By Pius Adesanmi
Sad day in Kogi is a redundant statement anyway. It’s always the era of the Egyptian plagues anyway. But I warmly accept the condolence message that my friend, Professor Moses Ochonu, has sent me on the latest tragedy visited on my state by APC – the choice of Abubakar Audu as the party’s flag bearer in the forthcoming gubernatorial elections.
I expect more condolences throughout the day from all Nigerians of conscience. Remember, whenever the tragedy of terribly corrupt and irredeemable political actors have happened to your states, I have always sympathised with you. I solidarised with Benue, with Abia, with Kano, with Adamawa, etc. Name any state in Nigeria ruled by visionlessness, integrity penury, crazy sense of priorities, and irredeemable corruption and you will find my voice of sympathy with the citizens of such states on record. Very few of my readers and followers have ever sympathized with me over the unending tragedy of Kogi. Abubakar Audu is an occasion to register your condolences.
Let me also remind my friend, Professor Ochonu, that when he was lamenting the horrible choice between the PDP and APC options in his state, Benue, I offered him Kogi as consolation. I told him to wait for what Kogi would offer and he would thank God for Benue. Now, it is looking like Kogi’s choice will be between Abubakar Audu and the incumbent, Idris Wada. Basically, it is a choice between Satan and Lucifer. Moses can now be consoled that his own choice in Benue was between Satan and his servant, the serpent – a much better proposition than the Kogi scenario.
Add the emerging gubernatorial scenario in Kogi to the spectre of a champagne-quaffing, Lamborghini-displaying, Saraki body-guarding Senator and you will join me in observing a minute’s silence for my state.
If the choice is between Idris Wada and Abubakar Audu, I say there is kuku no need to choose between Satan and Lucifer. Let us kuku experiment with diarchy in Kogi state, vote in the two men and hasten our final descent to hell. There is no need to die a slow death between now and 2019.
But let the next four years be the last statement of evil in Kogi. I received live reports throughout yesterday from the convention ground. There was no convention. It was a farce. The usual cash for hand delegate for ground shenanigans. Then my younger brother, Olusegun Iselaiye, sent me a video after briefing me on the phone. What worried me was the rousing welcome that Abubakar Audu received from Kogi youth. We are in trouble o.
Between now and 2019, all hands must be on the deck to repair the psychology of the Kogi youth. It is pretty much a useless psychology now. If Ayo Fayose were to come around with ponmo, maggi, epo pupa, and tatase, Kogi youth would vote for him without asking questions.
Our work as Kogi elite and public educators is cut out for us between now and 2019. We have no resources to counter the hold of the Audus and the Wadas on youth who are jobless and hungry and have never had credible role models since the creation of the state. So we are starting from a disadvantaged position but the work must be done.
If the PDP was wise, she would see what is going on in APC as an opportunity to turn a new leaf and attract credible Nigerians in the build up to 2019. In Bayelsa, there are no bad people left in PDP because all of them have moved to APC and were formally welcomed by Oyegun. In essence, the PDP platform in Bayelsa is now an empty platform that people of conscience could seize and build and find ways to prevent a return migration of the lepers from APC.
With Abubakar Audu, all the lepers will also move to APC from Kogi. If this happens, credible people should move in and seize the apparatus.
In the build up to the election, we warned APC about this nauseating policy of embracing every leprous politically displaced person from PDP. What was a pre-electoral disease has become a full blown post-electoral epidemic.
This is the age of social media mass activism with hordes of empowered citizens able to teach one or two lessons. APC will hear from these people in 2019. Insha Allah!
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Pius Adesanmi, PhD (UBC, Vancouver)
Professor
African Literatures and Cultures
Department of English Language & Literature
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada.
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