As the political drumbeats for 2027 begin to echo across Nigeria, the old question resurfaces with renewed urgency: What is the political direction of Kogi West ?
While other senatorial Districts are quietly closing ranks, building alliances, and defining and redefining their bargaining positions ahead of the next general elections, Kogi West once again appears trapped in its familiar cycle of fragmentation, blame trading and directionless.
It is time to face reality, all of us cannot sleep and face the same side, but, if history will not be extremely harsh to us, the present generation, we must sleep and have the same political mind frame. Our survival, our future and relevance depend on it.
For too long, Kogi West Senatorial District has been the most divided flank in the political geography of Kogi state. While other senatorial districts often close ranks to push a common agenda, Kogi West remains entangled in intra zone rivalries and ego contests. The result is predictable; lost opportunities, fragmented influence, and repeated political marginalization.
In every election cycle, our leaders scatter across party lines like marbles on a slippery floor. Each chieftain builds a personal empire, forgetting that individual ambition without collective strength leads to collective failure. We have seen it play out time and again, in gubernatorial primaries, senatorial races, and even in the struggle for key state appointments.
While we are busy arguing about who controls Kabba, Yagba, or Lokoja, other zones quietly negotiate from a position of unity and walk away with the bigger share of the political cake. That must change.
Having the same political mind frame does not mean belonging to the same political party or chanting the same slogans. It means recognizing a common destiny and aligning our political efforts to protect it.
When a son of Kogi West aspires to a position of leadership, our support should be guided by merit and the interest of the District, not by petty sentiments or partisan grudges. Imagine if, during key gubernatorial primaries of the past decade, Kogi West had spoken with one voice, we might have produced a governor by now. Instead, we split our votes, divide our voices, and dilute our influence.
Unity of mind frame also means setting a regional agenda, a political development charter that all leaders, regardless of party, can subscribe to. Our conversation should shift from which party will win to what does Kogi West gain from the victory.
Let us be honest; Kogi East has mastered what Kogi West has refused to learn, the art of collective bargaining. They may differ during campaigns, but when the chips are down, they act with one accord to defend their political and economic interests. The same can be said of some northern and southwestern zones in Nigeria.
Why can’t Kogi West do the same? We have the intellectual capacity, political pedigree, and population strength. What we lack is the discipline of unity, the ability to set ego aside for a greater cause.
Our political leaders and elders must stop fighting over crumbs and start thinking legacy. Our youth must abandon online wars and get involved in building structures that can truly influence policy and power. The future belongs not to those who shout the loudest but to those who organize the smartest.
It is time to stop celebrating individual success stories while the District remains collectively short changed. We must rally around shared priorities, infrastructural development, educational advancement, power rotation, and equitable appointments.
We cannot all sleep and face the same side. But if we all sleep with the same political dream, a dream of political maturity, fairness, and regional development, Kogi West will finally rise to its rightful place in the politics of Kogi State and Nigeria at large.
The time for petty politics is over. The time for a common political mind frame is now.
Musa Asiru Bakare, political analyst writes from Lokoja Kogi state
November 2, 2025