BEFORE WE LOOSE IT ALL IN THE EUPHORIA OF CELEBRATIONS

CALL FOR EBIRA SUMMIT: ANEBIRA(KOGI CENTRAL) BEFORE WE LOOSE IT ALL IN THE EUPHORIA OF CELEBRATIONS.

Let me start by congratulating the good but traumatised people of Kogi State and especially the other two zones(Central and West) whose dream has just been approved by God, on the swearing in and inauguration of Alh. Yahaya Bello and a new govt. I pray that God gives this young man, sound health and the wisdom to drive d process of governance in what has come to be described as a mini Nigeria, Kogi state.

History has shown from almost all facets of life that "those who fail to plan, only plan to fail". Successive regimes in the state fail to achieve so much because they were ushered in without plans, most of this leaders were drafted into d race and they hv no clear cut vision, no wonder their score card was not only below average but abysmal.

I believe that as a citizen and a student of Leadership, I owe it as a responsibility to contribute however little to the development of the state. It is not only by contesting and winning that we can contribute but we contribute more when we submit ideas, inform and engage the govt and this give us the right to demand for accountability. In this light I urge all those who lost in the elections be it d ruling party or d various oppositions to come together and help Alh. Yahaya Bello move Kogi state to d next level.

Globally, the trend now is 'Citizen Engagement', it is a Game Changer for Development. Kogi should and as a matter of urgency adopt this governance model. Some of us would be available when and if d state wish we come and expatiates on what this model fully drives.

CALL FOR EBIRA SUMMIT

Recent events have shown that the relationship between government and citizens is in need of repair. In just the last few years, we have witnessed calls from all over the world, from the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street to the Open Government Partnership, for governments to become more open, accountable and responsive by deepening their engagement with citizens.

From the above citizens of KOGI CENTRAL where the Governor comes from must come together and draw a 'Road Map' for the govt and by extension the Local Governments. This summit would be the eventual Development master plan this govt and subsequent ones would draw from.

Resources are in shortfalls and meagre, we need to plan. This would go along way in correcting the skewed development patterns that we now have, put forward the yearnings and aspiration of our people in terms of development, how to get to this promised land and discuss how to end misappropriation of our wealth by leaders. Critically too, the issues of power sharing/shifting would also get a deep review.

It is not enough to produce the Governor, some zones in d state hv not fared well for holding power in over 16 years and this is why the Summit can be described as long overdue.

All of us, students, market women, business men and women, scholars, religious leaders, traditionalists, govt people, private sector actors and stakeholders must be invited and allowed to participate in the discourse. A sense of belonging must be d centrepoint of this Summit. The economy of Kogi Central need a declaration of emergency, it is stagnant and not progressing, even with our vantage location on d map of Kogi and Nigeria. A lot of re engineering need to be done, small scale industries need to be developed and where d collaborations of d state is required, we crave.

The educational sector is crying for serious attentions, we are blessed with a large number of academic and scholarly driven men and women and they are busy contributing to d development of other places, we must bring them together to chart a new course fr education both in terms of infrastructures and curriculum. A situation where our education is only job seeking based and not self employment must be reversed.

The Summit would also address human capital development, everyone cannot be a politician as we currently have, our people must engage in commercial activities more and use maximally those intrinsic values that our endowment, our location, our culture has offered us. Mentoring by those who hv gotten and seen it all to our youths especially our young girls must be core in our discussions. Only by this refocusing can we have a peaceful society devoid of crimes, political brigandages and clannish rivalries.

This and more are what the citizen engagement theory first through the Summit can offer and I add who says the other zones cannot have their own Summits too😀.

Hadi Jafaar Okunchi wrote from Kaduna.