Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State on Thursday met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja to brief him on the state of affairs of the ‘food basket’, especially on the government’s readiness to conduct local council elections on October 5th 2024 and the support of the Federal Government to the State as well as the recent alert by the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NIMET) about possible threats of flooding in Benue. NewsQuest brings the excerpts:
I just came to brief Mr. President on the state of affairs in Benue. The State is experiencing quite a high level of peace. This is a farming season. Since 1999, for some reason, our people paid less attention to farming. But since last year, particularly this season, we have returned to the farms. We need to do more produce and if our basket does not full, to ensure that we fill it up to capacity.
So, we have done a lot of farm yields and we are quite good on the front lines of security as well. There are a few skirmishes here and there but on a large scale, we are good, quite good.
However, I have briefed Mr. President. I just reminded him that we have 23 local government area councils, and though relative peace is being enjoyed in all the local governments now, there are up to two to three local governments where skirmishes persist somewhat. We need to pay close attention there so that we get rid of all the skirmishes completely.
Again, we got some alerts on flooding. River Benue requires some dredging, You know that the Federal Government is working around that in trying to see what can be put in to create effectivity on the dredging. So, the Federal Government is ready on that. Often in the rainy season, when we get some alerts like what we have now that the dam in Cameroon might be releasing some high volumes of water, there is some anxiety about possible flooding. Even without the release from the dam, there was some bit of flooding but this year was way much less.
We have our apparatus in place, and we have created some awareness and will continue to do that. We hope that what we will experience from the release from this Cameroonian dam, a number of measures shall be taken down the road to see how, one, the dredging of the river and how our internal preparedness also goes towards this. I think that overall, that is where we are.
We have elections coming up on October 5th. The primaries are for the local government. I think of note should be the fact that I was one of the very first people who before the declaration of autonomy by the legal authorities, we already had it in our State, that autonomy was granted. So, I am very hopeful that with the work we have done, the followership that exists, the goodwill, and the transparency that we are transporting democracy through trickling it down to the grassroots, we are very sure that it is going to play out quite well. So, we are very comfortable with elections coming up. I am looking forward to that. Overall, that was part of my briefing to Mr. President.
Q: Yes, its true that you were one of the first persons to applaud the Supreme Court on its decision over the local government autonomy. There are however allegations that you are imposing candidates in the forthcoming LG elections in Benue. How do you react to this?
It is quite a surprise to hear that certain bigwigs have sprung up with some rumour. But this should be a given that there are certain people that even if you walk on the water, they will say that you are raising dust. So, I learned quite fast just to contend with them, to accommodate them, and to give them their leverage.
Benue State doesn’t have any problems. What we did, the process of the selection we did was transparent. We did a direct process. Those who needed the hard-working members of APC to come back supported them. Our process is all over the media, and the internet. But, definitely, you will hear one or two persons grumbling that it could have been my person. What we did was that we gave everybody their fair share of saying something and inputting it in the entire process.
Believe me, I wouldn’t try to toy with the reputation I have built around my name and my personality. But for the records, it was quite transparent, it was very fruitful and the People are quite excited about it too. I am looking forward to October 5th. So, if you happen to have a friend whom the polls could not favour, please, tell him to just look up to the skies and say well, there is always a next time.
Q: Are you promising the Benue people a free, fair, and credible election come October 5th?
There is no question about that at all. I have walked the trenches, I lived in there. So, my name is synonymous with the very least people in our society in the State. This is why I am always on the side of the masses, always, anytime. If I am sleeping, wake me up, and anything that deals with those who don’t have a voice, those who don’t have very long legs, and with my short legs, I am with them and will keep doing the one-two-three walks. So, I am with the masses, I am for the masses, and at any time at all, I will fight for the masses.
Our elections coming will be 100 percent transparent. Fair play, is a tag we bear. Remember that my background says it all and I wouldn’t want to stain my reputation, to stain my name at all. Whichever political party that is contesting in this forthcoming local government elections in the State, they are very welcome. When you come to Benue, you will be surprised at what the different people from other parties are talking about not even the All Progressives Congress (APC) but what their Governor is doing on every street. So, we are not talking about partisan politics in Benue, we are talking about achievements, we are talking about progress and development.
You will hear one or two people say unfriendly things but that should be accepted. You know that you can not just keep everyone smiling. And on this job, if you want to see smiles on everyone’s face, then, you have to start selling ice cream.
Q: But it appears that your government is not taking proactive steps to address the persistent crisis between communities in Oju and Konshisba. Why was the road linking these communities closed?
It is a very good question but you twisted the straight narrative. The road is not closed. There were skirmishes, there were blockages at some point within the few days that the skirmishes persisted and very promptly, our team, the joint task force was mandated to get down there. The Police were mandated to go there, and the military went down there. I pass on the road too. You have no clue how many times I have been to Oju, I have been to Obi. If you belong to that part, ai think someone is feeding you with unpolished news. Again, it is a road I have even awarded for construction for many years that it been in bad shape.
I am linking up the community, and the local government. It is one area we have not failed at all. The beauty of your question is that the skirmishes between the two communities are quite persistent so, what is the way out? The way out is that we have put everything on the table. The man in charge is the Deputy Governor, Barrister Sam Ode. He is the man in charge of the duty of the boundary commission. They have been there several times.
In as much as this persists, another option we are thinking of is to see if we can have a base at that portion between the two communities. It is a very vast portion of land. That is going to be one of the options. The other option is to return it. I am going to claim it just for farming for the State so that no one from the communities will dare come closer to the place. It is their farmlands, but why are they fighting over it? It shouldn’t be a kind of a tussle of a thing. Benue State needs food, so, it’s one strong option that we are considering.
In fact, we even had a meeting last night – the Deputy Governor and I, and a few members of the boundary commission on these options. We have already spoken with some authorities if some military base can be shifted in there. We are working on all ends. For the records again, they have relative peace between Oju and Konshisha local government. It is with very sound authority that I am saying this. Did they have skirmishes? The answer is yes.
So, I am very hopeful that we are going to tame that, we are going to put it under control. We have actually begun a conversation with the two communities about these options we have. If the questions were not asked, we didn’t want to make it public until we were done with the little details. That is where we are.
Q: Did you say that Benue is thinking of what to do when the flood eventually happens even with a NIMET alert?
I didn’t say that we are thinking about what to do when the floods come. We are not thinking. We are prepared and we have created awareness to all our people. Maybe, why you mentioned that is the fact that I had said the river requires dredging, So, before the dredging would come, there are a number of things that we have put on the table exploring to see which of them is the best option before the Federal Government comes in to support us, to do the dredging. For the record, we are not just waiting. We have SEMA, our emergency management team which can take charge of all these. They are already quite armed. We pray that the floods don’t come in but if it does, we would definitely go to the task.
Remember that we have people who are insistently persistent in living along the waterways. When you find such people, what do you do? You appeal to them and if it doesn’t work, when it happens to them, you come with the necessary assistance and intervention.
Q: There are concerns that you are not carrying everyone along especially the bigwigs in the State?
Everybody is being carried along but I can’t blame the one or two bigwigs. Democracy is all about everybody but remember that those who matter most are those who elect us. We do not elect ourselves. The poor masses there are the headquarters of democracy. They are the ones that when we were campaigning, we promised them good roads and good water. We promised them heaven and earth, so, when you come on this podium, on this seat and you do otherwise.. I mean, there is something called conscience and there is God out there.
We must be on this desk, on this seat with our consciences. When you say it, mean it. When I say it, I mean it. And this is why I take the masses very seriously. If I have fought in the last 34 years for people to go to Heaven, I have been working for people to have good education, for people to have portable water and good roads, why should I settle for less because I am a Governor? No. And this is why I feel that being a servant leader makes the magic work. I have been out there, I know where it hurts the more. And this is why I trust and believe in the trenches. Without their votes, you can never be a Governor. So, I am just inviting the bigwigs to take it easy, one – on themselves, and secondly, take it easy with the poor masses.
The poor masses are us, and if we are representing them, I mean, we should just do something that speaks about for the common good.
Again, this is why I never stop saying thank you to Mr. President like when I saw him this afternoon. Several people had asked why there was no protest in Benue? I say what kind of a protest? They say, bad governance protests and hunger protests. I said one, Benue State is the foodbasket of the nation and is there hunger hovering in the air? I perhaps hear that there is hunger in a number of quarters. But we do not have any genuine reason to talk about food insecurity in Benue State. We produce food.
We are kind of slowed down by the insecurities that infested a number of local governments but we have picked up. And there is no stopping us at this point. When people talk about bad governance, I earlier mentioned that when you come to Benue, you hardly distinguished between a PDP man, APC, Labour man or you name it. What all the people of Benue are looking for, is good governance. Give us good roads, ensure that we have our jobs, and ensure that you pick our young people off the streets. Rhiabia why we introduced a number of things.
As I am speaking, over 10, 000 youth are doing some ICT teaching programmes that are State sponsored. We have sent some young people who have been to China and gotten back in four different batches just to see how the local communities work then, they will come and share this. And they are in different areas working. The Federal Government just commissioned the fashion hub in Benue a few weeks ago. All these just to ensure that our young people are not idling at different corners. We are improving our health care. Our tertiary health system is one of the best in the entire Middle Belt. We are. So, this is where we are headed. As I am speaking here, next week, we are hiring 9,700 trained educated teachers. Why are we doing that? We are setting up a future for the young people down the road.
So, when people say that well, instead of doing the projects, give us to eat. Iha a good message for them. Benue has food, we will ensure that there is more food. What I will contend and the masses of Benue will not even like, themselves, are getting into what comes to stay as a handout. There are agile men and women, who want to get back to the farms. We just opened up a club for them – the Young Farmers’ Club. And in this season, the State government has specific funds just for the young people to come and get free of charge for their farms. Any brand of farm they want to do. We bought Tractors between March and June this year and we commissioned them. We have given them out with fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides free of charge and improved seeds.
Why am I doing that? Because, I want young people to understand even those who have graduated in different areas, to know that we walk where the money is – on the land. And we must realise that our soil is our oil. That is where we are headed. So, should someone say I am hungry, we will take care of your immediate hunger.
I am not even looking at the mid-term. I am looking at your long term so that I teach you how to fish and you get down there yourself. Let me also take this opportunity and tell those who might be thinking very differently from what I am thinking. It’s not only in Nigeria that people have certain anxieties. It is the world over. We just got back from the United Kingdom and I was privileged to visit a few Borows (local governments). So, I was exchanging views with some people, and certain anxieties were raised.
And I said well, people need to understand that the African continent is the most blessed. We are the most blessed continent. Maybe, we take it for granted. Until you tour the world, until you read the histories of other nations, then you will say, wait a second. We have it all. We have very bright minds. I met a number of Nigerian medical personnel and they happened to be from Benue and we were just charting. I said my brother, I hear your fame, you are a Surgeon and all that. He said yes, we came here just to have a sight of you. Thank you for the work that you are doing back home. I said so, are you willing to come back home and invest even if it is farming or you get your friends to do that? He said why not?
The insecurities you are afraid of, most people are now sleeping with their two eyes closed. And there opportunities are now there. Once you create a transparent governance, I think people understand what democracy means. This is what the Federal Government is also doing. The roads we are doing, the schools we are fixing, the clinics, and the health systems we are doing in Benue, it’s because of the support we have from the Federal Government. It is not from my pocket. But anything that comes in, we ensure that it trickles down to where it is supposed to be. And one must be very appreciative of the Federal Government’s efforts and the State Government’s efforts.
I only invite people to be patient. It is easier to destroy, it takes a lot of energy out of you to fix. Now, Insit here and speak very freely. In the last one year, I hardly slept because I wanted to ensure that the people of Benue knew where democracy was headed by good governance, accountability, and transparency. And it is the same thing everywhere with good governance.
It is important that we change the way we think, and accept that what matters most is to ensure that we complement the efforts that even the State and the Federal Government are doing. So, while I thank the Federal Government for the supply of fertilizers they gave to us, and anytime we call that we have certain anxiety, situational crisis, or insecurities, they are always there with us. And this is why the Benue people in very large proportion have gone back to their farming.
Q: How do you intend to sustain this?
But what I intend is not just going to do the farms and coming back to the townships, we already told them that we are getting them back to their ancestral homes and farmlands. We are already on the path of doing this. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the very first step. The very first step is that they are now able to go very freely to do their farmlands undisturbed. And we intend to keep on this path. If only we are a bit patient, things are going to fall into place. And with the little effort we put in place, if we complementthe efforts the Federal Government is doing and we the sub-nationals are also putting in place, the puzzle is going to be complete, and then, everyone is going to be happy.
