Many issues should bother the people of Benue State, particularly members and supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the divided chapter.
The subsisting ethnic cleavage makes the Northcentral state a mini-Nigeria in want of unity in diversity. The memory of past inter-tribal clashes is scary. The scars are visible. The pains have not subsided. The tension may not have abated. From his predecessors, Governor Hyacinth Alia has inherited a big burden of ensuring peaceful coexistence. He is achieving this through his peace-building styles and people-oriented policies and programmes.
Benue of Tiv, Junkun, and other groups has been a wide theatre of mass killings and other forms of violence – on the farms, in the villages, and on the roads. The perpetrators are unknown. They are usually spook-like, always at large, only to reappear to wreak more havoc and vanish into thin air again.
The state prides itself as the Food Basket of the Nation. But it is now troubled by the disruption of farm practices. Farmers are slaughtered by public enemies. Kidnappings, banditry, and farmer-herder clashes create panic and apprehension. The actual number of needless deaths in the last nine years is unknown. It is mind-boggling.
The highly heterogeneous state is thirsty for peace and development across sectors. The sectors require surgical operations, which Rev. Fr. Alia is carrying out with patriotism, commitment, and dedication, thereby rekindling hope about a brighter future, despite the constraints and obstacles on his way.
Before the cleric got in the saddle under the current republic were George Akume, Gabriel Suswam, and Sam Ortom. It could be said that they did their best to lay the foundation on which Alia is building. However, many agree that the cleric has a different approach. He attends to issues with speed. He sees his mandate as the extension of his service to humanity as a priest.
This is the core issue: while Alia’s predecessors were accountable to the constitution, the party leadership, and certain benefactors or godfathers, the priest in Makurdi Government House, first and foremost, believes that above all, he is accountable to God, the Alpha, who gives power, and the Omega, who also has the power to retrieve power from the beneficiary, in the course of human history.
Rev. Alia took the politics of Benue by storm, ahead of last year’s general election. He crossed the partisan bridge from the pulpit to the corridor of power, leaning on an unprecedented following cutting across ethnic, religious, and political leanings. His antecedents as an anti-HIV/AIDS campaigner and organiser of Holy Mass made him famous. He is a household name in Benue, and even in Taraba.
The priest came when the state thirsted for a clean break from the past. He wanted to make a difference in a state that has literarily been crawling for over four decades. In Benue, there were no jobs because there were no industries. People also started deserting farms to stay safe across 20 of the 23 local governments. Over 2.3 million displaced people sojourned in Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs’) camps. The salaries of public workers were not paid. Pensions and gratuities were hanging.
The APC needed a game changer. Thus, in 2023, the interest of Benue State, the party’s chapter, and the candidate aligned in their collective pursuit of greater welfare and prosperity for the generality of the people.
Highly popular, charismatic, focused, and honest, Alia came with a message of hope, revival, and change. The people of Benue believed him as a man bubbling with the courage to correct the cumulative errors. His manifestos were captivating. On the podium, the priest, as usual, was electrifying.
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At the close of the poll, Fr. Alia defeated his rival, Titus Uba of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The outcome of the electoral exercise underscored a vote of no confidence in the opposition party and the immediate past administration in the state.
Following his swearing-in, the governor hit the ground running, not as a run-of-the-mill prevaricator or bread-and-butter politician but as a genuine and devoted servant of God dedicated to ministering to the vast needs of people. So far, he has been fulfilling his campaign promises, to the delight of the electorate.
But the attention of the people’s governor is being distracted by intra-party intrigues, bickering, and war within the state APC chapter on which platform he rode to power. Yet, Alia needs the support of the entire party to achieve more for the state.
There is a curious battle for supremacy; a needless struggle for the control of the party between the godfather, Senator Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and his godson, Alia.
Akume is the hero, party builder, and leader. Alia is the champion of progress, the ‘political star boy,’ the cynosure of all eyes, and the consolidator of party gains. The challenge now is that while Benue APC has succeeded in bouncing back to power, the chapter is also waging war against itself.
The protracted crisis between the two leaders should be the focus of the APC National Reconciliation Committee. The division should end in the collective interest of the state and the party. It is surprising that gladiators who worked together during the elections are now working at cross-purpose, almost without justification.
Leading the Akume forces in the war of attrition is Austin Agada, chairman of the polarised chapter. The governor’s forces are led by Benjamin Omale, chairman of the caretaker committee. The two camps are in and out of court, underscoring that things are falling apart in the party.
Party stalwarts are flexing of muscles. Observers have rightly captured the rift as Abuja forces, fanatically loyal to a chieftain of national stature, Akume, versus Makurdi combatants, fiercely loyal to the governor, who is the legal and legitimate state party leader. The turn of events is worrisome to party members who are boxed into emotional wrenching. Mutual admirers of the two leaders – Akume and Fr. Alia – both loyalist of the National Leader and Commander-in-Chief, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, are taken aback.
Efforts by traditional rulers to resolve the conflict have collapsed. The peace meeting brokered by the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, only led to a temporary cessation of hostilities. After departing from the ancient Gboko palace, the rift escalated. It is because, in the game of politics, the contest for power and influence are characterised by competition and antagonism which the natural rulers cannot moderate in a republican setting.
Yet, sources of discord can be resolved through the conflict resolution mechanism within the party at the state and national levels, if the warring “factions” are willing. Issues like the choice of House of Assembly principal officers, criteria for the selection of commissioners and special advisers, and appointment of caretaker committees for councils often generate friction and tension. However, they are peculiar challenges confronting winning parties. In victory, Akume and Alia should mutually demonstrate the partisan capacities for the management of electoral achievements.
The split is dangerous for the future of Benue APC. A party in crisis is a house divided. The negative impact would be felt by the administration it midwifed and the warring leaders locked in political enmity.
The way out of the quarrel is simple yet challenging. There is no permanent friend or foe in politics but permanent interest. A house divided can fall. The watchword, therefore, is reconciliation.
The two sides should sheathe their swords. They should give concessions. They should embrace consensus on issues. Their leaders should remember the beginning and strive at an accord. They should learn to forgive and forget.
The Benue APC warriors should collectively work for concord. It is in the interest of the party and the gladiators too. Crisis, unduly prolonged, can only weaken the platform ahead of future polls.