Benue youths need results, not press statements — Activist tells Gbenda Terver

An activist, Comrade Daniel Ejembi, has criticised the Senior Special Assistant to the Benue State Governor on Youth Organisation and Illegal Levies, Hon. Gbenda Terver, over his recent public engagements, saying the state’s youths need concrete action on unemployment and insecurity.

Ejembi made the position known in an open reply to Terver, arguing that Benue youths do not need another press statement describing them as “pillars of the state”, but leadership that addresses their challenges.

Full letter below:

AN OPEN REPLY TO HON. GBENDA TERVER

Hon. Gbenda Terver, with all due respect, Benue youths don’t need another press statement telling us we are “pillars of the state.” We already know who we are. What we need is leadership that acts like it.

You were appointed as SSA on Youth Organization and Illegal Levies to solve real problems, not to chase former Governor Ortom on social media for an apology. While you are busy trading words over who called who a thug, Benue youths are dying of two things you were hired to fight: unemployment and insecurity.

Where is the ideology? Where is the vision?

1. *On Unemployment:* You talk about creating an environment for legitimate business, but where are the jobs, the skills acquisition centers, the startup grants, the agricultural value chains for the thousands of idle graduates across our 23 LGAs? Stopping illegal checkpoints is good, but it is not an economic blueprint.

2. *On Insecurity:* Our young people are being killed in villages, displaced from farms, and forced into IDP camps. A youth leader should be in those camps, in those communities, demanding action and presenting solutions. Not on Facebook doing political wrestling.

3. *On Thuggery:* You say Benue youths are not thugs, and we agree. But when the office of the Youth Leader is reduced to political attack dog work, defending the principal and attacking predecessors instead of defending the youth, you normalize the very thuggery you condemn. The youths are watching.

Honorable, the office you hold is not for public relations. It is for policy. We don’t need slogans. We need:

– A clear Benue Youth Employment Action Plan
– Security advocacy for youth in rural areas
– Transparent empowerment not based on party loyalty

Stop defending our image with words. Defend our future with work.

Benue youths are not looking for an apology from Ortom. We are looking for results from you.

#BenueYouthsDeserveBetter