By Barr. Mike Utsaha
Roy Arundathi, the celebrated Indian Author, must have had our dear state of Benue, and our amiable governor; in mind when he wrote the now famous epic “The God of Small Things”. Surely, the best things come in small packages and Benue is a good example. I will explain how I mean shortly.
Since the return to civil and democratic rule in 1999 and especially under the successive PDP led administrations, we have witnessed a deep and intricate involvement of the traditional institution in partisan politics and an overbearing influence of traditional rulers in the political process. The selection process of traditional rulers became so bastardised that all that was required for selection as a traditional ruler is the membership of the Peoples Democratic Party and a willingness to do everything possible to support and fortify its interests. It was simply difficult to distinguish between a traditional ruler and a party chieftain as the two had become one and the same thing.
Unsurprisingly, the institution suffered very serious credibility challenges that have wrought incalculable damage to the integrity of a once highly revered institution. In less than 100 days in office Governor Samuel Ortom, neither by any overt act nor legislative proposal or policy initiative, and only merely by his body language, has clearly sent a strong message that it will no longer be business as usual. Traditional rulers and the traditional institution have been completely insulated from partisanship within the last few months and we are looking forward to a return to the days of respect and respectability to the revered institution bequeathed to us by our forefathers.
It is now my hope and expectation that my younger brother Hon. TT Zam Special Adviser to the Governor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs will take this to the next level and develop key performance indicators for our traditional rulers and ensure they are not only kept busy but also made to creditably discharge the responsibilities for which they are paid tax payers money.
I think it is perfectly in order, atleast in my view, to conclude that within the last sixteen or so years of our democracy has given the clearest indication yet of his commitment to expansion of the democratic space in Benue State. Never before in the recent political history of Benue State have we had the kind of situation where critics of government did not have to look over the shoulders to check if they are safe at ll. Relatively recently we had to contend with outlaws such as “Spaco” who operated with a free reign and with tacit support from government armed with a clear mandate to even up scores with any perceived enemy of state. Certainly, the same cannot be said of the administration of government Ortom which has within a very short time come under the most acerbic and most unwarranted critiscms and without any fear of molestation.
Another area in which the Samuel Ortom led administration has taken commendable steps is in the area of the amnesty programme. While I completely identify with those who feel that the programme could have been better packaged and delivered I am nevertheless delighted that this administration thought about an amnesty programme at all. I am particularly excited by the commendable peace initiative between Benue and Taraba states to the overall benefit of the good people of the two states.
It is only those who are familiar with the Benue-Taraba border tensions characterised by incessant attacks on Tiv settlements by mercenaries and the ensuing loss of lives and property that will appreciate the Samuel Ortom led administration for this initiative. It is my hope and expectation that this important exercise will not end with high profile meetings and felicitation in the comfort of public buildings but that very practical steps would be taken to ensure a drastic reduction if not complete eradication of the irresponsible proliferation of small arms and light weapons which has been on in Benue for God knows how long.
One such step would be for the State Attorney-General working closely with the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security and his Special Duties counterpart to enter into dialogue with the relevant Committee of the Benue State House of Assembly with a view, not just to fashioning out a comprehensive amnesty programme with clearly defined outcomes, deliverables and timelines, but equally to explore the possibility of utilising existing legislation (or the lack thereof) to support and fortify the amnesty programme.
Governor Samuel Ortom had in his inaugural address given an indication that his administration would adopt and utilise reconciliation as a cardinal principle of governance, and so far he has lived up to expectation in a very significant manner.
It is no longer news that the circumstances under which Ortom emerged gubernatorial candidate of the APC in Benue left a lot to be desired. Many party stalwarts became disenchanted and in some cases disagreeable too, leading to a flurry of litigations and badly embittered personal relationships too. Happily, President Muhammadu Buhari intervened and a house that was once divided is now one big happy family again.
In order to ensure that the pains and scars occasioned by this unfortunate occurrence are eased away Governor Samuel Ortom has initiated a series of follow up meetings, including one that held at the Benue Peoples House only about 48hours ago, with a view to building confidence. I am told that this last meeting was not only well attended but also provided opportunity for the Governor to present his score card and also provide details of his immediate plans for the rapid development of Benue. Again I think Governor Ortom deserves to be commended for not only keying in to this presidential initiative but also for taking deliberate steps to bring lasting peace to our party and ultimately to the larger Benue community.
For a considerably impoverished and underdeveloped state like ours and a people that have been severely under-led and under-governed it is perfectly understandable when measurement of performance by government is reduced to payment of salaries and the provision of infrastructure, basic or critical, but I have often argued that there is a lot more to democratic governance than mere payment of salaries and the provision of infrastructure. Even the worst military dictatorships pay salaries promptly and provide the best quality infrastructure, and if you doubt me then check Cuba and several other countries in Latin America. We must therefore base our assessment of the performance of government on indicators that go far beyond only what the eyes can see and what the mouth can take in.
My intention isn’t to praise Ortom without pointing out areas of deficit in his administration. With the best of intentions we are only human and sometimes our human frailties will get the better of us, and the Ortom led administration is no exception.
I think the greatest dent yet to the administration of Governor Samuel Ortom is that ill-advised receipt of eight luxury cars from the immediate past administration. In my view it was immoral and ill-timed considering the economic situation of the state and the prevailing sentiment at the time. Yes indeed what has happened has happened and we cannot undo the hand of the clock but given another opportunity Ortom must take the moral high ground and distance himself from such an insensitive line of action.
Secondly, I think Ortom missed the opportunity to have sent a strong indication of his priority in governance when he allowed the strike action by ASUU BSU chapter to linger on longer than necessary. The circumstances that led to the strike action were not his certainly but upon assumption of office this should have been a quick win for his administration but he threw the opportunity away. I am not completely oblivious of how ASUU could be a strong negotiator and the effort it took to get ASUU to back off but this is one area of our life in which no resources should have been spared. Just imagine how it would be if the strike action had been called off only after one of two weeks after inauguration.
Thirdly, I think it is highly immoral for Governor Samuel Ortom to have accepted the nomination of the State Executive Council as one of the three awardees of the national merit award from Benue State. If in less than six months in office Ortom is already obsessed with awards then this is a clear indication of the pathway he intends to follow over the course of the next four year. Benue is blessed with several elder statesmen/women who could conveniently have been nominated for this award and I think the State Executive Council was completely misguided when it acted in the manner it did with regard to the national merit award 2015.
Fourthly, I think it is palpably hypocritical and quite disingenuous too to have renamed Government House Makurdi as “Benue Peoples House” through a mere populist pronouncement. The designation of a place as the venue for the conduct of government business is a very serious matter that is characterised by intricate and complex bureaucratic processes including gazetting. Indeed, I daresay it is legal! To therefore get up one day and decide to rename Government House to Benue Peoples House obviously so that an administration could be seen to be populist, is in my view highly hypocritical and is not something that Ortom should be associated with.
Let me conclude by stating clearly that I have known Ortom for the past twenty one years and have benefitted from his generosity. Long before he ever thought of crossing over to the APC from the PDP I had written eulogising him for his character and personality traits, so this wouldn’t be the first or the last time I would be writing in praise of his actions in or out of government. But it is perhaps important to point out that since his inauguration in May God knows that I have not set my eyes on Governor Ortom or had any physical contact with him. The last time we ever had any phone conversation was in July but it was with regard to the Court of Appeal judgement on the restoration of Agasha Constituency and the extent to which it could conceivably affect my quest to be a member of the Benue State House of Assembly. I have kept my distance not because of any disagreement or disenchantment but precisely because as an aspiring Legislator with a primary mandate to check Governor Ortom, maintaining a safe distance predisposes me much more to the creditable discharge of my intended responsibility as a legislator.
I need to add though that even as a legislator with a clear mandate to check it is only fair that we commend when there is a need to do so and to equally condemn when there is a need to do.
I think this is what I have tried to do here !
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