By Ismail Isah
Perhaps, two of the major indices of measuring the
performance of government in the Nigerian context are the level of visible
infrastructure and the impact it bears in the lives of the people. An ancillary
to development in physical infrastructure is the improvement in the capacity of
the populace in terms of critical skills and vocational exposure to excel in a
given career or trade.
Over the years, the below par performance of the government
in these two areas have attracted the most attention, albeit criticism from the people and analysts whose position is
that a government can only justify its existence if its activities cause proven
improvement in the wellbeing of the people. For majority of the public affairs
analysts and critics alike, development of physical infrastructure and genuine
efforts in giving the people a lifeline for survival amidst the harsh
socio-economic order of the day is only next to guaranteeing security of lives
and property in the ranking government's responsibility to the people.
These, unarguably, are responsible for the barrage of criticism
often leveled against our government- federal, state and local government- who
are seen as not doing enough for the society for whom they hold office as
trustees. The situation has gone from
bad to worse in most of our states where there seems to be a little left to
develop infrastructure. With most of the 36 states now headed for a fiscal
cliff; they are unable to even pay basic salaries of workers and meet other
statutory obligation, the country may not have seen the last of the hard times
yet.
Despite, the challenging fiscal crunch being witnessed in
the country, it is safe to say that prudent management of resources at the
disposal of some of our state governments could reverse the tide of the biting
effect of dwindling revenue and their attendant inability to develop critical
infrastructure.
One of the few states that appear to be setting a good
example in this direction is Kogi. the present of Captain Idris Wada in Kogi
State has done fairly well in developing physical infrastructure such as roads,
housing, health facilities, educational institutions and it has continued to record
developmental strides in other sectors of the economy.
Although most of its over 3 Million
population live in rural areas, the rate of migration to Lokoja and a few of the sub-urban settlements like
Idah, Anyigba, where the state university is located; Okene and Kabba
townships and the fact that Kogi is the
gateway for people moving to and from the North and the South of Nigeria have
compelled the present administration to up the ante in developing facilities to
cope with growing socio-economic activities in the state.
In the last few weeks, the State Governor, Captain Idris
Wada has embarked on a tour of commissioning and inspection of on-going
projects in different parts of the state. Some of these projects are: the Nigeria-Korea
Friendship Institute of Vocational and Advanced Technology; the new Kogi Hotel
and the Lokoja Mega Transport Terminal.
The Nigeria-Korea Friendship Institute of
Vocational and Advanced Technology
The Nigeria-Korea
Friendship Institute of Vocational and Advanced Technology in Lokoja is
technical cooperation established by the Kogi State Government in partnership
with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). At the commissioning
ceremony in Lokoja a few days ago, Governor
Wada was reported to have described the project as a world class centre vocational
training and skills acquisition that will raise the standard in international
partnership for human capital development in Nigeria and the West African
sub-region.
The Governor said the impact of the project in the lives of
the young people in the state will see hundreds acquiring skills and training
that will make them self-reliant and net employers thereby contributing their
quota to the socio-economic development of the state.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Project Director at the
Institute, Nafisa Waziri said the mandate of the project was to develop a
highly effective and relevant technical and vocational education and training
that delivers a flexible, demand-driven programmes in automobile engineering,
welding and fabrication, electrical engineering and information and
communication technology to meet the
manpower needs of industries and the emerging Medium and Small Scale
Enterprises in Nigeria.
According the Project Director, the institute is equipped
with world class training facilities and instructors trained at the Daelim
University in the Republic of Korea and
it is already receiving applications from intending students seeking the best
in vocational and technical education.
The new Kogi Hotel in
Lokoja
Located in the old premises that houses the courtyard of
Lord Lugard, the famous colonial Governor-General of Northern Nigeria who made
Lokoja his home, the new Kogi Hotels reflects the historical relevance and aura
of undeniable hospitality of the Kogi State capital.
While inspecting the Kogi Hotel project , Governor Wada had
explained that the remodeling of the hotel would enable the state to attract
tourists by providing quality accommodation, conferences and sports facilities
for the people and visitors to the state capital.
Conducting the Governor round the project, the state commissioner
for Culture and Tourism, Mr. Kayode Olowomoran said the project which is 95
percent completed has up to 100 standard rooms, 6 VIP Guest Chalets, 500-seater
Conference Centre, an Olympic-size Swimming Pool and a court yard which
overlooks the colonial courtyard and the first prison yard in Northern Nigeria
which have been preserved as historical relics in Lokoja.
Lokoja Mega Terminal
Located at Felele, along Abuja-Lokoja highway, the Lokoja
Mega Terminal is an ambitious transportation hub that accentuates the status of
Lokoja as the gateway to North and Southern part of Nigeria.
According to the Kogi State Commissioner for Transport,
Abdulrahaman Wuya, the terminal has the
capacity to accommodate over 250 vehicles and over 5000 passengers at a
time; with a clinic, automobile
workshop, drivers' lounge, eatery, a bank, police post, offices and a shopping
complex; and it is designed to decongest
the highway of vehicles that cluster the road and prevent obstruction to free
flow of traffic.
After being conducted round the facility, Governor Wada said
the terminal, whose civil work has reached 75 percent completion, will increase
the Internally-Generated Revenue profile of the state, adding that the facility
will provide quality services to road transport workers, vehicle operators and
travelers from Kogi and other parts of Nigeria.
Governor Wada's example in Kogi is indicative of the
all-time truism that a state government do not need all the money available in
Nigeria to birth a culture of prudence and initiate infrastructural projects
that have proven impact on the lives of their people.
This is the Kogi standard in building in infrastructure and
human capital development for posterity.
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