of your ascent was watered by the bitter tears of civil servants, while the harvest of the fruits of your governance was washed by the tears of traditional rulers in the fading days of your descent.
The people of Kogi State will heave a sigh of relief from the intimidation and repression that characterized the eight grueling years of your administration. Though a child of democratic benevolence, your governance demonstrated beastiality with military savagery. It was either your way or the highway. This explains why you hunted me and others you considered opponents with ferocious venom. You sent assassins after me four times, but the Almighty God, who will not give the soul of His beloved to Hades, delivered me from them all.
In eight years filled with tension, you exhibited unbridled arrogance of power, breathing brimstone and fire as you operated what you called a ‘system,’ an arrogant description of the self-vested deployment of power similar to the ‘I’m the state’ posture of Louis XIV, a reference to the absolutism that construes power as an interminable heritage. It’s over now. We, the preys, can now circulate, freely delivered from predators, vampires, and agents of death.
With the end of the lifespan of the tyranny of the minority, corruption, which was clothed with the garment of kleptomania, will be unmasked. The fortuitous Yahaya Bello, who received more inflows from Federal Government largesse than any previous administration, ended up earning the gold medal of corruption and failure.
When you assumed office in Kogi, the people had thought that the social cohesion in the state would be enhanced, especially in power-sharing and management. Rather than play statesmanship, you subscribed to unprecedented nepotism in all facets of your administration. You not only promoted your kinsmen to incompetence, but you also bequeathed power to your own locale.
As you pale in power and splendor, Kogi State needs to rebrand. Before your entry into the saddle of governance, Kogi had a great profile of a state blessed with human and material resources, particularly mineral resources that persuaded investors like Dangote and Mangal to locate their industries in Kogi State. Sadly, you have succeeded in frightening investors away.
For those who are confident that you have become unstoppable, let me borrow some verses from Psalm 73: 3-6, to erase their error because, as the Scripture in reference says:
‘For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.
They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.
Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.’ Judgment is by the corner.
I praise the people of Kogi State for their elasticity to bear and grin the excesses, destruction, intimidation, oppression, exploitation, and ruinous conduct. I was, perhaps, the only voice that reprimanded you once I discovered that you had departed from the path of grace that God planted you.
With the passage of time, the tenure of the terminator who terminated careers and appointments, and who attempted to terminate my life, is now terminated. We are now back to the street together. I will welcome you with this verse in Isaiah 3:11, ‘Woe to the wicked, it shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.’
Sincerely,
Ex-Senator Dino Melaye.