Beifoh Osewele, Deputy Editor, Business
“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” This quote of J.K Rowling in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone must have energised Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom, to stand up resolutely in defence of his people.
Soon after he was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015 with the active support of the leader of the party in the North Central, Akume fell out with his godfather.
Before the imbroglio between the godfather and godson, all went well until the invasion of the state by suspected herdsmen and massacre of farmers by the invaders became uncontrollable. That made him heed the call of the people to assent to the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law 2017. Efforts to make Ortom see “reasons” and either backtrack on implementing the law or even review it met a brickwall as he decided to team up with the people to check the incessant herdsmen’s attacks and its attendant human and material casualties. He maintained his stance on the law, insisting that ranching remained the global best practices for rearing livestock and ensuring peace between herders and farmers in any society.
The governor further stated that it was better to be on the side of the people than accepting the verdict of some godfathers to the detriment of the people he has been elected to govern. This did not go down well with his godfather who saw him as a recalcitrant and a prodigal son who has refused to come back home. Also, the oligarchies felt slighted by the law and the fact that rather than suspending the law, Ortom went ahead and commenced its implementation.
So, on New Year day in 2018, in an apparent protest against the law, Nigerians woke up to the news of the killing of 73 Benue people by suspected militias in Guma, Logo and Makurdi Local government areas of the state. This was followed by several other killings across the state, a development, which threatened the very existence of Benue, as thousands of Benue people became tenants in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. Many were orphaned and others widowed even as several farming communities were left in ruins while the invaders took over ancestral homes.
Since Ortom was then serving his first term in office and was planning to go for a second term, some people expected him to trade the peace of the state for his ambition. But holding on tight to the admonition of Winston Churchill: “Never give in – never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense,” he refused to trade in the people of Benue for political ambition. It did not then come as a surprise that his godfather gave him a red card from the APC and his eventual return to his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Although, the APC cited non-performance as the reason he was given a red card from the party, Ortom insisted it was because he stuck to his guns to be on the side of the people against ball odds.
The Benue people did not disappoint as they stood with and by him during the election and ensured his return to the Government House at the end of the keenly contested election. The victory was a just reward for a courage and leadership.