KOGI STATE IS ON FIRE!!!

W-O-R-L-D E-X-C-L-U-S-I-V-E!

2015:KOGI STATE IS ON FIRE!!!

WHO WILL OCCUPY LORD LUGARD HOUSE IN LOKOJA?

……………………………………………..A-Z OF THE CREATION OF KOGI STATE EXPOSED

………………………………………………BIG FIGHT OVER LORD LUGARD HOUSE

…………………………………………………FIGHT MAY GO DOWN THE WIRE TO THE SUPREME COURT

……………………………………………..LABOUR PARTY,PDP ASKS INEC TO DECLARE THEM AS WINNERS

………………………………………………EBIRA’S WILL DIE FIGHTING

………………………………………………POWER SHIFT CRISIS TURNS TO OPEN WAR IN KOGI STATE

………………………………………………..DEEP CRACKS IN RELATIONS BETWEEN YORUBA,EBIRA AND IGALA WORSENS

………………………………………………..FALEKE SPITS FIRE,ACCUSES YAHAYA BELLO OF ANTI-PARTY ACTIVITIES

BY ABDULMUMINI ADEKU

As the war raged over who took control of the leadership of kwara state in the early 80’s ,between Dr Abubakar Olushola Saraki,the then Senate Leader and the Governor ,Alhaji Adamu Atta ,both now deceased , the Ebira tribal group started to clamor for the creation of Kogi State.

The Ebira group to be found in the what is now called Kogi Central in Kogi State had always being searching for political relevance and in the first Repubic ,the igbira Trade Union ,fondly called I.T.U. started by the likes of Late Mr George Ohikere and Alhaji Megida Lawal hogged the headlines .

I.T.U won seats in local, regional and federal elections in the first republic and till this day,Ebira natives still talk of the glory of the pastas they continue to search for a true identity.

The military intervention of December,31^st,1983 did not in any way help to assuage the feelings of the Ebira natives as the urge for the creation of a new state to be called Kogi state continued to gather storm.

All the key political gladiators within the area in the second republic politics who were still alive as at then continued the campaign via sensitization projects ,conferences and other forms of intervention on the subject.

Then came 1991,General Ibrahim Babangida wanting to score a political pound of flesh rather than a favour as generally felt descended heavily on Kwara Territory due to his eternal rivalry and morbid hatred for General Tunde Idiagbon now late ,during the state creation exercise for that period.

He carved out Borgu Local Government which was then the biggest in Kwara state into Niger state sighting historical reasons.

Babangida carved out the Okun -Ebira territory and merged it with the igala territory to create a new confluence landmark to be called Kogi State.

As at then, General Salihu Ibrahim as Chief of Army Staff and Alhaji Aliyu Atta as Inspector General of Police occupied the 4^th and 7^th most powerful positions in Nigeria with both being members of the once mighty, Armed Forces Ruling Council and they were both from what is now called Kogi Central as both are from Ebira Tribe.

Not a single Igala man was available to influence any of the decisions as at then.

The Ebira’s who were in control of power at the centre for historical reasons ceded the state capital to Lokoja despite the fact that even a blind man knew that Okene was and is still the commercial nerve centre of the new state.

Till date,Kogi Central accounts for 70 percent of the gross domestic product{G.D.P.]of internally generated revenue to the state purse.

However ,rather unfortunately ,what the Ebira’s have in terms of material or financial resources they however lack in the area of numerical strength as they only  have 32 percent of the state’s population with the Okun group accounting for 20 percent.

The Igala’s on the other hand have a huge population index in the state as it accounts  for at least 48 percent and herein is the problem.

The Igala people from Kogi East Senatorial District who were previously in Kwara State before a boundary adjustment in 1975 by the Late General Muritala Mohammed and were crying of Tiv marginalization in Benue State suddenly grew wings as they had their own internal script they planned on executing and this has remained the nemesis that has followed the Kogi state project till this day.

In 1992 with less than two months to the polls,Alhaji[Prince]Abubakar Audu armed with freshly minted notes and having just retired as a banker came down to Ogbonicha and started his journey to Mount Patti’s Lord Lugard House.

He was rich and so paid off every form of opposition and till date the people who created Kogi State are made to serve the people who were invited and this is reflected in the appointment imbalance within Kogi civil service structure.

Memories of that marginalization was what led to the bitter fight over who controls Lord Lugard in Lokoja resulting in the ugly skirmish in front of the All Progressives Congress secretariat between the supporters of Chief James Abiodun Faleke and Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

As Governor of the state,Prince Abubakar Audu never his disdain for the Ebira man in his actions,why this was so well only the Ogbonicha strongman could answer that question but unfortunately he is now dead and dead people don’t talk but eat earthworms.

He emptied the equipments of a specialist Hospital inherited from the Old Kwara State in Obangede,Head quarters of Okehi Local Government Area and ordered it to be transferred to Igala land while turning the former to a roadside consulting clinic .

As if this was not enough ,Audu now late, literarily committed suicide when news filtered  out to Ebira people that the Ogbonicha heavyweight was planning to carve Ajaokuta into Igala land and this led to a lot of crisis in the state as at then.

Till this day,Ebira nation has never forgiven the Igala man over some of this imbalance and the latter is now afraid that if an Ebira man becomes the Governor he was sure to revenge every form of injustice ever meted to them.

Every efforts made by EBIRA tribal leaders who have championed  “power-shift”since 1999 have failed till date.