Benue 2023: Why Idoma people want to produce governor

The Idoma people of Benue State have intensified their agitation to produce the next governor of the state in 2023.  ‘Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, reports on the prospects of this agitation.

 

The push by the Idoma people of Benue State towards the realisation of their dream of having one of them govern the state intensified during the week with more groups and individuals giving reasons why the zone deserves to produce the next governor of the state in 2023.

The Benue Solidarity Movement (BSM) also lent its voice to the clamour for an Idoma governor. The group however advised leaders of the zone to reach out to their colleagues in other zones of the state to make the quest a smooth sail.

Another group that raised the clamour for the Benue South Senatorial District to be given the chance to produce Governor Samuel Ortom’s successor is the Idoma Hope Rising Association (IHRA). The group, after its meeting in Abuja last Tuesday, enjoined leaders of the two frontline political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to zone the governorship tickets of their parties to the Idoma zone in 2023. The group recalled that since the creation of the state in 1976, no Idoma person had been governor.

In a communiqué read by Mike Okidu, IHRA said there is an urgent need to listen to the agitation of the people of southern Benue. “It is now very important for us to sit back and consider the cries of the minority people of Benue State. Since the creation of our dear state, the Tivs have been producing the governors of the state. Understandably, they are the largest tribe here with an overwhelming majority, but there is a need for us to ensure equity in the interest of peaceful coexistence. We are one people and we can give and take easily,” the group said.

In its own statement, BSM said, “Our quest for the emergence of a Benue governor of Idoma extraction in 2023 is founded on our search for equity and fairness in the administration of our dear state. With that will also come equal growth and development of all sections of the state. It is important to say that membership of our group is not made up of only Idoma people. Ours is a platform for all Benue people. We have Igede, Idoma, Tiv and others as our members. However, we are convinced that for lasting peace in Benue State, we must allow an Idoma man to govern us in 2023.”

Few weeks back, the Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District, Comrade Abba Moro, added his voice to the agitation when he enjoined the people of the state to support a candidate from Benue Zone C to become the governor of the state in 2023. He also appealed to political leaders in the state to summon courage and support someone from Benue South to become the governor so as to build an all-inclusive Benue State. “We need to break that jinx in 2023. Since 1976, Benue is yet to produce a governor from the south,” he said.

“Today, I stand on behalf of the good people of Benue South Senatorial District to say that as we set the stage and march towards 2023, the good people of Benue South asked me if I come here to say that they crave the indulgence of the Benue people to support somebody from the Benue South Senatorial District to become Benue Governor in 2023. In 2007 when some of us contested for the governorship seat, we were under the impression that Benue had three zones and that since zones A and B had produced governors of the state, it was the time for Zone C to produce one.

“And so, Your Excellences, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it’s my pleasure to say here that by all calculations, our amiable governor is the fifth governor of Benue State of the Tiv speaking area of the royal families. I, therefore, plead with our brothers from Zones A and B to support someone from Benue South to become governor, even if it’s for just one term. I urge our political leaders to pick up courage to support one of us to become governor, to build inclusiveness in the Benue State and the Benue of our dreams,” Moro appealed.

Similarly, the Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Disability, Dr. Samuel Ankeli, has added his voice to the quest by the Idoma people to lead Benue State in 2023. According to him, a Benue State Governor of Idoma extraction is achievable in 2023. He however advised the Idoma nation to come together in order to achieve a formidable outing in the 2023 General Elections, and remain mindful of the eleventh hour politics of greedy politicians from the Idoma ethnic nationality who are out only to cause confusion against the collective agitation of the people.

Another prominent Idoma son, Amb. Noah McDickson, whose campaign posters for Benue State governorship position recently flooded the major locations in the state, while saying he has been fighting for the Idoma nation and may consider the recent call on him to throw his hat into the governorship race, added that there is an urgent need for the people of Benue State, especially political leaders and traditional rulers, to discuss the Idoma project. “It is in the overall interest of all of us to sit down and consider the agitation of the Idoma nation,” he said.

According to Maxwell Loko, another politician currently being pressured by the Idoma people to contest the 2023 gubernatorial election in the state, there is a strong agitation from the Benue South Senatorial District to be considered by Benue people to be elected the next governor of Benue State. “As a result, those who are optimistic that somebody from that part of the state can actually become governor are scouting for suitable people to field or support when the time comes. “I strongly believe that it is possible in 2023.

“When the majority uses their advantage to deny the minority their rights, to oppress the minority, it results in what is termed the tyranny of the majority. Sooner than later, the minority will put up resistance through various forms of engagement, sometimes through unpleasant means which impede, or stagnate development. The agitation that is taking place in Benue State is in line with that historical process. Since the creation of the state in 1976, nobody from Benue South, military or civilian, has ruled as governor of the state,” he said.

Since the creation of the state in 1976, Benue North-East and Benue North-West senatorial districts, otherwise addressed as Zones A and B in the state have been producing the governors. Interestingly, the two zones are peopled by the Tivs while Benue South, peopled by the Idoma and Igede tribes, hasn’t been lucky to produce a governor.

As at today, five elected governors who have served for a total of about 28 years, all of Tiv extraction, have ruled the state.

Speaking on the development, Loko said the chances that the state will get an Idoma man as governor in 2023 are very bright. “The responses to our agitations from political leaders and elder statesmen are encouraging. Also, similar power shifts from majority to minority ethnic groups or between senatorial districts have occurred in many other states. Some of these include Kogi, Plateau, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, among others. If it can happen there in spite of seemingly insurmountable odds, it can also happen in Benue State,” he said.

And as pressures from the Idoma people persist, the immediate past governor of the state, Dr. Gabriel Suswam, recently advised the people on how to go about their agitation. According to Suswam, who currently represents Benue North West (Zone A) Senatorial District at the National Assembly, it is possible for Zone C to produce the next governor if the Idoma leaders continued to reach out to their counterparts in Tiv land. He added that it would only take the consensus of both the Tiv and the Idoma people for an Idoma governorship to materialise in 2023.

“Governorship is a consensus thing and I believe that the Idoma elders are reaching out. It’s not a decision that one person can sit down and take. I expect the Idoma elders to continue to reach out. Let them reach out to people like us, reach out to the governor, reach out to leaders like Senator Akume, Senator Gemade and a host of other Tiv interest groups. Once there is a consensus, there won’t be a problem,” he said, adding that when he was contesting for governorship in 2007, he never reached out to the Idoma people and got immense support from the zone.

The former governor advised Idoma youths and elders to go about the agitation with diplomacy and avoid unnecessary social media war. “You don’t necessarily need to be antagonistic; you go about it diplomatically, because I have seen some social media write-ups that will not augur well for the agitation. When I was contesting, the Idoma people said no; they want their own, yet, I would go and stay in Idoma land for one week. So this is not something you tackle with force; it entails diplomacy”, he added.