By Bridget Tikyaa
No one is contesting that there has been serious security challenges in Benue State, nor the fact that the crisis is a complex mix of historical, economic, and political factors that include farmer-herder clashes, heavily armed attackers from across the Nigerian borders, “Faceless Politicians” sponsoring attacks, and failed leadership in the past lacking political will to implement lasting solutions. The crisis in Benue is certainly not the recent single narrative of genocide against Christians being peddled about, but a combination of several factors, including indigenous armed militias.
It is not surprising the brouhaha that followed the simple and very clear dissection of the Benue crisis by Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia, a Reverend Father, at an event in Abuja on Thursday. For those bent on pushing the single factor narrative of genocide and their political arm, it was an opportunity to strike, to burry the historical facts of the crisis so as to demean the Chief Security Officer of the state, paint him in bad light, and even questioned his ‘Christiannes’ simply for expounding on the the historically contributive factors to the decades-long crisis in the state.
In summary, the situation is neither a genocide nor a simple clash, but a multifaceted and devastating conflict with profound humanitarian, security, and political dimensions that demand a comprehensive and nuanced approach to address the root causes and provide justice for the victims.
Governor Alia’s crime is stating the facts as they are. Those trying to bury him knew that he never denied the killings of Benue people by bandits and terrorists. They just chose to misinterpret his statement, something they have been good at. Distorting the truth for their selfish ends. They wanted the governor and everyone else to agree to their very narrow single narrative of genocide, ignoring the proper context and global meaning of the term.
READ ALSO; Will Sujimoto bounce back?
However, God has a way of responding to those who always seek his intercession in their affairs. A day after the barrage of criticisms of his speech in Abuja by political entrepreneurs who cash on crisis to promote their manipulative self-serving agenda, the governor had the opportunity to reply.
Addressing journalists on Friday at Government House Makurdi after a closed-door meeting with Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, Governor Alia said it was important for the public to understand that discussions around genocide must be based on the United Nations’ definition and historical context, noting that many people use the word loosely without considering its origin, its interpretation, or the criteria that qualify an event as genocide.
According to him, his earlier description of the attackers “executing their plans religiously” was an idiomatic expression—similar to someone saying a task was carried out judiciously—meaning consistently and not in any religious sense, adding that the misinterpretation of his statement caused unnecessary confusion.
“I never denied that my people were killed. I remain very firm that we have bandits and terrorists who come fully organized to destroy, maim, and kill. I have consistently—yes, religiously—stated that their aim is land grabbing. This did not begin as anything religious.”
He emphasized that the crisis began as farmer–herder conflicts before escalating into full-blown banditry and terrorism, noting that people from different faith backgrounds have suffered losses, therefore, attempts to frame the killings as religiously motivated were misleading and harmful.
Social media has given space to those distorting the truth at will. Sadly, even the mainstream media relying on social media posts have often spread fake, distorted, and half truth as news. To such ‘journalists’, the has a word of caution. Stop politicising tragedy or amplifying misinterpretations. Seek clarifications whenever issues arise rather than worsening tensions through inaccurate interpretations.
“You journalists are great minds and great hands. You are not weapons of mass destruction; you are weapons of societal construction. When something is unclear, one phone call can clarify it instead of confusing the entire society,” he said.
Even without saying it, every loss in Benue will weigh heavily on the governor, so also the inconsiderate words coming from a section of the public who tend to trivialise the suffering of displaced families. Certainly, Benue State has been attacked, violated, and its people driven from their ancestral homes, leaving a large number in Internally Displaced Persons camps.
The governor has been emphatic against turning the Benue crisis into a single narrative. To people pushing such a narrative, Governor Alia has a bit of education for them. “The situation is multi-sectoral. Don’t reduce it to religion. Both Muslims and Christians have been killed. Benue is the most populous Christian state in the North, so naturally, there are unspoken expectations, but let us not politicize people’s pain.”
Even Professor Wole Soyinka dropped a word of caution to those pushing the genocide narrative and calling for foreign intervention. He warned the country against accepting help from foreign countries whose interventions might worsen the already bad security challenges in the country.
