Nigerian Concord Newspaper
The attempt by some to compare Chief Samuel Ortom and Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia is both lazy and misleading. You cannot compare two men who came from different backgrounds, carried different mandates, and governed under different expectations.
*1. Different Backgrounds, Different Promises*
*Ortom: The Politician*
Samuel Ortom came as a grassroots politician, farmer, and businessman. He never claimed to be a saint. Benue people knew his strengths and his flaws. When insecurity, salary crises, and herdsmen attacks hit, he spoke out. He cried to Abuja. He named the problem. He built ranches, enacted an anti-open grazing law, and became a thorn in the side of the federal government. He failed in many areas, yes. But he never pretended to be the Messiah.
*Alia: The Priest*
In 2023, Benue people were tired. Tired of politics, tired of excuses, tired of blood. So they looked beyond politicians and reached for the altar. They picked a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, hoping he would bring _“the light of Christ to illuminate every darkness.”_
The logic was simple: _“If politicians have failed us, let’s try a man of God. A priest doesn’t lie. A priest fears God. A priest will unite us. A priest will end the killings.”_
That was the mandate. Not just to govern, but to heal. Not just to build, but to restore.
*2. So Why Is Benue Darker Under the “Man of God”?*
Three years later, the question on every lip in Makurdi, Gboko, Otukpo, and every IDP camp is: _“Where is the light?”_
1. *Insecurity Has Worsened*: Under Ortom, Benue people at least knew who the enemy was and heard their governor speak. Today, Guma, Logo, Kwande, Ukum, Agatu, and Apa are still bleeding. Farmers can’t go to farms. But the priest-governor offers press statements, not strategy. The promise was light. What we got is silence in the face of darkness.
2. *Division Has Deepened*: A priest should be a father to all. But Benue under Alia has seen more internal wars than under any civilian governor. War with the party that brought him. War with the Assembly. War with the judiciary. War with traditional rulers. War with Abuja. Zone A vs Zone B. Tiv vs Idoma. “Alia people” vs “anti-Alia people.” Instead of light, we have a torch burning the house from within.
3. *Governance by Propaganda*: Ortom was accused of owing salaries. Alia came promising prompt payment, but LGA workers, pensioners, and teachers still cry. Contracts don’t pass through BPP. Due process is mocked. Critics say it’s now “I alone” governance. The cassock was supposed to bring humility. We got ego.
4. *Dangerous Experiments*: The anti-open grazing law that Ortom signed was a line in the sand. Today, Benue people are hearing whispers of Boko Haram rehabilitation centres in a state that cannot yet rehabilitate its own displaced citizens. Light does not invite darkness to dinner.
*3. Benue Did Not Vote for “Politics as Usual” in a Cassock*
Let’s be clear: Ortom failed in many ways. That is why Benue people rejected the PDP in 2023. They did not reject Ortom to get a worse version of him wearing a white collar.
Benue people voted for a priest to end politics. Instead, we got a priest playing politics – fighting everyone, building no bridges, and leaving the people more vulnerable.
You cannot blame Ortom for Alia’s failures. They are not from the same background. One was judged as a politician. The other must be judged as a priest who promised divine light.
*4. The Verdict: Benue Needs Rescue, Not Excuses*
If the altar could not save us, then we must return to competence. To law. To order. To people who understand security, governance, and unity. Benue chose a priest to bring light. Three years later, the darkness is thicker. That is not an attack on the Church. It is an indictment of a man who hid behind the cassock to gain power, then abandoned the values of the cassock to keep it.
That’s why we need to vote in MICHAEL KAASE AONDOAKAA SAN,THE IVAANYANGE I TIV to be the Next Governor of BENUE STATE