By Atekojo S. Usman :
History was made for the worse as Governor Yahaya Bello and the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in November election donated a BMW Phantom Rolls Royce to Attah Igala, His Royal Majesty, Dr. Idakwo Ameh Oboni II on Saturday.
The circumstances under which the latest customized car was donated to the paramount ruler of Igala Kingdom fall short of morals and sacrifices with which Igala people are noted for. Suffice it to say that, the development was antithetical, sacrilegious and abhorrent to what ‘Inikpi oma Odoko’ stood for when as a Virgin, she voluntarily offered herself to be sacrificed for sustenance of Igala Kingdom as demanded by the ancestors.
Watching the presentation, one could see the hilarious funfair; the masquerade dance; and all other activities as events that took place on the grave of those who died unnatural death as a result of hardship occasioned by the lack of salaries by Yahaya Bello led government in barely four years.
Whereas, the governor sees the donation as worthwhile to the paramount ruler of Igala Kingdom that commands the pendulum of politics in Kogi State, other people; of course, majority of the people in Kogi State sees the donation as a ‘Greek gift’ designed to trick and subtly marooned the people into voting the APC’s Yahaya Bello in governorship election next month.
After taking a close look at the role of the Kingdom in politics, vis-a-vis the support consistently offered the APC government in the state despite the governor’s woeful outing, one is worried that the once famous Kingdom was fast falling on the altar of politics.
One recalls how Attah Igala who is the Chairman of Kogi State Traditional rulers led other second class traditional rulers to the Villa where he personally read a prepared script by the Lugard House endorsing Governor Yahaya Bello for the second tenure. In the speech, His Royal Majesty explained that the governor was doing his best paying workers’ salaries while he urged President Muhammadu Buhari to order release of N30.6 billion bail out, believing that the governor would offset outstanding salaries and allowances of workers. True to His Majesty’s demand, the bailout was released, but then, has salaries of workers been cleared? The answer is no. Neither was the fund expended on tangible nor the intangible in the interest of the state. This is really worrisome!
One is tempted to say, ‘there was a Kingdom’ because if there is a Kingdom and under normal circumstances, Attah who is the father of Kogi State would have instructed that the money for the Rolls Royce be channelled into payment of salaries to the happiness of his subjects. It is when the subjects are happy that the gods are.
The timing to donate Rolls Royce is wrong given that election is next month since anyone with rational thinking would see that Igala’s traditional institution is deep necked in politics for the bias.
Atekojo Samson Usman is the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity of Ujache Igala Association
