{"id":61966,"date":"2018-04-29T01:02:16","date_gmt":"2018-04-29T00:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=61966"},"modified":"2018-04-29T01:02:16","modified_gmt":"2018-04-29T00:02:16","slug":"kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/","title":{"rendered":"Kogi central: Between mediocrity and competence"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Shaibu Stephen Ojate<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As 2019 general election gathers momentum, the political atmosphere in Kogi<\/div>\n
central is charged as people of different characters, educational and<\/div>\n
social background have declared their interest for political positions.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Aspirants in view comprise of our eminent Sons and Daughters within and<\/div>\n
outside Kogi State who had distinguished themselves in their chosen<\/div>\n
careers. They are presently traversing the street seeking the support of<\/div>\n
the people at home.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
It is instructive to note that this is not the first time of having array<\/div>\n
of credible individuals showing interest in political positions as in the<\/div>\n
past, they do but many of these never get nominated or get elected. Why?<\/div>\n
The process leading to the nomination and election of candidates for<\/div>\n
elective positions in Kogi central were faulty. Thus, the faulty nomination<\/div>\n
process throws up people with little or no knowledge to emerge as our<\/div>\n
Leaders. The resultant effect of this led to poor leadership and poor<\/div>\n
representation as we currently observed among those representing us at<\/div>\n
different level of government. We ended up producing Leaders who could not<\/div>\n
push for the improvement of social amenities and upgrade of infrastructural<\/div>\n
facilities in Kogi central.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Whilst other representatives from other areas were using their good offices<\/div>\n
to influence State and federal government Jobs for their teaming unemployed<\/div>\n
Youths, the best ours could do is to buy bottles of bear, food grinding<\/div>\n
machine and Motor Bike to our Youths and Women. Today, the jobs created so<\/div>\n
far were majorly Okada riders and food grinding machine operators.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In furtherance to this, the recent event in the House of Representative<\/div>\n
where a Representative from the South East was at the forefront championing<\/div>\n
and even had cause to table motion for the resuscitation and revitalization<\/div>\n
of Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi is a clear indication to show that all is<\/div>\n
not well with kogi central representatives. Yes, Ajaokuta Steel Company is<\/div>\n
a National project which everyone irrespective of their State is free to<\/div>\n
champion its course. But a situation where kogi central representatives<\/div>\n
stand at the back seat while only outsiders see reason to draw federal<\/div>\n
government attention to its completion is a clear indication to show that<\/div>\n
something is missing among our leaders. What are they doing there? This is<\/div>\n
a question left for us to ponder on. Our representatives are always docile<\/div>\n
in the house as they only go there to sit and collect their allowance with<\/div>\n
no tangible motion tabled.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
On a similar note, the writer of this article had bitter experience which<\/div>\n
he would use to illustrate the saying that our society promotes mediocre at<\/div>\n
the expense of competent individuals. Sometime in 2007, after finishing my<\/div>\n
National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), I signified interest for the council<\/div>\n
seat in my local government Ward. It is on record that no one above Senior<\/div>\n
Secondary School Certificate had been elected Councilor in the Ward as all<\/div>\n
the past councilors paraded SSCE results. Then, I had Higher National<\/div>\n
Diploma (HND) and I see my aspiration as a mean to break the long held<\/div>\n
jinx. I was not the only person with higher certificate as two other<\/div>\n
persons had National Diploma while the remaining three other Aspirants had<\/div>\n
Senior Secondary School Result.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
On my part, I tried to make a difference in my political mission as I put<\/div>\n
up a write up in a flyer detailing my profile and my experience in the time<\/div>\n
past. I stated that I had legislative experience as I was elected Student<\/div>\n
Representative Assembly member during my HND days at federal Polytechnic,<\/div>\n
Idah in Kogi State. I said, I equally stood for Speaker of the Student<\/div>\n
Representative Assembly but lost out to my opponent. I said I did not lose<\/div>\n
on account of not being competent or vocal enough but I lost on account of<\/div>\n
majority vote cast. I said, the charisma in me was what later prompted the<\/div>\n
entire house members to unanimously nominate me when it came to our<\/div>\n
knowledge that the Clerk of the House must be from the elected Student<\/div>\n
Representative members. I said, while at school, I discharged my duties<\/div>\n
without questioning neither by SRA members nor my Constituents. Then, I<\/div>\n
represented a faculty which comprises of five departments. I enlightened<\/div>\n
the public on what my Ward lacks and told them how I shall use my wealth of<\/div>\n
experience to ensure that the problems are given prompt attention if<\/div>\n
elected a councilor.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
At the time for screening of candidate for the council seat, seven man<\/div>\n
panel was constituted. Two were graduates, two were SSCE holders and the<\/div>\n
remaining three were uneducated and non-certificate holders. The respective<\/div>\n
Aspirants were called upon to give little talk on why we were aspiring for<\/div>\n
the council seat.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
To cut the story short, on the final consideration, the screening committee<\/div>\n
settled for one Aspirant with Senior School Certificate result. They<\/div>\n
abandoned me with HND, the one with past legislative experience. The reason<\/div>\n
they adduced for the nomination of the said Aspirant was that he has been<\/div>\n
jobless for years and had long been suffering for politics at home. In view<\/div>\n
of this, it is time for him to be considered for the elective position.<\/div>\n
That was how my Ward then sacrificed competence for mediocrity.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The said nominated person later got elected and even emerged as the Speaker<\/div>\n
of Okehi legislative Council. What I have illustrated above is a semblance<\/div>\n
of factor for the nomination of Aspirants for elective positions in Kogi<\/div>\n
central. Even though others do not take this shape, but primordial<\/div>\n
sentiment are weep out in the choice of candidates for elective positions.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
From the tales above, must we continue to trend on retrogressive path by<\/div>\n
fronting mediocre as our Leaders to champion the course of our society<\/div>\n
while other areas are presenting their best? The answer is no. As it is<\/div>\n
now, there is urgent need to dig deep into the profile, antecedent and<\/div>\n
experience of every aspirant to find out whether they are credible enough<\/div>\n
or have the charisma for the position they are aspiring for. There is a<\/div>\n
saying that one can only offer what he or she can. No doubt we presently<\/div>\n
have good number of credible and untainted Aspirants on the race for Kogi<\/div>\n
central senatorial seat. One of such to look into his direction is Engineer<\/div>\n
Abdulmalik Okino.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Engineer Abdulmalik Okino is credible and untainted Aspirant. He has carved<\/div>\n
a niche for himself in Nigeria and abroad. He has used his creative<\/div>\n
thinking to help himself economically. Having him as Senator will go a long<\/div>\n
way to help the society as he will use his wealth of experience in private<\/div>\n
sector to bring responsive representation to the people of Kogi central in<\/div>\n
the Senate.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Engineer Abdulmalik Okino despite residing in United State of America has<\/div>\n
been with us since 2003. He once contested for Okehi chairmanship seat,<\/div>\n
house of representative but has not been successful in his political<\/div>\n
mission due to our faulty system in the nomination of candidate for<\/div>\n
elective positions.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Engineer Abdulmalik Okino is usually of help to the downtrodden in our<\/div>\n
society as he has been offering scholarship to Students. He has been<\/div>\n
maintaining this tempo since 2003. In term of education and career, he is<\/div>\n
an Oil and Gas expert and has taken education to the highest peak. He is<\/div>\n
one who cannot be pushed aside by big name dropping from other areas. He<\/div>\n
presently holds Doctorate Degree (PHD) from University in United State of<\/div>\n
America.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Shaibu Stephen Ojate As 2019 general election gathers momentum, the political atmosphere in Kogi central is charged as people of different characters, educational and social background have declared their…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nKogi central: Between mediocrity and competence - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kogi central: Between mediocrity and competence - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Shaibu Stephen Ojate As 2019 general election gathers momentum, the political atmosphere in Kogi central is charged as people of different characters, educational and social background have declared their…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-29T00:02:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/kogi_state.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"479\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"Kogi central: Between mediocrity and competence\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-29T00:02:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/\"},\"wordCount\":1251,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/kogi_state.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/\",\"name\":\"Kogi central: Between mediocrity and competence - Pointblank News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/kogi_state.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-29T00:02:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/kogi_state.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/kogi_state.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":479},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kogi central: Between mediocrity and competence\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\",\"name\":\"Pointblank News\",\"description\":\"Just the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\",\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Our Reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kogi central: Between mediocrity and competence - Pointblank News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kogi central: Between mediocrity and competence - Pointblank News","og_description":"By Shaibu Stephen Ojate As 2019 general election gathers momentum, the political atmosphere in Kogi central is charged as people of different characters, educational and social background have declared their…","og_url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/","og_site_name":"Pointblank News","article_published_time":"2018-04-29T00:02:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":479,"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/kogi_state.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Our Reporter","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Our Reporter","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/"},"author":{"name":"Our Reporter","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"headline":"Kogi central: Between mediocrity and competence","datePublished":"2018-04-29T00:02:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/"},"wordCount":1251,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/kogi_state.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/","name":"Kogi central: Between mediocrity and competence - Pointblank News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/kogi_state.jpg","datePublished":"2018-04-29T00:02:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/kogi_state.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/kogi_state.jpg","width":640,"height":479},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kogi-central-between-mediocrity-and-competence\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kogi central: Between mediocrity and competence"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/","name":"Pointblank News","description":"Just the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c","name":"Our Reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Our Reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}