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By Chinelo Obogo
When Yahaya Bello was elected governor of Kogi five years ago, one of the major issues he promised to tackle was insecurity and from the first year into his administration, he has put in work into combating crime and reducing the rate of insecurity in the state.
Just recently, the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN), made up of journalists on the crime beat, appointed Governor Bello as its patron in recognition of his efforts which led to Kogi being adjudged as one of the states with the lowest crime rate in the country.
2023
As the election season approaches and political parties prepare to elect candidates, analysts believe that one of the achievements of Bello, who is a contender for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket, is his efforts in combating crime which has led to the low rate of insecurity in Kogi State.
For many years, statistics showed that Kogi was one of the states well known for its high rate of insecurity but in 2016 when Governor Bello was sworn in as the youngest governor, he promised to make war against crime one of the cardinal points of his administration.
Operation Total Freedom (OPT) was immediately set up to give support to the already existing security officials and all the resources needed to function effectively were provided for them. Governor Bello also provided over 200 utility vehicles, 500 motorcycles for security patrol and employed the services of vigilance security outfit.
In collaboration with the Federal Government, the state trained 441 Special Constabulary Police at the Nigerian Police Training College, Ilorin and the Special Police have been assisting in gathering intelligence to help the regular police officials fight crime more effectively.
Bello’s administration also targeted youths, who are usually the most susceptible to committing crime and empowered many of them economically and through education. It is on record that his administration has the highest number of women and youths.
His efforts at combating crime begun yielding results such that in 2017, a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, stated that out of the 134,663 cases of crime reported, Bauchi, Kebbi and Kogi states had the lowest rates. That same year, Kogi had no cases of burglary while the state with the highest level of crime had 1,213 cases.
CRAN honours Bello
To recognise his efforts which led to Kogi being adjudged one of the states with the lowest crime rates in the country, the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN), made up of journalists on the crime beat, recently made Governor Bello its patron in recognition of his efforts. The investiture took place recently in Lagos and was conducted by the President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chris Isiguzo.
CRAN President, Mr. Sunday Odita said the choice of Bello as patron was a popular one among members of the association, revealing that all the crime reporters invested a lot of time and resources into researching on the strategic efforts of the governor and how he was able to deal with the security situation in the state.
While giving his speech, Odita said investigations and credible reports indicate that Kogi is currently the safest in the North and one of the safest today in Nigeria.
In his remarks, the NUJ President, Chris Isiguzo, eulogised Bello, who he described as a personal friend, saying that CRAN made the best of choice by making him patron because he fits the bill alongside the previous roll call of patrons the association has had over time. He said the honour for Governor Bello as the patron of CRAN is well thought out, noting that he has brought the political touch to clean up the security system.
“When you talk about security, you talk about Governor Yahaya Bello. I know what the security situation used to be before he came on board in Kogi, and I know what it is now. I want to use this opportunity to appeal to our political actors, we don’t need to destroy the country because of politics.
“It does appear that some political actors want to puncture the strides of the governor in this area, knowing full well what is coming up in 2023. We have only one country we can call our own and that is Nigeria. We have had leaders in the past, they have come and gone, if they destroyed the country, there would be no Nigeria today. Yahaya Bello is doing wonderfully well in the area of security. Politicians should not undermine their strategy all in the name of politics”, Isiguzo said.
While urging for merit and capacity in the nation’s leadership recruitment, he said, “I didn’t come here to endorse anybody, but someone that has done well requires to get to a higher level so that he will continue to deliver. It is not about where you come from, that is not the type of politics we will be playing in the country again. We have tried it in the past, where has it led us, nowhere.”
The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) President, Mustapha Isa, who was at the event said, “We should not mix politics with the issue of security. When we talk about the worrying insecurity in the country, some governors join us in lamenting, they run to Abuja looking for support. When you ask them, they tell you they are not responsible. So why do they collect security votes monthly?
“One of those who do not lament, but tackle the menace headlong is Governor Yahaya Bello. That is why he is being honoured today. So, I tell our politicians, never mix politics with security. We should support those getting it right like Governor Bello to continue in that line, and also learn from them, not do everything to puncture our gains at the expense of the people.”
Governor Bello, who was represented at the event by the Kogi State Security Adviser, Commander Jerry Omodara (retd) said the state always responds promptly and successfully to some pockets of violence and that an important announcement would be made on the issue very soon.
Omodara said it is to the credit of the governor’s security initiatives that the state is secured, adding that in tackling insecurity, Kogi State has been focused on employing methods and tactics that have proved efficacious, among which is community policing and participation.
While expressing gratitude to the Nigerian media for the special recognition, the Security Adviser said the investiture was a call to do more and the leadership of Governor Bello, will continue to build on the result-driven strategies.
Kogi’s economy
The low rate of insecurity has boosted the economy of the state such that the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, NIPC, said the state received about $1 billion in various investments.
In November 21, 2021, the World Bank commended the government of Kogi on its 2020 audited financial statement, describing the financial report as a standard for transparency and accountability in the public sector.
The letter written to the state was signed by the States’ Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability Programme (SFTAS) Task Team Leader, Nigeria Country Office, Western and Central African Region, Deborah Hannah Isser. SFTAS is a $750 million programme which reward states for meeting any or all of nine indicators that demonstrate improvements in fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability.
The nine indicators are an offshoot of the previous Fiscal Sustainability Plan of the Federal Government where states were to be rewarded for meeting up to 22 targets and the criteria to be achieved are improved financial reporting and budget reliability; increased openness and citizens’ engagement in the budget process; improved cash management and reduced revenue leakages through the implementation of state Treasury Single Account (TSA); strengthened Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) collection; biometric registration and Bank Verification Number (BVN) used to reduce payroll fraud.
Others are improved procurement practices for increased transparency and value for money; strengthened public debt management and fiscal responsibility framework; improved clearance/reduction of the stock of domestic expenditure arrears; and improved debt sustainability. The government of Kogi State said an insecure state would not have achieved such commendation from the World Bank.
