Opinion

Samuel Ortom: Notable milestones despite the odds

Published

2 years ago

September 11, 2022

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By Tunde Olusunle

His profile as some kind of activist chief executive, naturally compels some inquisition into the extent of his discharge of his basic, primary official endeavours. He was elected principally to provide leadership; foster sociopolitical harmony in a multilingual, multicultural polity; ensure security and contribute to the infrastructural development of his state. But then his voice is loud in the nation’s ears, regularly alluding to government’s abdication of its responsibilities to his people, if not its covert complicity with their tormentors. He is never tired of voicing out specifically, the post-2015 traumas and travails of his innocent and hapless people, particularly in the hands of rampaging and ruthless Fulani insurgents. The nomads have made existence drab, dreary, depressing and despairing for his constituents.

The new year in 2018 in Benue State, was for instance, ushered in with the macabre massacre of 72 indigenes of the state by nomadic herdsmen. A mass burial of the victims on Thursday January 11, 2018, commanded global revulsion, as it was telecast realtime on terrestrial television. Such killings, albeit on smaller scales, have recurred in the state again and again, becoming an obvious distraction on the path of good governance. Our subject remains unbreakable and vociferous, reminding us of lines from some evergreen compositions of the iconic Afrobeat musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. In response to the regime of malfeasance and injustice, foisted by successive Nigerian governments, Fela bellows: I go talk o, I go talk plenty o/I go shout o, I go shout plenty o.

Samuel Ortom was inaugurated governor of Benue State, the trademark “food basket of the nation,” May 29, 2015. He succeeded Gabriel Suswan, who is now the Senator representing Benue North East. Ortom was initially elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC). He was decisive, however, when he crossed over to the opposition party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party, (PDP), July 2018. He opined at the time, that “the APC was no longer a platform that had the interest of the people of Benue State at heart.” He expressed the conviction that “the amelioration of plight of his people would be better realised in the PDP.”

Ortom tells you he is not given to self-gratification. “I’m happy you were at the church service in my hometown, Gbajimba, in Guma local government area, a few days ago,” he begins. You probably heard when John Dyegh, the member representing Gboko/Tarka federal constituency in the House of Representatives, spoke during proceedings. He made the point that much as we are working within the limits of resources available to us and peculiar constraints, we have not been talking. I agree with him. My style has always been for our efforts to speak for themselves. Maybe I’m publicity-shy. But I’m happy that you and I are talking now, so we can run through a few things we’ve done.”

Continuing, Ortom says: “When I see on social media that Ortom has been governor for seven years and he has not built a toilet, I laugh. My predecessors did their bit, and I’m also contributing my quota. Coming to specifics, we are active in all the three senatorial zones of the state. Besides the civil service, agriculture is the mainstay of the economy of the state. Remember that is the motto, the legend of our geopolity. Primarily therefore, our focus is on rural roads which will facilitate the evacuation of farm produce from the hinterlands to the markets. The percentage completion of our various road projects are varied in instances, largely due to the resources at our disposal. In some instances, we have built the bridges and rolled out laterite, making the roads motorable. In some other instances, we have done surface dressing, while elsewhere, we have fully applied asphalt overlays on the roads.”

Ortom’s administration has also pursued urban renewal in the three main towns in the state, namely: Makurdi, Gboko and Otukpo. In Makurdi the state capital, notable roads undertaken by his government include the: Bambam-Federal Low-cost Housing Estate Road, Off Naka Road and the John Kwaghgba Road. There are also the NKST- International Market-Yina Street, Off George Akume Way, the Gabriel Suswam Road, and the Terwase Agbadu-Yakyo Junction, Apir Road, among others. The urban renewal programme in Gboko, traditional headquarters of the Tiv nation, has gifted the town a new state-of-the-art palace for the Tor Tiv, the paramount Tiv royal. Roads like Isaac Shaahu, Martin Dent and Captain Dawn’s Way have also been built in Gboko.

Veering towards healthcare development, Ortom tells you his administration has built 42 primary health centres across all 23 local government areas, (LGAs) of Benue State. The teaching hospital and all secondary health centres, notably General Hospitals, are undergoing massive upgrading. Ortom attributes the effort to a facility provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN). In the educational sector, thousands of hitherto dilapidated primary school buildings have been refurbished and are wearing new looks, while chairs and tables have been procured to end the practice of students sitting on bare classroom floors.

Ortom is equally excited about the gains of his government in agricultural development: “We have introduced new methods of farming,” he affirms. “We’ve bought tractors and supplied fertilisers. We are also introducing new products to our farmers, like watermelon which, hitherto, was not grown in Benue, despite our rich and adaptable soil. Research is also in progress on other crops compatible with our environment.” It is a measure of the high premium placed on agriculture that Ortom’s government periodically declares “work-free days” to enable civil servants tend to their farms.

His administration has also tried to encourage “value addition” to agricultural produce, to create a value chain down the line, from the farm to the dining table. “As Minister for Trade and Investment,” he notes, “we encouraged producers across the field, including in mining, to enhance the quality of what they produce. From processing, to packaging, to marketing and distribution, it’s a long value chain. We can create wealth, employment and opportunities. If the products can be exported, that guarantees us foreign exchange. We tried to get the Bank of Industry, (BOI), to put in a N2 Billion facility, to boost micro, small and medium scale enterprises here. It is doable in our state with 96% arable land, with two of Nigeria’s biggest rivers, Katsina-Ala and Benue, which can ensure all-year-round farming. Government at the centre, however, has to do a lot more for the people, in the area of infrastructure for instance. Who can run a production line with the cost of diesel today, or the condition of national road network, which is largely decrepit?”

Salaries and pensions have become intractable issues in most states of the federation. Ortom informs us he inherited a mammoth bureaucracy with its attendant high costs, from preceding governments. “Benue State has the largest wage bill of all the 19 states in the North. Placed besides all the states in the country, we come a close third behind much more richer states like Lagos and Rivers,” he informs you. “I inherited a liability in excess of N70 Billion in salaries, pensions and gratuities, when we came in in 2015, and I’ve been able to reduce that by almost 50%, to N34 Billion.” He is glad that his government has domesticated the National Pension Commission, (PENCOM) law, which will be critical to the resolution of the intractable problem of workers’ entitlements. His dispensation has saved about N5 Billion with PENCOM, and hopes to build this up to N10 Billion, so as to leverage requisite facilities in PENCOM.

To complement the conventional security agencies in the containment of Fulani herdsmen’s incursions into the state and curtail their brazen attempts to appropriate land belonging to Benue people, the Ortom government has remained proactive. A “Community Volunteer Guard,” (CVG), was recently established. This is in addition to the preexisting “anti-open grazing law” enacted by the state government in 2017, which prescribes specific roles for livestock guards, “agro rangers” in safeguarding the patrimony of the people of Benue State. Ortom is upbeat about the performance of these multilevel initiatives in protecting the state from those he describes as “enemies of the state, modern day neocolonialists.” “We’ve arrested over 20,000 herds of cattle,” he announces. “They are brought to our quarantine unit and defaulters pay specified fines. Your cattle will only be released to you if you hire trucks to move them. We’ve apprehended over 600 herdsmen who trespassed on other people’s farmlands and the law requires them to pay additional fines. More than 200 of them have been convicted. They either pay the required fines or go to jail.”

Making a detour into political discourse, Ortom admits his party is experiencing some challenges. He is reassured, however, that dialogue has been initiated at various levels. His words: “I can’t say that things are well with our party. But discussions are ongoing and that is what I’ve always encouraged. Everybody cannot be winning all the time. There are certain internal mechanisms that should be deployed in conflict resolution. I’m interested in ensuring that we discuss amicably, so that we have a win-win situation.” According to Ortom, “Nigerians must have an alternative political vehicle, different from the abysmally inept performance of the APC. They have succeeded in achieving their promise to take our country from top to bottom. They are indeed trying to take us beneath the bottom. It’s a big shame. Together, we in the PDP have to join heads to find meeting grounds on contentious issues so that we can move on.”

And just if the 2023 polls were just tomorrow, how does he think his party will fare? “I can’t see the APC winning the elections. They are being shredded at various levels. Two weeks ago, two of the five APC members of the State House of Assembly, decamped to PDP. There are 30 members of the House, so only three are left. APC doesn’t feature in day-to-day conversations in Benue State and the situation is the same in several states. There are glaring lacunae, total disconnect between APC and the people of Nigeria. Speaking from my experience in over 40 years of my experience as a politician, I can’t see APC competing with the PDP inspite of our problems.”

Asked if those he once accused of stalling a one-on-one encounter between him and President Muhammadu Buhari had pulled back, Ortom says they haven’t. This he says, has compelled him to come out in public to express his displeasure on issues. “They haven’t backed down. It’s the second year running and I can’t see the President. People can be so unduly wicked even unto themselves and their constituents. We applied for a bailout of N42 Billion from the government to clear the backlog of our commitments to our workers. At the point of the release of the fund, some people who call themselves leaders of Benue State, leverage their relationships with the federal government, not to release the funds. They didn’t want us or our party to take the credit for balancing the books. Can you imagine?”

Ortom is delighted when you admire his signature, multi-coloured cap, which has been widely popularised under his leadership. He brands it the “Benue Unity Cap.” The idea behind the concept, he says, was to make the point very early in the life of our administration, that we intended to run an all-inclusive government, which accommodates all and every ethnic group in the state. The three widely known ethnicities here are the Tiv, Idoma and Igede. There are others, but these three constitute the principal tripod. You will also see the Nigerian “green and white” colours there, which reaffirms our place under the national umbrella.”

-Tunde Olusunle, PhD, poet, journalist, scholar and author, is a Member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, (NGE).

Opinion

BENUE 2027:The Apa/Agatu Quest for Equity

Published

5 days ago

January 14, 2025

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By Tunde Olusunle

It may be well over two years to the next cycle of general elections in Nigeria. For the people of Apa/Agatu federal constituency in *Benue South, however, the measure of their participation and integration into the governance scheme will be defined in the run-up to the general polls that year. Nine local government areas make up the predominantly Idoma country of Benue State also labelled Zone C in the senatorial tripod of the geo-polity. The zone is also home to the Igede ethnic stock and the Etulo. Local government areas in “Benue Zone C” include: Apa, Agatu, Oju, Obi, Ado, Ogbadibo, Okpokwu, Otukpo and Ohimini. The other zones, Benue North East and Benue North West, are wholly dominated by the Tiv nationality, striding across 14 local government areas. They are christened Zone A and Zone B in the local political scheme of the state. Federal constituencies in Benue South are: Apa/Agatu, Oju/Obi; Ado/Ogbadibo/Opokwu and Otukpo/Ohimini.

The subjugation of groups and ethnicities considered demographically smaller, by the larger groups which has dominated Nigeria’s politics over time, has not been any different for the Idoma of Benue State. Until the circumstantial emergence of a Yahaya Bello from the Ebira ethnicity in Kogi State in 2015, the Igala had the relay baton of governorship of Kogi State, in rounds and succession. The Ebiras and the Okun-Yoruba zones in the state could only aspire to be serial deputies or Secretaries to the State Government. This political template was virtually cast in stone. The Ilorin people of Kwara State have similarly wholly warehoused the gubernatorial office, sparingly conceding the position to other sociocultural groups in the state. The only exception was the concession of the seat to a candidate from Kwara South, in the person of Abdulfatah Ahmed, by his predecessor, Bukola Saraki in 2011. Even at that, there were murmurs and dissent from those who believed Ahmed came from a community too close to the Ilorin emirate to be of genuine Igbomina stock, which prides itself as the pure Yoruba species in Kwara State.
Twenty-six years into the Fourth Republic, the maximum proximity of the Idoma to Government House, Makurdi, has been by the customary allocation of the Deputy Governor’s slot to its people. Ogirri Ajene from Oju/Obi, the charismatic blue-blood of blessed memory, was deputy to George Akume, incumbent Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), from 1999 to 2007. Akume it was reported, genuinely desired to be succeeded by Ajene who exhibited competence and loyalty and could build on their legacies. The Tiv nation we understand, shot down the proposal. Gabriel Suswam succeeded Akume and had the urbane multipreneur, Stephen Lawani from Ogbadibo as deputy. Samuel Ortom, a Minister in the Goodluck Jonathan presidency who took over from Suswam opted for Benson Abounu, an engineer from Otukpo as running mate, while Hyacinth Alia, the Catholic priest who succeeded Ortom, also chose as deputy, Samuel Ode, who was also a Minister in the Jonathan government, from Otukpo. Arising from this precedence, Apa/Agatu has not for once, been considered for a place in Government House, Makurdi.
In similar fashion, the position of Senator representing Benue South, has repeatedly precluded Apa/Agatu federal constituency. David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark a former army General from Otukpo, took the first shot at the office in 1999. He was to remain in the position for five consecutive times, a distinctive record by Nigerian standards. Mark would subsequently become President of the Senate and the third most senior political office holder in the nation’s governance scheme for a string of two terms between 2007 and 2015. He was replaced by Patrick Abba Moro, who hails from Okpokwu and was a former teacher, in 2019. Abba Moro who previously served as Minister of Interior in the Jonathan government from 2011 to 2015, won a second term at the 2023 general elections and remains substantive Senator for “Benue Zone C.” He is indeed incumbent Minority Leader of the Senate, and thus a principal officer in the leadership scheme of the “red chambers.”
While Moro is barely two years into his second term, there are suggestions that he is interested in a third term which should run from 2027 to 2031! This is the core issue which has dominated contemporary political discourse in Benue South, especially from the Apa/Agatu bloc. For Apa/Agatu, it is bad enough that they are repeatedly bypassed in the nomination of deputy governors in the scheme of state politics. It is worse that they are equally subjugated by their own kinsmen within the context of politics in *Idoma and Igede land.* This is particularly worrying when both local government areas constituting the Apa/Agatu federal constituency, Apa and Agatu, are not in anyway deficient in human resources to represent Benue South. Names like John Elaigwu Odogbo, the incumbent *Och’Idoma* and respected clergy; Isa Innocent Ekoja, renowned Professor and Librarian; Sonny Togo Echono, FNIA, OON, Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, (TETFUND), and John Mgbede, Emeritus State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Benue State, readily come to mind.
Major General R.I. Adoba, (rtd), a former Chief Training and Operations in the Nigerian Army; Professor Emmanuel Adanu, former Director of the Kaduna-based National Water Resources Institute, (NWRI) and the US-based specialist in internal medicine, Dr Raymond Audu, are eminent Apa/Agatu constituents. There are also Ada Egahi, long-serving technocrat who retired from the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, (NPHDA), and Super Eagles forward, Moses Simon, (why not, hasn’t the retired soccer star, George Opong Weah just completed his term as President of Liberia)? The Member Representing Apa/Agatu in the House of Representatives, Godday Samuel Odagboyi, an office previously held by Solomon Agidani, as well as Adamu Ochepo Entonu, is, like his predecessors, a prominent figure from the resourceful Apa/Agatu federal constituency.
The Olofu brothers, Tony Adejoh, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, (AIG), and David, PhD, a renowned management and financial strategist, who is also an Emeritus Member of the Benue State Executive Council during the Ortom dispensation, are from the same federal constituency. So is Abu Umoru, a serial entrepreneur who represents Apa State Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly. The continuing intra-zonal alienation of Apa-Agatu from the politics of Benue Zone C, remains a sore thumb which must be clinically diagnosed and intentionally treated in the run-up to 2027.
If previous top level political office holders from Idomaland in general and Apa/Agatu in particular, had diligently applied themselves to tangible, multisectoral development of the zone and constituency, the present clamour for inclusiveness would probably been less vociferous. *River Agatu* which flows from Kogi State, and runs through Agatu before emptying into *River Benue,* is a potential game changer in the socioeconomy of Apa/Agatu, Benue South and Benue State in general. Properly harnessed, it can revolutionise agriculture and aquaculture in the state, beyond subsistence levels which are the primary vocations of the indigenous people. Rice, yam, guinea corn, millet and similar grains, thrive in the fertile soils of the area. These can support “first level” processing of produce and guarantee value addition beneficial to the primary producers, before being shipped to other markets. River Agatu can indeed be dammed to provide hydro-electricity to power the entire gamut of Idomaland.
The infrastructure deficit in Benue South with specific reference to Apa/Agatu is equally very concerning. A notable pattern in Nigerian politics is its self-centeredness, the penchant for political players to prioritise their personal wellbeing and the development of their immediate space. This has accentuated the ever recurring desire of people to ascend the political pedestals of their predecessors if that is the principal window by which they can also privilege their own primary constituents. Motorable roads are non-existent, seamless travel between communities therefore encumbered. Expectedly this has been a major impediment to subsistent trade and social engagements between constituents and their kinsmen. Primary health facilities are almost non-existent, compelling people to flock to Otukpo, headquarters of Benue South, for the minutest of medical advice and treatment.
Apa/Agatu pitiably bleeds from the relentless and condemnable activities of vagrants and bandits who have reduced the constituency into a killing field. Reports suggest that in the past 15 years, no less than 2500 lives were lost to the vicious attacks of marauders and trespassers in the area under reference. This unnerving situation has compelled engagements between concerned Apa/Agatu leaders, and the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force, (NPF). The prayer is for the swift establishment of a mobile police outpost in the troubled sub-zone to contain bloodletting. The proposal, anchored by AIG Tony Olofu, NPOM, (rtd), and Echono, has received the blessings of the police high command. At the last update, a commander for the outfit had been named, while the deployment of personnel had begun in earnest.
It is very clear that in the march towards 2027, Apa/Agatu will refuse, very vehemently, to be sidelined and trampled upon in the political scheme of their senatorial zone. Abba Moro may desire a third term in the Senate, but the people of Apa/Agatu are quick to remind him that his curriculum vitae as a politician is sufficiently sumptuous for him to yield the seat in the “red chambers” and sit back like an elder statesman. They remind you that for a man who began his working life modestly as a lecturer in the Federal Polytechnic, Ugbokolo in 1991, Abba Moro has done extremely well for himself in Nigerian politics. For reminders, Abba Moro was elected Chairman of Okpokwu local government in the state as far back as 1998. Ever since, he has remained a permanent fixture in Nigeria’s national politics.
The people of Apa/Agatu will put up a determined fight for the Benue South senatorial seat in 2027, and no one should begrudge them. They are the proverbial ram which was pushed to the wall, which must of necessity push back with angered horns to liberate itself. They are already engaging with their kith across “Benue Zone C” to ensure that intra-zonal equity, fairness and justice, prevails in communal politics.

Tunde Olusunle, PhD, Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA), teaches Creative Writing at the University of Abuja

Opinion

The Prince Adebayo prescriptions for ease of doing Business: 15 Take-Aways

Published

5 days ago

January 14, 2025

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By Dr. Ag Zaki

On Thursday, 9 January 2025, Prince Adewole Adebayo presented a keynote address at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos. The occasion was the annual conference of a group of professionals, business executives and experts codenamed J9C for January 9 Collective. The theme of the Conference was “Business and Policy Strategy: Examining the Role of Reform in enhancing the ease of doing business in Nigeria.” Prince Adebayo is a versatile cerebral man of many parts, a lawyer, a multimedia practitioner, a real estate investor, a large-scale miner, a philanthropist, a community developer, and the 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The organisers of the J9C conference introduced him as an intercontinental lawyer because he currently practices law in over sixteen countries.

The full speech of Prince Adebayo at the occasion is available online and can be accessed by clicking at this url: https://youtu.be/SsHkcJbVNRg?si=ebvoOVqGh0zVOsnt or by scanning the QR code above. However, we are presenting the salient take-aways from this most incisive keynote address below for the convenience of interested persons and for the public good.

THE TAKE-AWAYS
Preamble
1. Not every change of policy or programme is a reform. A reform is a fundamental change in the activities, programmes, and policies structured to cause improvement. Genuine government reforms are people oriented and so citizens can interject, comment or contribute.
2. Reform may be internally motivated, externally forced or imposed, or technological driven.
3. The government of Nigeria must first reform itself to be able to implement development-oriented reforms to improve the country’s economic performance.

In general terms
4. Fiscal and monetary reforms are critical and are urgently required in Nigeria. While government can freely control its fiscal reforms, it must be bound by market forces for realistic and realisable monetary reforms.
5. Economic reforms must positively affect developmental policies, programmes and projects to engender economic growth, increase in efficiency, and lead to stability. Economic and political reforms must be implemented pari-passu for untainted policies and programmes.
6. Urgent structural reforms are required in areas of legal reforms, laws on banking controls and regulations, lending and borrowing as well as land matters.

In specific terms
7. Reforms which are aimed at targeting ease of doing business must be aligned with the Malam Aminu Kano maxim that “all civil servants should abstain from contracts or business”.
8. Nigeria must break the current odious and unwholesome conspiracies between policy makers, civil servants, and contractors, which can lead to irreversible endemic corruption, long foreseen by the revered Malam Aminu Kano, and which can permanently damage the economy.
9. Structural reforms must ensure that land laws open up maximum benefits and potentials of the land, encourage labour productivity and efficient and transparent entrepreneurship rules including registration, capital and lending matters.
10. Tax reforms should be broad-based, not about sharing of revenue but promoting productivity and competitiveness in all aspects of endeavours and infrastructure reforms should make transportation of people and goods safe and cost effective.
11. Monitoring economic crimes must be thorough and should go beyond arresting of “Yahoo boys” and those spraying Naira notes, but those devaluing the Naira and abusing economic rules and regulations.

Warnings
12. Adebayo left some stern terse warnings for the business sector and for the government of Nigeria.
13. Business executives and professionals should not ask or encourage government for specific reforms but for general broad-based reforms as firm-specific reforms can enhance operations of specific firms or business in the short term but will ultimately kill the industry.
14. Government should not meddle into business or be guided by partisan businessmen; government should meet business only at the junction of regulatory framework.
15. Government should be selfless and honest in carrying out reforms, incorporate measurable performance indices and ensure that reforms are implemented in a way not to inflict pains or punishment on the people.

# DrZaki25, 903 Tafawa Balewa Way, Abuja

Opinion

Governor Monday Okpebholo: A Blessing to Edo State

Published

6 days ago

January 13, 2025

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Monday Okpebholo

By Eigbefo Felix

His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo, the Executive Governor of Edo State, has demonstrated that he is a blessing to the state through his policies, appointments, initiation of road construction across the three senatorial districts, and his deep love for the people of Edo State.

Governor Monday Okpebholo has begun fulfilling the five-point agenda he promised the good people of the state since his inauguration.

In the area of security, he has shown total commitment. He assured the people of Edo State that he would ensure their safety, and true to his word, the state remains peaceful, which has brought joy to its residents. He has provided the necessary support to security personnel.

The governor increased the subvention for Ambrose Alli University (AAU) from ₦40 million to ₦500 million. He also promised to address the issues facing AAU medical students. Additionally, he has started renovating primary and secondary schools across the state, underscoring his understanding of the importance of education.

The agricultural sector has taken a positive turn as Governor Okpebholo has allocated ₦70 billion to the sector. Recognizing agriculture’s importance to both the state and the nation, he is positioning Edo State to become the food basket of the nation with his investments in the sector.

During the electioneering period, Senator Okpebholo promised to create 5,000 jobs within his first 100 days in office. He has already begun the process, and soon, the people of Edo State will benefit from these employment opportunities. Unlike in the past, he will not rely on MOUs before making appointments. Furthermore, he has started appointing Edo State indigenes, rather than outsiders, to various positions.

Governor Okpebholo has commenced road projects across the state, from Edo South to Edo Central and Edo North. He believes that when roads are motorable, the prices of goods in the market will automatically reduce.

He has also begun investing in the health sector, understanding its critical importance to the people of Edo State.

Governor Monday Okpebholo’s initiatives and actions affirm his dedication to transforming Edo State for the better.