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AS 2027 election campaigns officially begin, keen observers of politics in Nigeria need reminding that the Literature of power is filled with pieces of advice that are necessary but not sufficient. For clerics – priests, pastors, who have veered off from their ordained assignments into the greasy pole of politics – these pieces of advice are even more important and timely now than at previous elections. They should have a plan, not just a desire for power. This is because power reveal. It always does. They should be very careful not to dig holes that they might end up in. They need to separate servant-leadership from transient political gains.
They also need to have insights about the inner workings of power at the highest levels, a nuanced picture and a clear understanding of the complexity of ambition, and the role that the greater good can play in the making of a great leader. Unfortunately, right now, many people want to be political leaders, but only very few are leaders in the true sense of it, that is, using the tools of political power to achieve greater purposes. In the murky waters of Nigerian politics, some priests-politicians had run aground in politics because they failed to heed these pieces of advice.
Consider few instances of Catholic priests and Christian pastors who transitioned into politics and became state governors. They include Rev. Jolly Nyame, Governor of Taraba state(1999-2007). He was previously elected as the first governor of the state in 1992 during the short-lived third Republic. Rev. Jolly Nyame’s joy was transient. He was later sentenced to prison after being convicted by the courts for misappropriating N1.6bn of state funds.
There is also Rev.Fr. Moses Adasu, a Catholic priest who became governor of Benue state in 1992-1993. Adasu incurred canonical suspension. He died in November 2005, aged 60. Currently, we have Pastor Umo Eno, governor of Akwa Ibom state, and Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, Governor, Benue State. Of these four “men of God”, the case of Rev. Fr. Alia is very instructive and damning. Before he transitioned into partisan politics, he served as Diocesan priest and a popular healing-mass minister in the Catholic Diocese of Gboko. Within that period of his public ministry, records showed he conducted large, well- attended healing mass and pastoral work that drew massive crowds of Christian faithful in Benue state.
His political transition surprised many. He suddenly stepped away from active priest’s assignments in May 2022 after purchasing the Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms to run for the governor of Benue state on the platform of All Progressives Congress(APC). The question many people have asked recently is: did he hear from God before plunging into politics, or someone else foisted him on the good people of Benue state?
Things moved thick and fast. He received official suspension on May 20, 2022. It was issued by Bishop William Avenga of the Gboko Diocese for violating Canon Law(Can.285:3), which forbids Catholic clerics from engaging in partisan politics or holding secular public office without permission. And since he became Gov in 2023, Rev. Fr. Alia has been galloping from one controversy to another. If it’s not with the state legislature, it’s with those who foisted him on the state. It’s been like , “One Day, one Trouble”.
In recent days, Gov Alia, not for the first time though, has been in the news for the wrong reasons. He has been accused of instigating the obstruction of the convoy of the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress(NDC) Mr. Peter Obi by state-sponsored thugs. Obi was in the state, not for political campaign but to mourn with victims and families of the June 13, 2025 deadly attack on Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area, which claimed hundreds of lives and offer his solidarity and compassion during their moment of unimaginable pain.
But the thugs, armed with dangerous weapons blocked Obi’s movement into the village where hundreds of people people who lost loved ones were waiting for soothing words, which the state government has failed to give them. As Obi noted, “at a time when our nation should be united in grief and committed to preventing further loss of lives, we must avoid actions that deepen divisions. Benue people and Nigerians deserve to sleep peacefully, travel safely and farm their lands without fear”.
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It’s sad that narrow-minded politicians like Gov Alia have widened the fault lines that divide us. It’s no surprise why the attack on Obi’s convoy continues to attract high octane reactions, many of them condemnatory of the reported complicity of the state government and its hollow denial. The blockade reveals a deep breakdown of political hospitality by a government to a citizen of Nigeria. A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Terso Kula, said the government had “every reason to doubt whether Obi visited Makurdi on Tuesday. Even if he actually visited the state, he should realise that he is not a threat to anyone, including the Governor”. What a tepid response lacking in logic and cohere
nce.
Contrary to the denial, the Police Command in the state confirmed that, indeed, Obi’s convoy was obstructed from entering Yelwata. According to the Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, some irate youths blocked Obi’s convoy. About 46 suspects have since been arrested. Investigation is ongoing to know the alleged involvement of the governor’s aide in the matter. The CP said the Command was duly informed about Obi’s visit, and that he directed the ACP in charge of Operations to lead other officers to provide security for the NDC presidential candidate.
However, CP Nwadiogbu stated that on Obi’s arrival, the police received information that youths had blocked the road and prevented Obi from proceeding to Yelwata. Compare the CP’s account and that of the state government.While the police account approximates to the fact of what happened, the state government’s is an alibi. What happened last Tuesday is not the first time that Gov Alia would prevent Obi from visiting the state.
In April 2025, he stopped Obi from visiting a school of Nursing and Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) camp in the state. Gov Alia defended his rash action by stating that Obi breached protocols by failing to notify the state government before attempting to visit the IDP camps. It’s not for nothing that a week after Obi’s humanitarian visit to IDP camp in Benue was truncated by state-sponsored thugs, well-meaning individuals, including organisations, such as Amnesty International, have condemned in strong terms the obstruction of Obi’s convoy, describing it as undermining the freedom of movement of Nigerians and a threat to democracy in the country.
Immediate past Governor of the state Samuel Ortom, criticized Gov Alia, and accused him of running his administration on lies, hypocrisy and deceit. That stinging description may be true, especially when you fully, objectively, and effectively deconstruct what is happening in Benue state under the watch of Gov Alia. However, an important push-back is necessary here: stripped of the danger of over- generalisation, not every priest-politician is a hypocrite.
The problem is that some of them have taken their eyes off the ball of the critical issues they campaigned on and got elected. There’s need to locate his problem from the character of the individual priest-turned politician, to the structural and theological machinery that produced Rev.Fr. Alia. All things considered, it is not unkind to say that he has become a bad exemplar of clerics who transitioned into politics to become executive governors of their states. Rev. Jolly Nyame’s example is a bad testimonial that should serve governors Alia and Eno well. Don’t dig your own hole meant for your political enemies.
In the case of Alia, it could be a mournful warning for any ‘man of God’ who forsakes his calling and dabble into the murky waters of politics. If Gov Alia doesn’t change course and amend his way, he may end up as the first governor of Benue state who failed to win a second term in office since 1999. And this is why: he relies on President Tinubu, not on God to win his re-election for him in 2027. He has also failed to meet the public expectations that brought him to office in 2023. No excellence to his name. No real accomplishments that can inspire the people to cast their votes for him on Election Day. Above all, he governs like a ‘man-child’.
