All hail Bello, the new kid on the block, Nigeria’s youngest governor

For Yahaya Bello, the new governor of Kogi State, it was an entirely new experience being at the Presidential Villa with his peers. At 40, Bello is Nigeria’s youngest governor. Fresh off the burners, the new kid on the block, made a splash with his debut at Nigeria’s Prestigious Aso Rock, adding some much-needed spice to the ‘old blood’, everybody is used to.

He joined his colleagues for the first time at the Governors’ Forum which held at the palatial banquet hall, only a few hours after taking his oath of office last Wednesday. Oh my, did they receive him! With a boisterous cheer and rousing welcome, he was ushered in as the newest and youngest member of the group.

Bello’s oath-taking last Wednesday, like his selection to replace the late Abubakar Audu, was unprecedented and was not without drama. He was sworn in without a deputy. That’s a first in Nigeria. Bello had his chance to become the chief executive of the state after Audu, the
All Progressives Congress’s (APC) candidate, died during the election in November before being announced the winner of the vote. A businessman, Bello is now the poster child of most young men, well, at least, the politically inclined – becoming governor at 40, a time President Buhari’s preference for old men to run the affairs of the country has attracted so much talk.

Adorned in a white ‘agbada’ and a brown matching cap, he strolled into the council chambers Thursday for the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, to another round of cheers and camaraderie from fellow governors, most of whom he’d met the night before at the Governors’ Forum. It took a while for him to settle into the magnificence of the council chamber and mostly the larger and grander crowd that make-up the economic council. Unlike the Governors’ Forum, this is a larger gathering whose agenda is national and not the self-serving interest of the Governor’s Forum.

Like the Nigerian adage that says “a chicken stands on one leg and observes a new environment before settling in,” so did Bello. It was like he walked in a slow motion, using every stride to observe and take in his new surrounding and even the seat he would occupy once a month during the NEC meeting for at least the (four-year) period of his tenure (if he survives series of litigations against his governorship).

The youthfulness about him was palpable. His stout physique made him quite visible and seems to stand him in good stead amidst the political clout that filled the room. After he dropped his folder on his table, Bello proceeded to exchange banters with colleagues and pose for photographs as is typical of ministers and governors attending these statutory meetings at the council chambers.

Besides exchanging pleasantries with other governors, they exchanged contacts. Not to be left out too were some new class of administrative officers who fell over themselves trying to be the first to hand him their cards and take a picture. They almost suffocated the governor.

Because they were obviously his contemporaries, you could tell from how eager they were to get his attention that they were desperate to get in his book. It is common place to see presidency aides jostle to get the attention of politicians and get in their good books for obvious advantages – a tale for another day, though.

Bello got lost at some point. Eventually, the euphoria died down and he stood alone in a corner, probably waiting to talk with another of his colleagues. That sight of him was priceless. He looked so innocent, almost lost and out of place like a child on his first day at a new school. His head swiveled from side to side as he took in the usual buzz of the council chambers before the arrival of the president and vice president. At a point, there were expectations that he would return
to his seat and flip through the day’s presentation that lay on his desk, but he did not.

Suddenly, Abdulfatah Ahmed, governor of Kwara state walked in and his face lit up cheerfully. They exchanged a firm embrace as Bello repeatedly muttered “thank you” to him. Bello seemed close to Ahmed who wore a navy blue caftan like they have been friends. The two
looked comfortable in each other’s company, depicting a long term friendship may have brewed between them.

Watching from the corner, it looked obvious that it would only be a matter of time before he blended in with the others and become a typical ‘oga governor’. They usually do. In the beginning, they are diffident and self-conscious but with time they grow into their offices and become more confident and even arrogant for those that allow the office go into their heads. And not just governors, ministers, heads of parastatals, etc.

On entering the hall, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had Bello right in the mix, asking the novice governor to say the customary opening prayer. He had no idea he had been called until nudged by a colleague beside him. And that was when the nerves became obvious. He obviously did not
anticipate he would be saying the opening prayers. No one did. He prayed for the President, Vice President, the governors, and the entire country. When he was done, some of the governors chided him that he should pray again because his prayer was apt.

The religious feeling was mutual.
Bello would do well to match his prayers today with real action given the enormous responsibilities that have just been placed on his youthful shoulders. With the decay and underdevelopment he would be faced with in Kogi State, he has got his work cut out as governor. He needs all the help he can muster and hopefully he would find willing hearts and hands back home and amongst his colleague governors to help him succeed on this huge task. As the most youthful governor, all eyes are on Bello as he represents an opportunity for Nigerian youths to make a difference, and there are high hopes he would seize the moment.

Before the meeting started, Osinbajo showed up twenty-one minutes late. This threw up some sort of surprises because in recent times meetings seem to be on point, taking off earlier or at exactly the stipulated time. In a sense, journalists left missing the almost militarised style President Muhammadu Buhari had instituted since his return. Osinbajo however, apologised to the governors for keeping them waiting.

Meanwhile, before the President jetted out to Kenya, an August visitor came calling. It was Udom Emmanuel, Akwa Ibom State governor. Since the judgment by the tribunal and the subsequent affirmation of the cancelation of his election by the Court of Appeal, this was the first time he was making an appearance at the Villa occupied by a former opposition party’s President.
The appellate court nullified his election in December, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh vote within 90 days. Emmanuel’s visit to President Buhari runs contrary to what now seem a norm for governors of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with tribunal issues to boycott meetings, especially at the Presidential Villa.

It brought to mind the last time the ‘countryman governor’ -Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, made an unscheduled visit to the President shortly before the January 9 re-run election in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, an APC stronghold. His opponent had immediately described it as a sign of desperation” and “acceptance of defeat,” insisting that he had gone to look for a soft-landing.

When quizzed about his visit, Emmanuel told reporters that he had come strictly to discuss business. Business investments are underway for the state and he had come to brief the President. Whatever the case, Emmanuel can take solace in the fact that the visit to the corridors of power worked for his colleague governor who until then had not even seen the President.

Elizabeth Archibong