For most residents of Kogi, the confluence state, the yearly dislocations if the people, ocassioned by flooding, coupled with the perennial erosion menace have continued to make life and living, akin, to the state of nature as described by the English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, best known for his 1651 book, Leviathan, in which he expounded an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy.
Thomas Hobbes’ view, the “state of nature” is a hypothetical condition where there’s no governing power or laws, leading to a “war of all against all”. Life in this state is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” due to the constant threat of violence and the absence of established rights or justice.
This anarchic state is a condition people seek to escape by forming a social contract and establishing a sovereign power to maintain order.
But, for the most of Kogites, for nearly a decade, life, as described by Hobes has been their lots, and this year is not an exception.
Beside the natural disasters, majority of the citizens who are farmers, have continued to face threats and in some cases, killings, maiming by the armed herders, who have taken over their farmlands.
Some analysts observed that life should have improved, much more better for the impoverished citizens, following the increase in the monthly allocations, particularly, from 2023, following removal of the fuel subsidy and unification of exchange rates, with the attendant Naira devaluation, which has substantially increased monthly allocations to states.
Also, within the same period, Kogi assumed the status of an oil producing state, enjoying the derivation revenue.
However, with the raining season around, the residents have started relocating to ‘safer’ areas on their own, while others ate expressing hope that this year’s own might nit be severe despite series of warnings.
This is because the state has a troubling history of underfunding erosion and flood control efforts.
The analysts have continued to.express serious concerns over the State’s alleged spending on entertainment and social activities amd the seeming lack of allocation for erosion control, despite the looming environmental risks.
According to a report by Sahara Reporters, in the 2024 fiscal year, the state allocated only N29.8 million for the critical sector. Even worse, in 2023, just N1.927 million was spent.
Specifically, the platform’s review of the Kogi State budget performance document for the first quarter of 2025 has revealed that the state government spent N172 million on “celebrations/remembrance day” between January and March.
In contrast, no funds were spent on erosion and flood control during the same period, despite a budgetary allocation of N1.15 billion for that purpose in the 2025 fiscal year.
The failure to prioritise flood management comes despite multiple warnings. Earlier in April, the Nigerian government warned that 1,249 communities across 176 local government areas in 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) could experience severe flooding between April and November 2025.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, issued the warning during the unveiling of the 2025 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) in Abuja.
The report listed Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Imo, and Jigawa as high flood-risk states.
Others include Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara, and the FCT.
In October 2024, the Kogi State Government reported that devastating floods submerged over 200 communities and displaced more than two million people across the state.
The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Hon. Kingsley Fanwo, disclosed this at Kotonkarfe in Kogi Local Government Area, warning that a major “humanitarian crisis was brewing” due to the widespread flooding.
He revealed that nine local government areas — Kogi, Lokoja, Adavi, Ofu, Ajaokuta, Idah, Ibaji, Igalamela, and Omalla — were affected.
READ ALSO:Kogi Bishop Decries Decay In State’s Education Sector
Metrobusinessnews.com (MBN) investigations and news gathered From The Street, (FTS), showed that five out of the nine listed troubled local government areas are from the eastern part of the state, and no action has been taken by the state government since then, either towards preventing future occurrences or in the areas of infrastructure generally.
For instance, Anthony Ademu Adaji, the Catholic Bishop of Idah Diocese, recently expressed concern over the decay and deterioration of public primary and secondary schools in the rural areas across Kogi State.
The clergy, therefore, called on Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi State to wake up to his responsibility in addressing the challenges faced by public schools in Kogi East, decrying a situation where public secondary school students are receiving lessons and writing examinations on the floor despite the huge sum of money the State Government claimed to have committed to education sector in the last nine years.
The Bishop, who was visibly not happy over the situation , lamented that less than 10% of public schools are functioning in Kogi State, saying the worst affected by the deplorable infrastructure in education system among the three Senatorial Districts of the State is Kogi East.
He stressed that most schools in Kogi East Senatorial District had deteriorated beyond imagination, asking whether “there is still Government in Kogi State”.
“On a very serious note, you can not get 5% functional public schools in Kogi East, yet billions of naira are being budgeted for education year in, year out. In the last eight or nine years, it has been a total shambles in the area of education in rural communities in Kogi State.
“Kogi State Government should stop deceiving itself by using the public schools in the State capital to judge the condition of schools in the local government areas.
“Our concern is that the larger population of the people in Kogi State dwells in the rural areas, and regrettably such places, their educational system, especially secondary and primary schools, are in precarious situations at the detriment of the children who we claim are leaders of tomorrow.
“If you visit some government schools, both secondary and primary schools in Kogi East, if you are a lover of education and you know what education can do to humanity, you will weep. Therefore, Governor Ododo should do the needful before it is too late.
“I am appealing to Governor Ododo that as he has started the goodwill of paying regular salaries to both State and local government workers, he should also include education and infrastructure as part of the mandate of his responsibility as both are necessary for the development of Kogi State”, the Bishop said.
Despite the scale of the disaster, Sahara Reporters further reported that concerns persist over the utilisation of ecological funds by states across the country. Ecological funds, designed to address environmental challenges like erosion and flooding, have often been poorly spent, with Kogi State cited as one of the culprits.
An earlier SaharaReporters review of the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) data showed that between December 2023 and November 2024, state and local governments received a combined total of N96 billion as ecological funds.
The monthly disbursements to states and local governments during this period ranged between N3 billion and N5 billion, according to figures published by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
Despite receiving these funds, many states, including Kogi, have failed to adequately invest in erosion and flood control measures, leaving vulnerable communities at continued risk of devastating floods.
Some of the citizens that spoke to MBN, under strict anonymity, have accepted their fate with quiet resignation, with most of them expecting divine intervention
While they acknowledged payment of salaries and pensions by the Usman Ododo administration, they were unanimous in their submissions that alot needs to be done in the area of real governance that believes in the investments in critical and social sectors and infrastructure.
Also, Fitch Ratings has upgraded the Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings of Lagos, Kaduna, Kogi, and Oyo states from ‘B-’ to ‘B.
The agency announced the development on its website on Saturday.
According to Fitch, the rating action follows the upgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign credit rating from ‘B-’ to ‘B’ on April 11, 2025.
Given the predominant role of the federal government in Nigeria’s intergovernmental fiscal framework, the internationally acclaimed ratings agency explained that the sovereign rating upgrade has been mirrored in the states.
For Kogi State, Fitch said its debt mix between domestic and foreign borrowings is largely tied to ambitious capital expenditure projects.
The state’s payback ratio is projected to remain around 20 times over the medium term, with the agency highlighting Kogi’s vulnerability to oil revenue fluctuations that could impact fiscal balances.
However, its overall rating remains capped by Nigeria’s sovereign ceiling. Meanwhile, Kaduna, Kogi, and Oyo states maintain ‘b’ SCPs, characterised by vulnerable risk profiles and financial metrics between the ‘a’ and ‘bb’ range.
According to a retired educationist and socal commentator, “The situation in Kogi state, since it’s creation, can be described as ‘budget paradox’ which is in itself, contradictory, because our leaders know what is good for the people, but the political will may be lacking due to some entrenched interests, and the results have been resistance to changes and focusing on rather, short-term gains, which, in most cases, are not in the interest of rhe governed. “