Benue State At 33

Benue State At 33: Retrospection With A Glimmer Of Hope

Emma Odu

Benue state was created in February 1976 by General Murtala Mohammed led military junta. The tangible reason advanced for creating states as a component units of Nigeria federation was to bring government nearer to the people and invariably stimulate the grass root development.

However, the year 1991 witnessed the emergence of a new Benue state following the creation of Kogi state which was carved out of the old Benue state. It was also anticipated by the good people of Benue state that the departure of our compatriots in Kogi state would open a floodgate of development as the resources accrue able to the state would be sufficient to initiate and accelerate grassroot developments. This was far from reality as our people dangle in a cyclical illusion from 1991 to 1998.

The global democratic trend also gave Nigeria another leverage to reorganize herself. The year 1999 marked a watershed in our Nation’s democratic process. This also saw the emergence of Senator George Akume as the executive governor of Benue state. Expectations were high. The chief driver of Benue state democratic voyage (Akume) mustard the relevant political muscle amidst every odds in a bid to match expectations with reality. He was committed to liberate the people from the clutches of poverty and was able to contain the reconciliation let loose by the departed military hegemony. Akume’s political leadership in Benue state suddenly went adrift as the state’s economic structure for the rising expectations proved woefully inadequate and tragically fragile. Consequently, demagogue was substituted for development and eccentricity for leadership. Whether Senator Akume’s regime was a success or failure is a matter of political semantics. To me, writing the history of Benue State without some significant impact of George Akume will amount to a tragic monotony of meaninglessness as he will remain a vibrant basis in the Benue state political trajectory. The foundation of a greater Benue state of our dream has been laid but the big lesson our political leaders in Benue state must learn from Akume’s political travail is that “the nature and style of political leadership are very much a derivative of the political edifice itself” In one of the papers presented by Sir Wintson Churchill, he said and I quote;

“We design the house and the

House in turn becomes the

Mould in which our politics

Is cast.........................”

Another vistas of hope occasioned by endless expectations among our people began to rise when, in 2007, Governor Gabriel Suswam was elected as the executive governor of Benue state. During his electioneering campaign, he promised to champion the course of democratic humanism characterised by social harmony that can provide a favourable condition for the attainment of net welfare maximization for all.

To a large extent, the demand for a qualitative change in leadership style is already asserting itself noticeably in Benue state courtesy of Governor Suswam’s visionary leadership, political thrust and dynamism which seems to have reconfigured the Benue state political landscape for the better. A unique political leadership has been initiated and well embedded on the principles of “SUSWAMISM” ----------------------- giving hope to the hopeless, being conscious of the gulp between super flows wealth and abject poverty, an all inclusive government devoid of ethic slide and a more purposeful leadership. The governor, is of the view that there must be a balance of rights and duties before people can achieve some degree of peace, justice and social harmony which are fundamental to the growth and development of any society.

There are significant areas of improvement where the present administration of governor Suswam would attract a pass mark, atleast, for the now. The criticisms against his administration remain very mordant. I am not a partisan politician but a simple latin maxim says “res ipso loqutur” -------------- the thing speaks for itself. I was in makurdi, the Benue state capital city early last month where I saw the city wearing a new face after 33 years of sorrowful abandonment. It appears to me that some concrete actions must have been embarked upon by the Governor to wedge the will of oppression and shenanigans. There are signs of good road network in the city, modern streetlight facilities that makes the city looks different from congo-forest, drainage facilities, portable water and the recent drive that led to the creation of the ministry of science and technology in Benue state. The tidal wave of political resurgence is blowing across Benue state; no doubt, this is not a political propaganda but a scientific analysis subject to verification. The new ministry will help to decongest youth unemployment and give the state an accelerated pace towards the attainment of a technology driven society.

Since this young man has started to perform like conductors of symphony orchestras, our people are beginning to have another glimmer of hope. We want him to also look at the area of youth empowerment and mechanized agriculture. The slogan of “the food basket of the nation will remain a polite insult if our people cannot afford a three square meals per day. Benue state scholarship scheme must be revived as a stepping stone to address youth empowerment initiatives. Governor Suswam’s ability to tackle very challenging issues in the state simply epitomised the dynamism of the youths as the future of any society depends largely on the mindset and preparedness of the youths. They are the vehicle for change, the engine for growth and harbingers of peace. We want you to run an open door policy with expanding opportunities were all divergent groups will be represented. Your ability to maintain relative peace in Benue state and harmoniously galvanised the different ethnic groups in the state is quite commendable. Please sir, keep the existing tempo and simply consider your being a tiv man as just one of the inevitable accidents of history and geography.