By Ben Atonko
Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia’s bid for a second term appears to be intensifying, apparently leading to a shift in his priorities.
The bid to retain power beyond 2027 has reached a fever pitch, seemingly eclipsing Alia’s respect for the church as in the church, he has found a comfortable ground for his campaign.
The desperation is palpable and the cost for it keeps rising.
After dignitaries who attended the funeral of the mother of the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Lydia Yilwatda on Saturday Oct. 4 left, Alia with the Tor Tiv His Royal Majesty James Ayatse in tow, sneaked into COCIN Church in Kanke, Kanke Local Government Area, Plateau State to do his own thing.
It was a thanksgiving service in honour of the deceased but for Alia, it was a political jamboree ahead of 2027.
Characteristic of him, he was there not to pray for the repose of the soul of Mama Yilwatda. It was to politik.
Alia grabbed the microphone during the service and announced to the congregation that he would lay for the community, a church in memory of the late Yilwatda.
The crowd exploded in applause.
However, those bothered with the matter have been asking questions.
Formost, what did Alia do when herdsmen attacked a Catholic Parish in his home state?
In Aug., armed Fulani herdsmen launched a violent attack on St. Paul’s Parish, Aye-Twar (Agu Centre) in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area.
The armed group completely shut down the parish, destroying the church, burning the rectory to ashes, vandalizing the parish secretariat, and demolishing pastoral vehicles, household items, and other valuables.
Even though the Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests’ Association (NCDPA) of Katsina-Ala Diocese lamented this, describing it as a “genocidal attack” on both the church and the community, the governor was not moved to visit the place and console the people.
In June, a similar terror was visited on the border town of Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. It took Alia a whole week to visit that place. This was after the Pope’s lamentation in Rome. The governor has not considered raising a stone for Yelewata even after donations were made.
The wife of the president, Mrs. Remi Tinubu alone donated N1 billion specifically for resettlement purposes, to help displaced families get back on their feet, and to address essential needs such as food, shelter, healthcare and vocational training. Nothing has been done!
Apart from the aforementioned, several settlements have been raided and their churches razed in many local government areas like Agatu, Oturkpo, Gwer, Guma, Logo, Ukum and Kwande. Alia has not considered laying a foundation for these places.
What is Alia’s attraction to build a church for a denomination that is not his? The APC chairman is of COCIN. Alia belongs to the Roman Catholic faith. What is the connection other than politics?
One may ask, what is the source of the money for the church project in Kanke?
How many deceased persons has Alia built churches in their memory in his own Benue State?
On the flip side, what is behind this newfound love between the Tor Tiv and the governor?
The other day, the Tor Tiv was hurriedly summoned from Gboko to Makurdi to intervene in a purely political matter. It was a mere skirmish between the legislature and the executive arms of government, yet the Tor Tiv who is only the custonian of the Tiv culture was drawn in.
Again, the Tor Tiv and the governor were together in church in Tor Tiv’s local area of Kwande where the monarch showered praises on the governor, promising that those who will stand election against the governor in 2027 will be disappointed.
And the Tor Tiv was with the governor in church in Kanke. It used to be the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Barnabas Gemade. The pendulum has now swung to former Governor Gabriel Suswam. It is so ridiculous that somebody once derided Suswam, describing him as a former governor-turned-PA-to-governor.
The funny part of it is Alia had ruled out the need for godfathers or stakeholders, confident his administration would thrive without them. He had always called them ubokoti, saying they only wanted to leech on to him and drain the life out of the state.
That he can do his administration all by himself. Yet he keeps switching from stakeholder to stakeholder.
This clearly shows that the priest-governor is a hypocrite. Like the biblical Pharisees he used to talk about on the altar, he is two-faced. In deed, he is phony.
Alia’s decision to erect a church building in the APC National Chairman’s home, apparently, is implicitly to woo the National Chairman to his side so he will enjoy a smooth ride during the party’s primary election next year.
From the erstwhile APC National Chairman, Umar Ganduje to the current one. Those familiar with the matter can understand.
Indeed, Alia has wit. Yet he fails to see that President Bola Tinubu was behind the process that threw up Yilwatda as the National Chairman of the ruling party.
The ultimate decision on who flags the party flag in the coming general elections rests with the president. The APC National Chairman will only play the role of an errand boy.
Is it therefore, not better to hobnob with the president than the party chairman?
Unfortunately for Alia, his forsaken god-father, the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. George Akume is very close to the president.
Akume is in the presidency. He sits with the president almost daily so what use is it for Alia to think his being close to the party chairman would be?
Tinubu has finished his homework. Both his party and electoral umpire chairmen are his men. Needless for me to say what that means. Gone are the days governors used to play god.
In his Power Paradox, psychologist Dacher Keltner says power can corrupt individuals, leading them to prioritize their own interests over others’.
Alia is in a relentless pursuit of power, nothing else matters to him. He is ready to pay any price but time will tell it all.
Atonko is a political analyst.
