LEONARD KARSHIMA SHILGBA
History has a way of offering us mirrors. Some reflect the glory of wisdom; others, the consequences of missteps. As citizens and stakeholders in the future of Benue State, we must be honest enough to learn from both.
Between 2015 and 2023, under the stewardship of former Governor Samuel Ortom, Benue became synonymous with conflict—not just the tragic violence inflicted on our communities, but also a political strategy that weaponized confrontation. Governor Ortom’s frequent verbal assaults on the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari earned him praise in some circles for “standing up” for Benue. But the harder question we must ask ourselves is this: What did all the fiery rhetoric truly achieve for the people of Benue?
Despite Ortom’s visible outspokenness, the core responsibilities of governance were badly neglected. Salaries were owed for months, even years, across several sectors. Infrastructure was crumbling. Basic services became luxuries. And Benue’s debt profile continued to balloon. The pain of insecurity was real—but so too was the pain of failed governance. While Ortom found a convenient scapegoat in the Federal Government, he offered little in the way of actual solutions.
His confrontational stance may have won him a second term, but it did not win peace. It did not bring jobs. It did not pay salaries. And it certainly did not position Benue for long-term development.
Today, as Governor Hyacinth Alia charts a new course—one defined by deliberate engagement, visible infrastructural work, salary clearance efforts, and a more cooperative tone with the Federal Government—some voices, mostly from familiar quarters, are beginning to call for a return to the “gaga” style of Ortom. They are urging Governor Alia to abandon statesmanship and take up the political cudgel against President Tinubu’s administration.
Let us be very clear: this is a trap.
Governor Alia was not elected to fight the Federal Government with his mouth. He was elected to fight poverty with jobs, illiteracy with education, underdevelopment with infrastructure, and insecurity with pragmatic policies backed by cooperation at every level of government. Nigeria’s federal structure is not perfect, but it requires strategic navigation—not reckless provocation.
It is deeply ironic that the same political actors who couldn’t distract Ortom from speaking, now seek to distract Alia from working. Why? Because results are beginning to show. Because a governor who quietly builds roads, pays salaries, and restores confidence in governance is far more dangerous to their political survival than one who merely makes noise.
This is why it is critical that Governor Alia stays the course. He must resist the temptation to turn Benue into a theater of political theatrics. The people of Benue are tired—not just of bullets, but of broken promises. They are hungry—not just for food, but for good governance.
Benue doesn’t need another loud champion of the people. It needs a competent servant of the people.
Governor Alia has shown early signs of seriousness and focus. His respectful engagement with President Bola Tinubu’s government has already attracted goodwill. That cooperation is not a sign of weakness. It is the hallmark of wise leadership in a federal democracy. The governor’s task is to draw support, attract investment, and push for security collaboration—not burn bridges out of ego or political manipulation.
Those urging him to “gaga” must answer one question: what, exactly, did Ortom’s confrontations achieve that bettered the lives of ordinary Benue people? Lives continued to be lost to terrorist attacks under Ortom despite his outspokenness against the Federal Government while at the same time Benue State suffered alienation by the central government. Why must Gov. Alia copy this style?
Governor Alia must not fall into the same pit. He was not elected to repeat history. He was elected to correct it.
Benue has had enough of political noise. What it needs now is progress.
© Shilgba