Inside Ododo’s silent revolution in Kogi

• Excites Tinubu and his men on performance

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor

Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi State is playing a different brand of politics in Nigeria. He is the quiet type who prefers to do his work without talking. But, beneath his life lies a sense of fulfillment and joy that carries him through his daily chores. And, he likes it.  He seems to love that sense of quietness and goes about it with ease. Indeed, while Nigerian politician so his age and status are bombarding the media daily to sell their plans, policies and programmes, Ododo is tackling myriads of problems without talking to any public medium of communication. 

But one thing is clear: While the governor’s silence continues to provoke confusion among his numerous supporters, his work speaks louder for the people. Above all, the strategic work he is doing is spread across the length and breadth of the state and they can easily be seen, touched and felt by the Kogi electorate. Again, the inclusive nature of his projects has built a new sense of defence and protection among the citizenry of the state and disarmed those who would have opposed him. 

For this, not many have tended to chastise Ododo and his policies as his skillfulness appears to have taken him above his critics.

But the governor could no longer hide his performance record when members of the Presidential Media Team/Renewed Hope Ambassadors led by Chief Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Public Communication, visited the state to assess the level of work being done with the active financial support of the federal government. The media team was in the state for three days and was taken round by top Kogi government officials to the different parts of the state to see the projects by themselves. They inspected infrastructural projects in the three senatorial districts of Kogi Central, Kogi West and Kogi East spanning roads, hospitals, schools, markets and human capital development.

Interestingly, the beneficiaries of these projects roared with ecstasy and pride as each project was unveiled. In many locations, they erupted with a feeling relief as journalists and government officials arrived at project sites that have either been completed or are ongoing. Without being prompted, the indigenes began to sing and give uncountable reasons why Tinubu and Ododo should be re-elected into the offices they are currently occupying.

That action clearly fits into the RHA mission of making Nigerians to see and understand that the government is actively working for their own benefit and not what the opposition is trying to implant in the minds of Nigerians.

The performance of Governor Ododo in key areas of development is an indication that an introvert leader is actively working for the overall transformation of the state and the wellbeing of the people who elected him as their governor.

Ododo’s sustained development of the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH) in Osara, which was started by his predecessor, Yahaya Bello, has turned the university into an outstanding institution that other states should emulate. It is an edifice of modern architectural beauty for students and teachers which many federal and state universities do not possess.

The institution, which sits on a spacious 400 hectares of land and blessed with nine faculties after six years of existence, has also grown its student’s population from 240 in 2020 to 6000 in 2026 and it moving on in many areas to become Nigeria’s fastest-growing university, according to its Director of Physical Planning, Dr. Mohammed Audu, who spoke to journalists on the tour. The federal government has been impressed by its immense progress and has consequently pumped some money and projects, including a renewed energy centre and key buildings into the school to fast-tract its growth. While the federal government, through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, has invested constructed the faculties for Science, Environment, Management and Social Sciences and Anatomy, the Kogi State Government has added new projects and programmes to the school to uplift its status and improve research especially in the area of medical sciences. The state government has built faculties for Engineering and Medical Sciences and extended a 33KVA transmission line that supplies the university and its communities with steady power. Beyond the medical school, which stands out as a tower in the state, Kogi has undertaken many health projects to improve healthcare and enhance the wellbeing of the people. The Federal Government, through TETFund) has spent N2.3 billion in providing these facilities in the Kogi university.

The Kogi State Commissioner for Health is Dr. Abdulazeez Adams Adeiza, who conducted the RHA round the Confluence University Teaching Hospital, showcased many facilities, which he said would make the institution to stand out from the world. According to him, the hospital is well equipped with modern facilities to enhance healthcare delivery and boost medical tourism in the long run.

His Information Counterpart, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo, boasted that the government is actively upgrading its Primary Health Centres across all the political wards in the state. Fanwo said, “We’re working on over 250. Over 200 have been delivered and180 are already in use.” 

Fanwho said that the state has 30 ambulances with one stationed in each of the 21 local government areas in the state. 

The Commissioner praised President Tinubu, saying, “We want to commend Mr. President. Most of these projects are also powered by the National Primary Healthcare Centre, an agency under the Federal Ministry of Health. The synergy between the state and federal government has brought healthcare closer to the grassroots. We thank Mr. President for always supporting us to be able to deliver on our mandate to the people.”

The state has also made solid impact in the area of road development to open up the state for its people.  One of the most important roads in the state that Ododo is working tirelessly on, is the 60Km Iyale-Ogane-Enugu Road, which opens up most areas of Kogi State to Enugu State in the Southeast. It is an unprecedented project that has excited the people of the two states and particularly, those in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi, who have now seen a pathway to their farms and businesses through the new road. To most of them, the road is like a miracle to change their story for good.

A resident of the area, Ahmadu Silver, said he thought the road was a dream as many previous politicians had promised to construct the road but never did for decades until Governor Ododo came. Silver said, “Ododo is not from our tribe but he has done what leaders from our tribe failed to achieve. For this reason, we will vote for President Tinubu who is giving Ododo the money to fund the projects. We appreciate Ododo who didn’t keep the money given to him by the President but used it to build this road.” 

The Kogi State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Timothy Ojoma, expressed optimism that the road would significantly improve transportation, enhance agricultural productivity and provide farmers with easier access to markets.

He explained that work is currently ongoing on the first phase of the project, covering the Iyale–Ogane-Enugu stretch, while the entire road network is expected to span about 60 kilometres, with approximately 30 kilometres included in the current phase.

Ojoma said the project reflects Governor Ododo’s commitment to extending development to rural communities, stressing that no part of the state would be left behind.

The 15 kilometres of road constructed by Governor Ododo in Egbe community in Yagba West of Kogi State have also drawn unending applause from the people for the state and the Tinubu administration. The traditional ruler of Egbe, Oba Adedoyin Bolaji, who is also the Eghare of Okwa Egbe, described the work that Governor Ododo is doing in the area through the active support of Tinubu as monumental and assured that the people would reciprocate their gestures with massive votes during the election.

Oba Bolaji said, “It is not only roads that Ododo has given us but he has also appointed our sons and daughters into key positions in his government and we are very grateful for these actions”.

The Kogi State Commissioner for Environment and Ecological Management, Joseph Oluwasegun, who hails from the area, said the area has never benefitted from government the way that have been blessed by the Ododo administration. He pointed out that the governor had visited them twice in less than two years and said they also appreciated President Tinubu for backing the governor with funds to carry out people-oriented projects for them.

 The Kogi State Works Commissioner, Abdulsalami Ozigi, said during the inspection of the Okaito-Obagede-Ozuri-Ozokutu Road that Governor Ododo had rewritten the history of the people with the road project and given them something to cheer for decades.

According to the commissioner, the bad roads had collapsed bridges and separated the communities and disrupted access to markets, schools, and health facilities until Ododo came on board and awarded the job.

 He said, “But with this very good job, the community has been linked again and we are very happy. “We must appreciate the president of this country, the father of the nation. Without having enough resources from the federal government, we would not have been able to do all that we have done.”

Kogi has also been working on an international market with 1,800 shops and lock-up stores to ensure that traders have enough space to do business, a development that has solved many problems at once and taken away traders from the roadside.

An indigene of Otutulu community, Amodu Joseph Silvas, described the project as a historic achievement that had brought hope to the people.

“Our ancestors will be rejoicing in their graves to see the Iyale–Ogane-Enugu Road finally under construction. Some of our own sons who governed Kogi State promised to build this road but failed. Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, who is not even from Dekina, has come to our rescue,” he said.

Silvas thanked Governor Ahmed Ododo for delivering on a long-standing aspiration of the people and also expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu, whom he credited with providing the financial support that made the project possible.

Kogi State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Timothy Ojoma, said the road would significantly improve transportation, enhance agricultural productivity and provide farmers with easier access to markets.

He explained that work is currently ongoing on the first phase of the project, covering the Iyale–Ogane-Enugu stretch, while the entire road network is expected to span about 60 kilometres, with approximately 30 kilometres included in the current phase.

The DG of the Kogi State Road Maintenance Agency, Eng. Bolaji Taye, said that though the roads were done through direct labour to save cost, they were done to meet international standards to last.

The Renewed Hope Ambassadors led by Chief Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser to the President on Public Communication, said the president was serious about providing critical infrastructure across the country and assured the people of Kogi that is keen on transforming the state.

Chief Dare said that it was in a bid to provide functional roads to ease the movement of people and goods that the Tinubu administration recently awarded new contracts for the construction of more roads in Kogi and other states.

While inspecting portions of the Kabba-Egbe-Omuaran Federal Highway in Kogi, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Public Engagement, Mr. Fredrick Nwabufo, said that President was mindful of the need to make critical roads in the country to work and serve Nigerians effectively.

“That is why Mr. President has turned many part of the country into construction sites to ensure that there are good roads for Nigerians,” Nwabufo said.

One element is obvious in all that has taken place in Kogi-there is synergy between the federal and the state government, resulting in effective work plan and implementation that have delivered democracy dividends to the citizens of the state and brushed away hopelessness, despair and suffering. And, that is the cornerstone of the Renewed Hope Agenda!

 While nobody understands the rationale behind Ododo’s quiet work, the result has however elevated hope, rekindled confidence and given the people of Kogi State a cause to celebrate. To many in the state, his work has already given President Bola Ahmed Tinubu what he needs most from Ododo: that is more votes for next year.

After touring projects in Kogi for three days, the Presidential Media Team/RHA led by Chief Sunday Dare, lauded the governor and his officials, maintaining that they had keyed into the very soul of Presidential Tinubu’s development agenda and justified the confidence reposed in them by the people.

Dare was accompanied on the tour by the President’s Senior Special Advisers on Media, Tunde Rahman, Tope Ajayi, Fredrick Nwabufo and Abdullahi Tanko Yakassai, who is the SSA to Tinubu on Community Engagement Northwest.