... Tinubu, Akume, Ortom in perspective
The Executive Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia on Tuesday, 22 April, 2025 said that the perpetrators of the recent wave of killings across the state are not Nigerians, stating that they speak unfamiliar languages and exhibit foreign characteristics.
Governor Alia disclosed this on Tuesday, 22 April, 2025 while speaking as a guest on Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television in the wake of assaults on the North-Central state that have left scores killed and many displaced.
After the interview, there were some comments and speeches against Alia for not calling the killers "Fulani herdsmen" and for claiming they are foreign terrorists. Others accused him for calling them "Armed herders" instead of calling them "Fulani herdsmen" on Arise News.
The President, who met with security chiefs at the State House in Abuja for more than two hours as reported on Wednesday, 23rd April, 2025 by Channel TV said the killing of innocent people in Borno, Benue and Plateau States must cease but never called the killers "Fulani herdsmen".
The Nation of 22nd April, 2025 reported that President Tinubu extended heartfelt condolences to the people of Benue State following the recent deadly attacks in Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas, which claimed over 72 lives.
Delivering the president’s message in Makurdi on Tuesday, 22nd April , 2025, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, said Tinubu stands firmly with the state during this difficult time but never called the attackers 'Fulani herdsmen'.
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), on Wednesday, called on President Bola Tinubu to fully assume his constitutional role as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces by taking decisive action against bandits and terrorists responsible for the ongoing bloodshed across the country.
PFN described the incessant attacks and loss of hundreds of lives as intolerable and urged the government to act with urgency and resolve. This was published in The Guardian of 23rd April, 2025. The PFN called the killers bandits and terrorists. The religious body also acknowledged the fact that President Tinubu is the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces and has the wherewithal to curb insecurity in Nigeria since the powers of governors in fighting terrorism is limited in spite of the security votes they receive.
Supporters of Tinubu have never accused him of not calling the killers "Fulani herdsmen" in all his speeches regarding the killings in Benue State but blamed Gov Alia for not addressing the killers in Benue as "Fulani herdsmen" which is ethnic profiling.
Tinubu understands that dangers of attributing such attacks to an ethnic group even when there are glaring evidences of such. Tinubu receives credible intelligence on the insecurity in Nigeria and knows those involved and what to do. The question is not whether he knows what is going on or he is capable but whether he has the political will to do the needful irrespective of whose ox is gored.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Dist. Sen. Dr. George Akume is a prominent son of the Tiv nation and Benue State, and the Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in North Central. Since the attacks began on Benue State under the administration of Alia, he has never outrightly spoken against the attacks or blamed Fulani herdsmen for being responsible.
Akume knows the implications of coming on national TV and calling the attackers "Fulani herdsmen" which is considered as ethnic profiling even when evidence show that they are actually the ones doing so. The day he does that, he will lose his position as the SGF. Whether people are ignorant of the truth or choose not to accept the truth they know, Fulani oligarchy controls Nigeria and politicians dealing with issues associated with them are always extremely careful.
In Daily Post of 29th October, 2019 with the headline: "Benue: Buhari's Minister Akume accused of 'Fulani agenda'", the Jemgbagh Youth Alliance, JYA accused Akume for not being outspoken on issues concerning Fulani herdsmen.
They said, “After insulting Tiv people and accusing them of killing themselves, Akume went to President Buhari and sought to be made minister. He should hide his face in shame. This same man assembled social media boys at his kilometre 4 house on Gboko road last year and instigated them to blame Tiv people for killing themselves and not Fulanis"
Akume was actually not wrong when he said Tiv people were killing themselves because at that time when he said so on 6th February, 2019 during the presidential campaign of former President Muhammadu Buhari in Benue State at Aper Aku Stadium, Makurdi, there were Tiv militia groups that were already fighting each other and killings innocent lives to exhibit supremacy while there were also some Tiv collaborators with armed herders who were attacking Benue State during the administration of Samuel Ortom and there were irrefutable evidences of such people and attacks.
This ethic profiling of the Tiv people as killing themselves cost Akume his senatorial election. Ortom, his cohorts and his media boys embarked on a campaign of calumny and read Akume's speech out of context. Most traditional rulers from Jemgbagh comprising of Gboko, Tarka and Buruku who were actually not supposed to be partisan united including others to ensure that Akume didn't win his senatorial election.
Even the ministerial appointment Akume was given, he faced stift resistance from Ortom and other prominent Tiv sons who did whatever they could even beyond their abilities for that appointment not to be given to Akume so that they'll finally 'bury him politically' like they said. Unfortunately, Tinubu stood by Akume for the appointment and throughout the administration of Buhari.
Since Akume was governor of Benue State from 1999 to 2007. He never went on national Tv or print media to say Fulani herdsmen were responsible for some of the attacks experienced during his administration before they started becoming worse from the administration of Gabriel Torwua Suswam from 2007 till date.
Even from when he became a senate to when he became a minister in the second term of former President Muhammadu Buhari, he never went on national Tv or print media to call the killers 'Fulani'.
Those supporters of Akume who are criticizing Alia for not ethnic-profiling the killers as Fulani herdsmen have never criticized Akume who throughout his political career has never mentioned the attackers of Benue State as Fulani herdsmen. He only called them Armed herders, bandits, attackers or killers. These supporters have exhibited chronic hypocrisy to the most unimaginable level and playing politics with the lives of innocent people of Benue State.
The misconceptions about the speech of Gov. Alia on national Tv by those who are not embroidered in hypocrisy is well understood. Alia not profiling Fulani herdsmen and calling the killers foreign terrorists on national Tv is a powerful call for drastic action against terrorism from the federal government and the international community. His speech means that anyone killing people in Benue State should be faced as a foreign terrorist which there should be no sympathy or dealing with them with kid gloves since he didn't associate such attacks with any ethnic group in Nigeria.
Besides, mentioning Fulani herdsmen on national Tv as being responsible for the attacks in Benue State would even make a bad situation worse because those who would have helped in fighting the bad ones amongst them will do nothing or even join them to inflict more pains on Benue State.
Gov. Alia made it clear in his interview on TVC News on Thursday, 24th April, 2025 that his role was not to profile ethnicities but to put in place policies and ideologies that will guarantee peace and stability in the state. "It is not good to profile ethnicities", he submitted.
One thing our people need to understand is that reliance on ethnic profiling will not improve the security of the state. If profiling a particular ethnicity would solve the problem, former Governor Samuel Ortom could have ended it long ago.
The killings in Benue State have taken a different dimension and Tinubu, Akume, Ortom and all prominent Benue sons and daughters must unite and support Alia against this common enemy or we might all end up being consumed.
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