My piece last week generated quite a lot of interest from a broad spectrum of readers. This is understandable because you touch the raw nerves of Nigerians whenever you discuss about ethnicity and religion. But these are conversations we should not be scared of having. I leave the space today to some reactions I got from readers.
Your article titled: “Benue: The toxicity of ethnicity,” published on October 5, 2017 was quite interesting. I accept basically your submission as no one can completely reject the utility of an ethnic paradigm in analysis of the Benue Condition.
As you said correctly, we need to think outside the box to solve our problems as Benue indigenes. I believe elite consensus among the different social cleavages in Benue State is needed to achieve the goal of giving the governorship to Zone C in Benue State. By social cleavages I mean those divisions in the State that are based on ethnicity, class, gender, language and even caste.
It is also a Federal Character requirement that a person from Zone C too should and must be given the chance to rule Benue. This is indeed a constitutional matter. It can never be ignored by all parties in Benue State.
External influences too have continued to feed upon for their diabolical reasons and perpetuated the myth of Tiv – Idoma ethnic conflicts, or as you put it, toxicity in Benue State. They want to continue to keep it so. But we as Benue people must see through this mischievous design to divide, underdevelop and control us and reject it.
Appointments at the federal levels, especially, have long been used on Benue people to create these so-called ethnic tensions in their divide and rule games. This has been so since the Late Sir Ahmadu Bello – late Sardauna of Sokoto – days.
Unfortunately, a few Benue sons that get appointed at federal levels, Tiv or Idoma have not behaved in a manner that has doused the resultant ethnic tensions. Elites from Benue, Tiv or Idoma, must learn to use their political positions at the federal level to show clearly that they are representing Benue State and not any ethnic group therein. It is such goodwill, common sense and political sagacity and even wisdom on their part that will deal a fatal blow to the ethnic toxicity in Benue State.
For public policy in Benue State, I agree with you here too that the performance has been far below expectations. Leaders that develop their states or nations are those that put together competent teams in different areas; economic, political, social and otherwise, that have proven records of achievements in those sectors that do serve as competent and knowledgeable Think Tanks to advise them on what to do.
These are not “political” appointments where mediocre in those areas can be appointed without known expertise. They will fail the government and the people as they have been doing in Benue State for long now. Such leaders do not assume that they know all things about governance, when we all know that they truly need help. Winning election does not confer any expertise on how to govern; it only confers the power and authority to use whatever expertise in your domain to move your people forward and earn their respect. You don’t use thugs to get to power and use the same thugs to run the government. You will fail woefully, whether you are a Professor, Ph.D. holder or semi-illiterate. Good governance has to do with managing and coordinating the best human and material resources you have across ethnic, class and gender lines to achieve deliberately set goals and targets.
You must find other ways of “compensating” thugs that helped you win elections, such as contracts for others to do and give them the profits or sending them to schools abroad on scholarships where they can develop themselves and leave thuggery as a profession, rather than giving them appointments which they themselves know they have neither the training nor practical experience to perform well.
As long as Benue leaders do not know these basic facts about good governance, Benue State can never move forward or experience any inclusive growth of any kind ,whether you have an Igede, Etulo, Idoma or Tiv man as governor.
While it is good for a person from the other ethnic groups besides the Tiv, to become a governor, which I believe, can be achieved by Benue elite consensus, we need more than the ethnic stock of the governor to develop Benue State. This is my reaction to your perceptive article, my brother and friend.
Dr. Dan Mou
Executive Chairman
Centre for Poverty Eradication, Development & Equal Opportunity (CEPEDEO), Abuja, Nigeria.
Agbo, I truly appreciate your concern on the backwardness of our dear Benue. Firstly, I am a Tiv man. I’ve always wished to have an Idoma man as governor of the State to serve as an eye opener to the Tivs because successive Tiv governors since the creation of the State 41yrs ago have not performed well in my estimation. Apart from the late Aper Aku who established the few industries you mentioned from the meagre resources of the time, no succeeding administration had been able to add even a toothpick industry despite the billions that accrued to the State from Abuja.
When Senator George Akume became governor he started the Wannune tomato processing plant but couldn’t complete it and the machinery imported is now obsolete. If an Idoma man was the governor and this plant was situated in Idoma land, there is no way it would’ve been moribund. This and several other examples abound.
I employ the Idoma people that it is never too late to start a brilliant idea. The time to act is now; the Idoma must start negotiating now for their chance at the people’s House. Like you mentioned about the Yewa in Ogun; it’s been several decades before the leadership of the state deem it fit to accede the governorship slot to them.
I assure you, we shall, by God’s grace, live to see an Idoma as governor of our dear Benue, after all, the struggle had been on for a long time and surely, we shall realise our dreams in no distant future.
Long live Benue State.
Samuel
Mr. Agbo, on the issue of slow progress and development of Benue state, the same fate applies to Plateau and Nasarawa which are sister states. The problem seems to be with the mentality of citizens of the states who don’t appear willing to make them great.
Musa M. Dantsoho
I doff my hat for you Mr. Agbo. Thank you for highlighting the toxic ethnic environment in Benue in your brilliant article last week. This is a conversation we should be having, but like the Ostrich, we bury our heads in the sand pretending all is well. How can anyone fault your very eloquent submission? You wrote about thinkers that should take us to the 21st century. There are no thinkers in Benue, we have a government devoid of direction thereby making Benue is a rudderless ship going nowhere. Like you pointed out, it appears our citizens are only good for security jobs outside the state and for pushing wheelbarrows!
Very soon, electioneering will start then you will see the true face of Benue which is often reflected in senseless political killings. This is what you get when you have a bunch of people in governance who do not have the capacity to create, only the capacity to consume. Workers have not been paid for seven months now – some up to twelve months. What a pity!
Terhembe Orkura
Wannune, Gboko
Sir, thank you for your article: “Benue: The toxicity of ethnicity.” What sound, positive and progressive thinking you deployed in your write-up devoid of any iota of ethnic sentiments.
Terungwa Viashima, Adikpo.
