When he is sworn in on January 27, 2016, Alh. Yahaya Bello will make
history as the youngest governor ever in Nigeria. He turned 40 last
June.
Alh. Yahaya Bello, popularly known as Fair Plus by his admirers owing
to the success of his powerful business brand, was born in the sleepy
neighborhood of Agassa in Okene Kogi State to the family of Alhaji Bello
Ipemida Ochi and Hajia Hawa Bello Oziohu. He is the last of six
siblings.
He started his early education in 1984 at LGEA Primary School, Agassa In
Okene LGA. The greatness in him started manifesting early in his life
when he was made the class prefect from primary two, the position he
held till he was made the school Head Boy in class six due to the
leadership qualities identified in him by his peers and teachers.
In 1989 he enrolled for College at Agassa Community Secondary School,
Anyava, Agassa-Okene. His quest for qualitative education saw him
changing schools five times until he finally settled for Government
Secondary School, Suleja-Niger State He wasn’t born poor nor rich. But
fate took him to Suleija where he went to live with a relation.
After his secondary education in Suleija, the young but ambitious
Bello headed for arguably one of the best citadels of learning in
sub-Sahara Africa, the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where
he studied Accounting.
Studiously intelligent, Yahaya Bello started showing his strength of character and personality at ABU.
One, he showed the detribalized aspect of his life. Three of his best
friends in ABU were Ebira, Okun and Igala. Fate made him a unifying
chord on campus. He showed no bias against anyone on the ground of
background or ethnicity.
Secondly, it also became manifest at ABU that the young Yahaya was a
silent activist. Characteristic of the Ebira gene in him, he was always
poised to fight against injustice to anyone by anyone. But beyond the
activist line, he was always sharing the little he had on campus.
There has never been an accidental leader. Every leader was prepared
for his or her calling. Yahaya left ABU, maintaining his ring of a
microcosm Kogi.
Out of ABU, Yahaya Bello was lucky to do his mandatory one year
national service and got retained at the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal
Commission.
With his brilliance and self development through various professional
trainings, Yahaya Bello excelled at the commission and rose to enviable
heights.
However, those who know Yahaya Bello know he can’t be a
humanitarianist, earning salaries. From these ashes of premises rose,
the business angle of Yahaya Bello.
From one bus, he built one of Nigeria’s most successful transport
businesses. Fair Plus Transport started with an 18-seater bus, procured
through a bank loan. But within a short period of time, the funding bank
discovered Bello was a great manager of resources and someone who it
could bank on.
With the introduction of modern business management into the business, Fair Plus rose to become a giant in the industry.
But what strikes quite a number of people about Yahaya Bello is his humility inspite of his business success.
Knowing where he was coming from and his liberal being, Bello could
qualify as a respected of humanity. Above all, he is a great listener
with inherent ability to decipher and sieve the chaff from the grains.
Getting Bello into a governorship contest wasn’t a mild task. Though
he is undeniably committed to the service of humanity, he wasn’t
impressed by the murkiness of the terrain and the insincerity of
politicians.
But as soon as he agreed to put his integrity on the line to defend
the welfare of his Kogi people, he never looked back until he achieved
his aim.
A planner that he is, Bello quickly assembled his friends, most of
whom were his ABU friends from Kogi and gave them the task of developing
an action plan that will give Kogi a new direction.
A positive thinker, Bello never lost hope that it is doable. He never
bought into voices of pessimism. He believed it was time to rescue the
state from gloom.
He believed the redemption of Kogi lies in his generation.
He injected innovations into politics. For instance, prior to the August
29 Primaries , he assembled his Ward and Local Government Coordinators
to enlighten them about his dreams for Kogi State. According to him, it
is impossible to market a product one barely know about.
He charged the coordinators to be fearless and approach their task with all sense of responsibility.
“The future of Kogi lies on your shoulders. You now have a golden
opportunity to reject a failed status quo and join me to build a new
Kogi that will be capable of meeting the needs of its people”, he said.
When the Coordinators left the meeting and training session, they
were provoked lions ready to deliver to their principal. It took the
veteran in the late Prince Abubakar Audu to dislodge Yahaya Bello into a
respectable second in a contest of over 22 seasoned politicians.
While other aspirants were sharing money to the delegates, Yahaya
Bello shared promissory letters to them. What was in the letter?
“As you are aware, Kogi is not for sale. As your governor, I will
give you jobs, put your roads in shape, revamp your education and
healthcare and empower you to empower others”.
This practice is quite alien to the politics of the state where the
highest bidders always win. Coming second in the contest, he was the
first to rise up to congratulate the late Prince Abubakar Audu in the
magnificent Confluence Stadium, venue of the primaries.
While hugging the late Prince Audu, the former governor made a
statement that was prophetic: “Don’t worry Fair Plus, I am handing over
to you in 2019”.
Sadly, the enigmatic Ogbonicha political General didn’t wait till
2019 to hand over to his beloved political son. He left the stage like a
big masquerade when the ovation was loudest, leaving the stage for
Yahaya Bello to continue the struggle.
The trend of Saturday’s election shows Yahaya Bello as a unifying
glue as he did well in the three Senatorial Districts, even winning some
polling units in Kogi East.
As hr gears up to take over the mantle of leadership in January 2016,
all eyes will be on the charismatic and bursting but reserved governor
to meet the immediate yearnings of the people which are improved
infrastructures and human development.
Many of the citizens will also be looking up to him to address the epileptic salary payment at the Local Government Councils.
Will Yahaya Bello bring his personality and expertise to bear to salvage Kogi? Time has the answer.
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