Contending with the wave of change in Benue

They are urging the electorate to take a holistic look at the stewardship of the incumbents and not just this season when money and all sorts of promises are flying around. They add a caveat, however: If they give you money; collect it: it is yours. But vote right. Your vote is your power. This […]

They are urging the electorate to take a holistic look at the stewardship of the incumbents and not just this season when money and all sorts of promises are flying around. They add a caveat, however: If they give you money; collect it: it is yours. But vote right. Your vote is your power.

This is the position of things in Benue State like elsewhere that people are tired of mediocrity in politics.

So as in most states of the federation, it was with a sense of disappointment that we accepted the false start of the April polls, given that it halted, albeit temporarily, our planned displacement of mediocre people from power, beginning with their ineffective representatives at the National Bazaar in Abuja otherwise called the National Assembly.

But knowing now that the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, did what he did to save us from another PDP-engineered electoral sham, we understand, and look forward to this Saturday to begin the sweep of undesirable elements out of office. And in Benue State, we are using the broom to make it a clean sweep.

And mediocre politicians in the state are resorting to all desperate measures to elongate their tenancy in Government House, Makurdi even in the face of overwhelming popular rejection. The state leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is not happy with the ACN for choosing a Muslim as Ugbah’s running mate on account of Benue being a predominantly Christian state. However, many people, whether Tiv or Idoma, are querying the “unwholesome introduction of religion into a purely political contest.”

In fact, Tsavmbu Akwangya recently cried out that, “So, as for we parishioners, we do not know where this sectarian blackmail is coming from. We say poverty or under-development has no religion. If a ticket has the ingredients of good governance, we will go for it. After all, the in thing now is one man, one vote. And in every church, the congregation outnumbers the bishops.”

Although Gov. Suswam is said to have used the structures of Akume to come to power, they fell apart upon his inauguration. At his inauguration, in a veiled indictment of Akume, Suswam had told his inaugural audience:  “My government will not be a government of sharing money.”

And over time, the chasm has widened. And because he has alienated himself from the masses, even though Suswam initially made some positive noises upon assumption of office, he today stands isolated, no thanks to his arrogance, aloofness and belief in the invincibility of his incumbency.

In Benue State today, the odds are against mediocre politicians, whether it is in Zone A or Zone B or Zone C, and they know this. This is why there is this desperation in their camp. In Zone A, where both Prof. Ugbah and Mr. Suswam hail from, Ugbah enjoys the advantage of a son-of-the soil with Suswam, and has the vote-catchers. Zone B is even accepted by Suswam loyalists, as an ACN votes-field because that is where Ayu, Akume and Waku all come from. The word for it is block votes. The MINDA/Jemgbagh solidarity group which Akume engendered as governor has made the zone a virtual no-go area for the PDP.

And in Zone C, otherwise known as Idomaland, despite reports to the contrary, there is apprehension in the air as despite Mark’s media bravado, he is uneasy about facing the combined Onoja/Young Alhaji machine. Nigerians recall how in the 2007 general elections, the votes were rigged to favour the losers.

But politics is no precision game, so despite Ugbah’s huge advantage, the ACN must be vigilant to the end; for it may be a political party but it is up against a political machine that has no respect for the democratic precept of one man, one vote.

Already, some politicians are preparing the ground for rigging by saying Ugbah and the ACN are campaigning only in Makurdi and Gboko. Meaning they may concede these urban areas and spring surprises with manufactured votes from the other 20 or so council areas. So if you ask, this is not the time to sleep; it is the time for us to vote, watch and pray.

Detsav-Akwaya, a commentator on national issues writes in from 17, Anjou Mbakur Street, Makurdi