Prospecting Malagi for Niger State in 2023 -By Olumide Ojo Emmanuel

It is not yet Uhuru for Bago, Kantigi, Sokodeke and other gubernatorial aspirants, Malagi is still around and heading to another party if what I am reading on Facebook is anything to go by.

I have heard people say, “Nigeria is blessed with everything except good leaders.” This may be too direct an assertion but the lamentable situation of our country agrees with this assertion considering the exploits of our countrymen outside the shores of Nigeria and the doggedness of those at home to surmount the mountains before them and etch their names in the beautiful, eternal canvass of history. Mohammed Idris Malagi of Bifocal Group of Companies aspiring to be Governor of Niger State is one such city that had kept Nigeria going.

In Niger State, the story of bad leadership is the same. The last time we had a seemingly “real government” was 2015 when the tenure of Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu ended. He laid the foundation for a new Niger State and many of us, the watchers of politics were quite optimistic that whoever takes over will have a big shoe to fill in and will at the same time show the zest and doggedness to outdo the previous government but to our dismay, we’ve had a disappointing 7years of uninspiring leadership and undefined backwardness.

2023 is here again and an opportunity has been presented to us to rewrite the narrative. It is an indisputable fact that Niger state has the largest land mass in Nigeria. The state is blessed with mineral resources in their assortments. The land is arable and has the potential to feed Nigeria if concerted visionary efforts are geared towards utilizing this bounty of nature. The question is, are we going to get it right and how do we get it right come 2023?

The APC primary elections have come and gone and the mandate of the people was upheld. So it seems. While the winners bask in their victories, the losers have other choices of accepting or moving to other parties to continue to test their acceptability among the people. For many of us, the political watchers, the battle for the APC ticket which was between Hon. Umar Bago and Alhaji Idris Malagi were well fought out. However, the news filtering suggests the return of Malagi to the race from another party.

Malagi has his antecedents as the CEO of Blueprint Newspaper, a media house that has continued to soar in the midst of many and is also indigenous to Niger State. Alhaji Malagi, as I have observed, is visionary and could turn the tides of the state positively. Therefore, as being speculated, if Malagi genuinely wants to develop Niger, elections are not over yet, let him go to another party. This will mean he is out for a genuine political contribution to Niger State. But to disappear after losing would mean his initial outing was on a scavenging mission.

Hon. Bago is currently in his last lap as a Federal Legislature in the House of Representatives. For Eleven years, he has represented Chanchaga Federal Constituency; a constituency is certainly not a state. Committing the 25 local governments of Niger to just anyone, at this moment that the state needs to be matured and committed direction will be a huge drawback.
Why should we prospect Malagi? As I have mentioned earlier, he is a visionary. Vision is key in leadership. They are what defines you, your actions and what people should expect from you. He has done it in Media and Business and we need such a person at the helm of our affairs.

He is a go-getter. It is not just enough to be visionary, one must maintain that acumen to bring them to a realization. Results in life are proof that one is doing something right. Malagi has been described as “a silent achiever.” This is also indisputable.

He has never been part of the government. This means there are no corruption charges against him of embezzlement or looting of the treasury. The sudden billionaires we have everywhere should be open to telling us how they amassed such wealth in government. You don’t engage in trade in government!

He is highly connected and can bring technocrats both home and abroad to create a new direction for the state. You must have read that great people have many great friends and their corporate greatness can rub off on the state. We want a greater Niger state and Malagi, to me, holds the key. I encourage him to look elsewhere to contest in 2023.

What should Malagi do now that he ticks all the boxes of what Niger State wants? His loyalty should first be to the people and not the party. Political parties are platforms that good people should explore. Since APC has denied him the ticket, he should move to another party to actualize his visions for the Niger state. He will surely get their ticket because he is popular. We need many options in Niger State. The more, the merrier.

Bio

Ojo Olumide Emmanuel was born in Minna. He is a creative writer and teacher. He lives in Minna.