Yahaya Bello@50: The facts I stumbled on

By ROTIMI DUROJAIYE

Very early on Wednesday, 18th June, 2025, I woke up to a message on some WhatsApp groups, saying that there would be no formal celebration of the 50th birthday anniversary of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.

He would rather prefer to mark it privately, at his Abuja residence, as the day coincided with the birthday of one of his daughters, the message said.

At first, I wondered why he wouldn’t want to celebrate such a milestone, but then some comments on the groups mentioned the mood of the nation, particularly the sad Benue crisis, among others.

I was in Abuja for an advanced training programme and had an engagement around Asokoro, not far from the former Governor’s residence.

Whenever people talked about his residence, I always thought of Wuse Zone 4.

So when I saw the crowd and the very long queue of vehicles, I asked my bolt driver what was going on and he said they were all going to Yahaya Bello’s house.

“Today is Yahaya Bello’s 50th birthday anniversary. All the people that are trekking are going there. That man is a spirit. Kogi people no dey take am joke (Kogi people don’t joke with him),” he said.

I wondered again how people managed to convince others about the exact opposite of the situation of things just with the kind of propaganda that Nigerians like.

For 30 minutes, we were moving slowly, so I told the Bolt driver to stop, so I could satisfy the journalistic curiosity in me. I moved close to different people and asked them if they were invited for a birthday bash.

I didn’t go straight to the point so that I would get the true picture.

“They should have celebrated this birthday in a proper hall instead of inviting people to his residence and causing gridlock like this,” I said.

“They did not invite us o. But White Lion cannot be 50 years and he will say we should not come. We came to celebrate him on our own. Even if we don’t see him, one on one, we have satisfied ourselves that we came to celebrate him. We will post ourselves on Facebook,” one of those that I met dancing to the music they were playing themselves, said.

“They sent a notice that they are not celebrating. That is their own. 50 years? We will celebrate him on our own o. I even thought GYB was 70 years, with all the achievements he has recorded,” another said.

I went round, they were all so full of praises, counting all what he had done for the state, and saying that, though he chose a wonderful successor, they did not think anyone could impact the lives of people like Yahaya Bello did.

So, I told the Bolt guy to find his way back and called one of my bosses, a Managing Director of a national newspaper, who has links with the former Governor to please help me gain access to the residence.

I wanted to see the birthday boy and introduce myself.

I also wanted to apologise for some wrong impression in the past.

I pushed through the crowd, and after about 15 minutes, someone came out of the compound to let me in. But there was hardly space to put my feet even in the compound. At last, I was ushered in. This was around 5pm. No space to sit. I just stood somewhere.

To cut this long story short, the array of former ministers, sitting ministers, former and sitting senators, traditional rulers, Federal representatives, House of Assembly members, all from the three senatorial districts of the state, showed the kind of influence Yahaya Bello has in his state, perhaps not really known outside.

I probed further and was told that beyond the propaganda by some people who want to make themselves popular by all means and beyond the bitter politics in Kogi, everyone knows that what Yahaya Bello has achieved in eight years, in terms of infrastructural development, in health, education and other critical sectors, including security, no Governor has gone near since the creation of the state.

I listened to goodwill messages, one after the other, even from those we thought were unrepentant enemies during the 2023 election, and I came to the conclusion that truly, former Governor Yahaya Bello is a hero of all times.

But before I end this short piece, I must say I left there unhappy.

I couldn’t meet the former governor, one on one, or take a picture with him. No one also served me food, probably because I was standing all through!

The last sentence is on a lighter note.

Finally, I wish the White Lion many more years of fulfilled dreams.

.DUROJAIYE, a journalist, was the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to former Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State between 2015 & 2019.