The Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello, has shown himself to be a practical example of the principle of inclusiveness in governance.
The gesture of the governor, in ensuring that the leadership of the Local Government Councils include women and youths as vice chairmen and secretaries respectively, is one that ought to be emulated in all states and the federal government levels.
We in the Civil Society Network for Good Governance, believe that this has set Kogi on the right path to having a government that meets the aspirations of all citizens, as the voice of women and the youth have been put at the forefront of decision making.
This is a model that ought to be adopted by more states and federal government, to address the current anomaly wherein there is lack of communication between government and the governed, which culminated in the recent End SARS protests in the country.
The legitimate demands of the youth were hijacked, leading to untold carnage and destruction across the country, due to the fact that the grievances of the youth couldn’t find a channel into the decision making levels of government.
To forestall such a situation, going forward, the Kogi model of affirmative action for women and youth should be adopted by more states to ensure that power returns to the grassroots and government policies, programmes and projects are organically conceived and executed based on consensus positions.
Over the years it has become an accepted standard of international best practices in governance to have inclusiveness by giving positions to deserving members of disadvantaged groups and subgroups in society.
Nogeria needs leadership that is oriented towards inclusiveness and has a track record of putting this time tested principle in practice.
Governor Bello as shown himself to be a visionary through his radical departure from the past where leadership is the exclusive preserve of the influential and their cronies, and is building a system that ensures that youth are more relevant than being mere appendages of the powers that be.
Adefila Kamal
President, Civil Society Network for Good Governance
