2031: Next Benue governor should be Idoma – Ochefu

…Proposes Igede for Benue South Senate, calls for broader ethnic inclusion

A Professor of Economic History and Development Studies at Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi, Prof. Yakubu Aboki Ochefu, has proposed that the next civilian governor of Benue State after the completion of the current power rotation should emerge from the Idoma ethnic group.

Ochefu, who doubles as the President-General of Ochetoha K’Idoma, made the proposal on Friday while delivering the keynote address at the Golden Jubilee celebration marking 50 years of Benue State in Makurdi.

Speaking on what he described as the “Benue Compact,” the historian urged the political elite to embrace a new consensus that would promote equity, inclusion and lasting unity among the state’s diverse ethnic nationalities.

He argued that Benue’s greatest challenge was not only insecurity or economic hardship but the failure of the political elite to build a common vision for the state.

According to him, “The trouble with Benue, in important measure, has been a failure of elite consensus: a generation of our most able sons and daughters who have agreed on too little, contested too much, and bequeathed to our peoples a compact among the Tiv, Idoma, Igede, Etulo and the minorities within minorities that fifty years has neither completed nor abandoned.”

Ochefu said the next phase of Benue’s political development should deliberately reflect the principles of fairness and inclusion.

He posed a number of questions to the state’s political leaders, including whether there could be a consensus for an Idoma man or woman to become the next civilian governor after the completion of the current power rotation.

The professor also proposed that the next senator representing Benue South should emerge from the Igede ethnic group, describing the position as one that had been “too long deferred.”

He further advocated greater political inclusion for the Etulo and Jukun ethnic groups through representation in the Benue State House of Assembly.

“Can our consensus be that the next civilian Governor of this state, when the rotation is completed, come from an Idoma man or woman?

“Can our consensus be that the next Senator from Benue South shall be of Igede stock, that minority within a minority whose seat in the upper chamber has been too long deferred?

“Can our consensus be that our next House of Assembly shall include the elected voices of the Etulo and the Jukun whose presence on this land is older than the state itself?” he asked.

Ochefu maintained that such proposals were not unrealistic but achievable if the political class demonstrated the will to build a united Benue.

“These are not utopias. They are the practical fruits of a single decision. If the elite of Benue consent, if we, in this venue, agree, every one of them can happen,” he said.

The historian also called on Governor Hyacinth Alia to use the influence of his office to convene political leaders across ethnic and political divides in order to build a lasting consensus for the future of the state.

The keynote address formed part of activities marking the Golden Jubilee of Benue State, the third anniversary of the Alia administration, Democracy Day celebrations, and Governor Alia’s 60th birthday.