Meet Benue clergymen who became traditional rulers, politician

The quest to sanitise perceived ills in governance and traditional institutions in Benue State has witnessed the emergence of clergymen into some positions of authority, widely believed in the past to be exclusively for politicians and traditionalists, Daily Trust Saturday reports.  Positions such as traditional stools or political offices were usually left for people other […]

The quest to sanitise perceived ills in governance and traditional institutions in Benue State has witnessed the emergence of clergymen into some positions of authority, widely believed in the past to be exclusively for politicians and traditionalists, Daily Trust Saturday reports. 

Positions such as traditional stools or political offices were usually left for people other than religious clerics to man.

But in Benue State, clergies are leaving the pulpit to mount royal thrones, as well as taking up elective political offices.

For instance, paramount traditional rulers of the two major tribes in the state —Tiv and Idoma—are clergymen, just as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate is a reverend father.

Although they could not speak to our correspondent in Makurdi on how they combine their religious duties with their present positions without conflict, as their media aides said they needed some more time, there are mixed feelings among members of the public about the growing involvement of clergies in politics and tradition.

Pius Adah, a resident of the state, thinks the clergies ought to focus on the pulpit rather than stake their reputations on the altar of politics or traditional practices, which in his estimation are often in conflict with each other.

But Pastor Favour Elijah of a new generation church, who quoted from John 1:1 and Romans 13:1, said all powers came from God.

“The bible is the word of God, which is the same as God. Leadership was first demonstrated and instituted by God, so clergies are only taking their places as it should be to correct anomalies,” he said.

Tor Tiv V, Professor James Ayatse

The paramount ruler of Tiv people, worldwide, the Tor Tiv, Professor James Ayatse, until his ascension to the throne in 2017, was both an academician and a pastor of the Deeper Life Bible Church.

The vice chancellor of the Federal University, Dutsinma in Kastina State and the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi in Benue State at different times competed for the Tor Tiv throne when it became vacant in 2016. When he won, he took an oath with the Bible instead of the usual practice of Swem—the traditional god of the Tiv nation.

Ayatse, who is now the national chairman of Christian Traditional Rulers in the country, is also the chairman of the Benue State Traditional Council, as well as the head of the Tiv Area Traditional Council (TATC).

As Tor Tiv, it is said that he has practised his faith and carried out his duties as a monarch without conflict.

Since he ascended the throne on March 4, 2017, the professor of biochemistry has consistently called Christians together, irrespective of denominations, to pray for the state and his domain in particular, as part of efforts to ensure peace. 

Daily Trust Saturday learnt that the fasting and prayers rotate among Jembga, Jechira. Minda, Sankera and Kwande, the five clans that make up the two major progenitors of Tiv land – the Ipusu and Ichongo—their two sons.

One of such prayer sessions was held on January 13, 2018 at the IBB Square in Makurdi during his early months on the throne, where the royal father knelt before God and led the people to offer prayers to God for divine intervention to end killings in the land.

The chief press secretary to the monarch, Godwin Ber, told our correspondent that the prayers had been intensified in the face of the current security challenges in Tiv land the state in general. 

Ayatse has also been vocal in drawing the attention of the federal government to the plight of citizens in Benue.

It is also said that the royal father discusses with all the segments of the people in his domain, especially the youth, to ensure that there are no reprisal attacks, as well as douse tension.

“It is common sense that if they stay together they would be better prepared to defend themselves. But in my domain, farmers want to settle as close to their farmlands as possible. That has been the practice, but with what is happening now, we will advise them to change their settlement pattern so that we live in clusters. This will create a double advantage of better security and make the land available for mechanisation,” he said while answering questions from journalists some time ago.

Daily Trust Saturday also learnt that the monarch usually takes the issue of herders/farmers crisis in Benue to the General Assembly of the Council of Northern Traditional Rulers.

The king had maintained severally that the traditional institution under his watch would stand for truth and justice, saying his desire is to reconcile and reunite Tiv sons to speak with one voice. He has also called on the political elite to play politics of development rather than that of rancour and acrimony.

Och’idoma V, Dr John Elaigwu Odogbo

The recent coronation of Pastor John Elaigwu Odogbo as the paramount traditional ruler of the Idoma people, Och’idoma V, brings to the fore, the gradual conversion of traditional institutions to Christianity in Benue State. 

Odogbo, also a pastor of the Deeper Life Bible Church, emerged as Och’Idoma on December 30, 2021 after a keenly contested election in Otukpo following the hunting expedition embarked on by the former occupant of the throne, Dr Elias Ikoyi Obekpa in October of that year.

The new monarch, who was born on March 27, 1969, to the family of Elaigwu Ekoja in Obagaji, the headquarters of Agatu Local Government Area of the state, was installed on June 30, 2022 in a colourful ceremony in Otukpo, the traditional headquarters of the Idoma kingdom.

During the occasion, he promised that his reign would mark the beginning of a fresh era in Idoma land, as he would, among other things, ensure fairness, equity, justice and peace. He added that the whole Idoma land had been handed over to God.

Although Odogbo, a financial expert, is barely three weeks on the throne, he has sought to unite the people of his kingdom.

The pastor, now also a royal father, made a public appearance in church last Sunday with his family, during which he gave testimonies and thanks to God for his coronation.

The Reverend Father Hyacinth Iormem Alia

Father Alia, a Catholic priest, recently left the pulpit to become the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 governorship election in Benue.

The priest rose to popularity through the healing masses he conducted once every week at the Saint Thomas Catholic Church in Anum, situated directly opposite the Benue State University (BSU), Makurdi, for several years before his eventual transfer to another parish in Vandekiya Local Government.

Alia was born on May 14, 1966 in Mbangur, Mbadede in Vandeikya Local Government Area to the family of Mr and Mrs Thomas Katsina Alia.

Until his recent entry into politics, the clergyman was the project director of the proposed Catholic University, Ankaa-Vandeikya, of the Diocese of Gboko. 

He was a well known crowd puller during his healing masses at the various parishes he oversaw before his sudden venture into politics some months ago.

Among several factors that aided the priest’s emergence as the flag-bearer of the APC in the state are his huge followership, the quest for change in the leadership of the state from known politicians to fresh breeds, and the legacies laid down by the late Reverend Father Moses Adasu, who also governed of the state. 

When he met with the leadership of the APC in the state, the priest said, “After preaching the gospel on the pulpit for 32 years, I decided to extend it to governance.”

The head of media and publicity of the Alia 2023 Gubernatorial Organisation, Kula Tersoo, said his principal would remain a priest of the Catholic Church forever, adding that he would resume his healing masses after his tenure in Benue Government House.