STOP DIVIDING AND INSTIGATING CRISIS IN TIV LANDTEXT OF PRESS RELEASE BY "TIV NATION ARISE" HELD AT BENUE HOTEL IN MAKURD

 17TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2023.

His Excellency, 

The Executive Governor of Benue State, 

Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia,

His Royal Majesty, 

Prof. James OrteseAyatse,

Tor Tiv

The President General, 

Mdzough U Tiv,

The President, 

Tiv Youth Organization.

We are addressing this PRESS RELEASE to you in response to an earlier PRESS RELEASE authored by a group under the name "Zone A Peoples Assembly" ZAPA in Makurdi on the 14th day of August, 2023.

Before the press release proper, it is important to introduce TIV NATION ARISE. The group is made of young people from all political parties in Tiv land and unlike ZAPA, it was unveiled in Gboko last year by MDZOUGH U TIV led by CP Ihagh. The aim of the organization is to promote Peace, unity and progress in Tiv land.

Ordinarily, we would not have bothered to respond to what we regard as jejune documentation and a piece of trash that was dished out with the sole aim of tarnishing the image of one of our respected leaders, a father and mentor, His Excellency, distinguished Sen. Dr. George Akume. He has contributed and is still contributing to the growth and development of not only Benue State but Nigeria at large. Today, he is the Secretary to the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, for the unsuspecting public, and of course, to set the record straight, we are constrained to respond.

In that PRESS RELEASE, the organizers came out hard without reservation to not only accuse Sen. Akume but also attacked him on issues, some of which should be private. This goes to prove that the intent of that press release was not targeted at correcting what they claim to feel bad about but to destroy the reputation of the only Tiv man that God in His infinite mercy has blessed and elevated to the position he currently holds as the engine room of the government of Nigeria. In their very vicious and anti-people outing, they accused the SGF on the following:

a. Bad leadership as exemplified by nepotism; only patronizing Jemgbagh sons and daughters for appointments. They specifically referred to the appointment of Prof. Utsev, Minister designate for Benue State, and the appointment of Dr. Kortor as Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi. They further stated that the same situation applied when Sen. George Akume was governor of the State and appointed ministers only from the Jemgbagh axis.

We would like to refer you to the words of Hitler who said that "a person without a sense of history is like a man without eyes and ears." It is instructive to state unequivocally that if the authors had a little sense of history and knowledge on how government works, they would not link the SGF to issues such as the above. First, the right to appointing a minister in the Federal Executive Council lies with the President, in the same way as it lies with the Governor of a State in appointing commissioners, and such appointments cannot be attributed to George Akume. Moreover, the appointments to which ZAPA refers have been given to sons of Tiv nation. Since when has it become bad for a Tiv son to enjoy a federal position because he is from Jemgbagh, Jerchira, Kwande, Sankera, or Minda? Out of desperation to taint the image of the SGF, the organizers forgot that in the recent past when Sen. Gabriel Suswan held sway as Governor, the Minister from the State was Chief Michael KaaseAondoakaa SAN, from Ushongo. The Chief Justice of the federation was Justice Katsina Alu of blessed memory. He was from Ushongo. The Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, was from Ushongo. The Chief Executive of NEXIM bank, Mr. Robert Orya, was from Ushongo. The Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Mzamber Waziri, was from Ushongo and they served at the same time. In all these instances, Tiv people everywhere were happy and grateful to the government of late President Umaru Musa Yar Adua. The Tiv did not mind if they were from Jemgbagh, Jerchira, Minda, Sankera, or Kwande. Also, the authors of the press release in their very myopic thinking even forgot that while Akume was governor, the late Steven Akiga was Minister of Police Affairs. If they credit the appointment of Jemgbagh sons to George Akume, why did they not credit that of late Steven Akiga, a Sankera man to him?

Further more, it is instructive to note for purpose of clarity and to erase bad blood, malice and bitterness that the pseudo ZAPA intends to create that the total number of ministers from the Tiv extraction of Benue State are 15 in total, out of which 6 inclusive of the present minister designate come from zone B as listed inter alia .

1. Sen. Engr. Gemade and Elder Isaac Shaahu from Konshisha Local Government

2. Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa SAN, from Ushongo Local Government

3. Mr. Ambrose Feese from Vandeikya Local Government

4. Prof. Amb. Iorwuese Hagher and Late Mr. Steven Akiga from Katsina-Ala Local Government

5. Tashaku Oradi from Logo Local Government

Zone B six include

1. Sen. Iorchia Ayu and Chief Mrs. Elizabeth Ivase from Gboko Local Government

2. J.S. Tarka and Sen. George Akume, Tarka Local Government

3. Chief Samuel Ortom, Guma Local Government

4. Prof. Utsev Joseph, form Buruku Local Government.

with the above analysis, where lies lopsidedness. It is glaring that for fairness, equity and balance, the Zone B are still lagging behind in terms of ministerial appointments.

b. They also accused him of planning to destabilize the government of His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia because of the failure of Hon. Chief Mrs. Beckie Orpin to emerge as Speaker of the State assembly.

May we state that it has never been heard anywhere that a man will build a house and, when it is time to sleep in it, he will turn around to destroy it. The question on the lips of everyone of us and even others is: Of what benefit would George Akume cause instability to the government that he did everything humanly possible to help put in place? Everyone knows, and the governor has confirmed on several occasions that Akume, more than any other person, contributed to making him the governor. In the last stakeholders' meeting, the Governor pledged his loyalty to the SGF whom he referred to as the LEADER OF THE PARTY, assuring that he will not disappoint him. If the governor does not say that Akume is destabilizing his government, why are they being more Catholic than the Pope? Why are they crying more than the bereaved? This action of ZAPA is aimed at nothing but causing bad blood in the polity for which the governor must call them to order.

The worst aspect of this accusation is where the authors linked the failure of Hon. Mrs. Beckie Orpin to clinch the position of Speaker of the House of Assembly as a reason for the alleged plan by the SGF to destabilize the Alia government. Worse still is where they tried to paint an image of the kind of relationship that the SGF has with Hon. Beckie. It is actually very childish for people who want the public to accept their position as valid to bring people's private lives into the public sphere. The speakership issue has long been forgotten. It is unfortunate that to get some form of public sympathy, ZAPA went to unearth what is buried, with everyone moving on. By the way, the issues that were in the front burner in the context did not in anyway relate to personal or primordial affiliations but were strictly based on zoning, experience and competence which the party in consultation with relevant stakeholders agreed upon the candidate of Chief Mrs. Beckie Orpin for speakership. This kind of bad blood must be discouraged, and the protagonists identified and sanctioned.

c. They equally alleged the plan of the SGF to remove Barr. Emmanuel Jime as the Executive Secretary of the Shippers Council of Nigeria. They added that should he be removed, Sen. George Akume be held responsible. What ZAPA is trying to sow in the land is bitterness that continually retards every effort of development.

For the records, Hon. Barr. Emmanuel Jime has held a lot of positions by election and appointment. He was Speaker of the Benue State House of assembly, a member of the house of representatives for two terms after which he contested for governor of the state. He was also appointed Chief Executive of NEPZA. Presently, he is the Executive Secretary of Shippers Council. The question is: in the other places where he has worked and stopped working, was Akume responsible? Why would they now accuse Akume of a possible sack of Jime? Is it because the office Akume occupies is responsible for the sack and appointment of positions such as the one Jime holds? Are they saying that if the president directs the SGF to sack Jime, the SGF should decline? Are they trying to tell us that Akume is responsible for all the removals from government since the Tinubu administration started? Why are they not holding Akume responsible for the sack of Mr. Bawa, Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Emefiele, the suspended Governor of CBN, as well as the sack of all federal boards, etc. 

Based on the foregoing, we advise as follows:

1. That a Tiv man who opposes the appointment of another Tiv man should be sanctioned by the Tor Tiv because the Tiv people are one. Saying otherwise is counterproductive, retrogressive, and divisive. Instead of fighting a Tiv man for appointing a Tiv man, the protagonist should use the energy to fight those who have over decades excluded Tiv sons and daughters from accessing federal appointments in the civil service, military, and paramilitary. A situation where Tiv people, who are the largest in the state, take two slots out of 50 or more should be fought by ZAPA. Failure to do so amounts to nothing but petty jealousy, wickedness, and hatred.

2. We call on the Governor of Benue State, His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, to live up to his campaign promises of promoting peace and unity of Tiv and Benue State, by calling the protagonists of ZAPA to order and pressing on them to tender an unreserved apology to the SGF. That is the only way to forestall a repeat of such actions in the land, which is capable of not only destabilizing the state but also making it insecure for the kind of development he promised Benue people. Without order in the land, there will be trouble because, as Dr. Sam Abah said, "...when you go into Tiv land, every Tiv man who does not have something wrong with his head knows that there is something wrong with Tiv nation. Tiv nation has never been as poor, wretched, marginalized, and abused as it is today."

To fix the land requires measures that prevent jokers like ZAPA who will wake up and instead of providing solutions to issues of development, are busy with flimsy issues that will add no value to anyone's life.

3. We are aware of the enormous challenges facing the State, and the governor cannot afford to allow retrogressive elements to add to the already disunited and backward state that we are in.

4. It is rewarding to state also that the office of the SGF SHOULD NOT BE REDUCED TO A TIV OFFICE. That a Tiv man occupies the office is out of trust and cannot be reduced as such. A situation where the office of the SGF has been enjoyed elsewhere without issues but is now a subject of contention in Tiv for nothing other than that another Tiv man benefits is not only laughable but also very shameful. Every Tiv man and woman of goodwill owes George Akume the responsibility of not only praying for him but also protecting the space that God graciously gave to him out of so many other states and individuals who contested for the position. It is heartbreaking that while other tribes are accusing George Akume of favoring his tribe, some egocentric members of his tribe are up against him for what?

5. Finally, it is tenable that the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is barely 3 months in office, and not even a quarter of appointments have been given. We must be patient to enjoy the good in the office of the SGF. By the actions of ZAPA, they are endangering the position their brother occupies and, of course, blocking the chances of Tiv people to benefit.

6. May we conclude with a call on every Benue person, be they Tiv, Idoma, Igede, Etulo, etc., to jettison every acrimony, every division, and unite with the hope of a better tomorrow with Akume as SGF. This is because there will be no other time as good as we have today when we have the SGF, a Governor, many senators, and house of representative members who will together attract development to Tiv land and Benue State. "May the pitiable condition of Benue State melt every stone heart for the good of our people". as Wantaregh Paul Unongo stated, " we don't need elongated bitterness...we don’t even need elongated poverty. Benue State had suffered too many years of neglect....Benue State has been impoverished and rendered paradoxically poor compared to other states in the federation.". 

To curtail this, we need peace and unity in the land more than any other time so that we can attract goodies from the federal government for our people. .

God bless us all