With barely nine months in office as Governor of Benue State, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia appears to be winning the hearts of the vast majority of the over seven million people in the state.
The current experience in the ‘food basket’ State reminds one of the words of the famous English Philosopher Thomas Hobbes who argued in his book Leviathan that, without government, life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
“Life in the state of nature was brutish, nasty and short, as a result of this un-conducive atmosphere for man to operate freely; compelled man to surrender his rights to a constituted assembly for governance, and in return, the State was supposed to enhance good life or well-being of the citizens,” Hobbes stressed.
For the Benue State Governor, what Hobbes means is that, in a democracy such as Nigeria, a social contract must exist between the State, which holds power, and the people who must be properly looked after. Alia is therefore seen to have veered off a known tradition in Benue, a practice of having to always do the bidding of many critical political stakeholders – those who may have worked hard to bring him into power.
As far as these individuals are concerned, their interests supersedes that of the State. They would at every moment, decide how the ‘cake’ (State’s Resources) is distributed), including key appointments.
Many of the State’s previous leaders, unfortunately, yielded to the demands of these kingmakers in deviance from the democratic social contract that Hobbes talks about.
The immediate effect of Governor Alia’s current stand in the State is that, while earning the respect, accolades, and admiration of the ordinary people, he is fast making enemies. For the popular Ragea Legend Lucky Dube, this is not strange. In his song titled- “You Stand Alone”, if you stand for the truth, You will always stand alone. This is the terrible truth about truth.
So, how the Governor creates the balance to satisfy the very masses who voted him into office and at the same time, avoid igniting the wrath of perceived kingmakers, is a daunting task that he has to also genuinely handle.
But, what Alia’s critics fail to deduce is that his clergy background and training as a Catholic Priest, whose calling develops them into averagely fearless people and somewhat radicals, the governor has a clear-cut vision and firm belief that Benue must not remain stagnantly behind.
Again. it may not be mistaken that Governor Alia is a vibrant scholar, vastly experienced in the management of people and so, he is not in an unusual terrain. This invariably could explain why the Governor sees mere patronage of ‘political kingmakers’ as a major distraction from his genuine intention to deliver on good governance. The clergy is rather focused on embarking on people-oriented projects and programs that can swiftly alleviate the suffering of citizens.
Benue State situated in North Central Nigeria, has a rich agricultural fertile land and temperate weather conditions favourable for the cultivation of food and cash crops. Reports indicate that at some point, Benue was tipped to feed the entire country and to serve as a major hub for the export of agricultural produce. But the leaders have continually failed to take advantage of this, to galvanize growth and development.
Close watchers of political development in the State agree that some of Governor Alia’s predecessors always chose the path of sharing a quantum of public resources – and enriching themselves rather than embarking on sustainable and enduring projects of development.
It is the reason that to date, the ‘food basket’ State is faced with an array of challenges including, a total lack of industries, poor infrastructure, and a complete absence of an enabling business environment.
The ‘food basket’ State cannot even boast of the presence of the United Nations agency vested with the global mandate to ensure zero hunger, food, and nutrition security – the Food And Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. All of which have given rise to unemployment, and heightened poverty.
Governor Alia indeed, inherited many of these challenges added to issues of unpaid salaries of several months, insecurity, lack of accountability, and general lack of good governance, which should even precede development.
The clergy cannot afford to fail his people. Alia’s promise of a new dawn of shared prosperity and commitment to addressing persistent security challenges in his victory speech resonates with hope. This path only needs to be jealousy pursued.
Aside from insecurity as a major challenge in the State caused by persistent herders/farmers conflicts that have claimed hundreds of lives with thousands now as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), there Is the issue of flooding which confronts Benue annually, destroying homes, farmlands and livelihoods.
There is also the problem of water shortage in the State despite the existence of the River Benue. The State capital is in dire want of potable water amid the huge natural resource available.
Governor Alia definitely, will not have it rosy all day. As the political leader of the State as confirmed recently by the deputy national secretary of the All Progressives Party (APC), he is expected to galvanize party members for unity to achieve support, and to confront all of these challenges headlong, facing the people of Benue, if he must make any difference while changing the political landscape for work and work only, but never again, ‘share the money.’
- Mbachirin, a social critic, wrotefrom Makurdi, Benue State.
