On 3rd February 1976, General Murtala Mohammed created Benue State and appointed Colonel Abdullahi Shelleng as its first administrator. Shelleng laid the foundations of the new state, building housing estates in Makurdi, establishing institutions such as Radio Benue and the Water Board, and setting up the first colleges of education at Katsina Ala and Ankpa. He was succeeded by Group Captain Adebayo Lawal, who supervised the transition to civilian rule in 1979.
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The first elected governor, Aper Aku, came in on the strength of his anti-corruption credentials and a courageous reputation built since his days in Kwande. Though opposed fiercely within his party, the National Party of Nigeria, he prevailed and governed Benue until the military coup of December 1983. Later came Brigadier John Atom Kpera, Rev. Father Moses Orshio Adasu (1992–93), George Akume (1999–2007), Gabriel Suswam (2007–2015), and Samuel Ortom (2015–2023). Each of them played their role, contributed their quota, and left. None claimed to be the oxygen of Benue State.
Today, Governor Hyacinth Alia is in the same office. Born in 1966, he was only ten when Benue was created, and by 1983 he was entering the seminary in Makurdi. A Catholic priest ordained in 1990, he later studied in the United States before returning to serve in Nigeria. In 2023, the people of Benue elected him as their governor.
If Joseph Tarka, the father of Benue politics, had ever claimed that without him there would be no Benue, what would have become of us today? Because he himself died 45 years ago .
But since winning, his government has been shadowed by thuggery and intolerance. Like the pigs in Animal Farm ny George Orwell who turned to empty slogans to suppress dissent, Alia’s loyalists have resorted to violence. In a viral video just today, thugs loyal to him attacked Ter Gboko, a respected second-class traditional ruler, during Mass in Gboko. This shocking desecration of a sacred place of worship shows how far things have descended.
The truth is simple, governors come, and governors go. Shelleng came and left, Aku came and left, Adasu came and left, Akume, Suswam, Ortom, each did their part and exited. None of them was the breath of Benue State, and neither is Governor Alia.
Those shouting today that “No Alia, no Benue” should take a lesson from history. If Joseph Tarka, the father of Benue politics, had ever claimed that without him there would be no Benue, what would have become of us today? Because he himself died 45 years ago .
Governor Alia should learn from his predecessors by using the time that he is given to serve, not to promote thuggery or intimidation. He should do what he can for Benue, and then leave the stage. The state is bigger than any one man.
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