Samuel Ortom: How Benue Governor is succeeding despite distractions

By Ameh Comrade Godwin

When Samuel Loraer Ortom took the oath of office as the 5th executive governor of Benue State in 2015, nobody knew of the turbulence ahead of the country. There was no seer to tell of the trials and tribulations that awaited Nigerians and the people of Benue in particular. But as the saying goes, there is a man for every season.

Gov Ortom proved to be the man for this season of peril when the country is faced with daunting challenges and carnages. And for the past six years, he has successfully paddled the canoe of Benue through the tempest of insecurity that engulfs the Nigerian state. A leader of lesser stuff would have left Benue high and dry in the wake of the murderous rampages of killer herders whose sole ambition was the maniacal conquest and plunder of the Benue Valley and the people who have lived there for thousands of years. Steadying Benue through that storm was a litmus test that Ortom passed spectacularly.

That is why in 2019, the Benue people had no doubt about who should be their leader. Re-electing Ortom was a further confirmation of the appreciation of his leadership qualities by the generality of Benue people. In retrospect, the people of Benue have no misgivings for their electoral choice at the polls in 2015 and 2019.

For in Ortom, they found a leader that was not unlike the Biblical Moses, who was the instrument of liberation that broke the shackles of Egypt from the hands of the Israelites. Benue would no doubt have suffered unimaginable calamities had a time such as this met them with a leader that panders to Aso Rock or plays the byzantine politics of the so-called monolithic North.

Herders, especially those of the Miyetti Allah group, made no secret of their decision to move in and occupy Benue at the cost of blood, toil and tears. But at great peril to himself―as we have seen with the recent assassination attempt on his life―Ortom made a bold stand against the forces of destruction and destabilization, known and unknown, and his courageous, unwavering decision was what bailed Benue out of the catastrophe of being overrun by a lawless group that operates with impunity and is bent on unleashing chaos and carnage.

At the height of the insecurity problem, the bloodletting unleashed on Benue was not for the fainthearted. And certainly not for an indecisive leader. Or a puppet governor. For example, coordinated attacks by herdsmen on January 1, 2018, resulted in 73 people being cut down in cold blood in Logo, Makurdi and Guma local government areas. Such incessant brutal attacks by herdsmen on farming communities created over 500,000 Internally Displaced Persons ( IDPs), turning the state overnight into a sprawling “refugee camp” and leaving the Benue State Government with the daunting responsibility of feeding and accommodating the displaced citizens. With over 400 people killed and property worth N100 billion destroyed, and herdsmen taking over 15 out of the 23 local government areas of the state, Benue was on the brink of an unimaginable humanitarian crisis.

Ortom remained steadfast in his conviction of the possible solution to this Gordian Knot. That was why despite pressure from powerful forces, he remained committed to the enactment of the Anti–Open Grazing Prohibition Law. Months down the line, the law has brought peace between farmers and herders in Benue State. Herders no longer graze their cattle openly on farmlands with impunity as was the case between 2015 and 2017. Such occurrences, if they happen now, are few and far between. In partnering with local communities and security agencies, the governor has been able to ensure the security of lives and property in the state.

Aside from the security malaise, Ortom also has to contend with the conventional challenges of governance that characterised democracy in this clime and culture. This includes corruption in civil service, irregular payment of workers salaries, bloated wage bill, dilapidated primary and secondary school structures and poor road network, among others.

Working steadily and systematically, he found a solution to each. Concerning poor infrastructure in schools, the governor took advantage of the SUBEB grant and used the funds to renovate, upgrade and equip over 1, 500 primary and secondary schools. He has kept this going such that the rehabilitation of more primary schools is a continuum that will end only when all the schools in the state have been renovated and reinforced.

The governor also employed the same formula to salvage the health sector, partnering with the United Nations for intervention in Millennium Development Goal( MDG) projects. Today, health centres are up and running across the three senatorial districts.

In the case of the albatross of irregular salary payment, the administration of Governor Ortom has made it a thing of the past. Civil servants are paid as when due, unlike in the past when they were paid one month-salary after every two months.
To curb corruption and promote transparency in the civil service, he abolished cash payment, replacing it with e-payment for all forms of government transactions.

Ortom has stepped up the construction of urban and rural roads, especially in Gboko, Guma, Ukum and Otukpo. Makurdi, the state capital, now wears a new look with the construction and opening of more access roads following the new layout that is designed to accommodate the burgeoning population of the city.

While various developmental projects are spread across the 23 local government areas of the state, Benue South has attracted a fair share of government’s presence, in number and intensity that speak volume about the dedication of the Ortom administration to the betterment of the Benue people.

For instance, in December 2020, the Governor commissioned a set of newly constructed roads including Armstrong Avenue, Commercial Road and Secretariat/Och’Idoma road network in Otukpo town, the headquarters of Otukpo LGA. The project which gulped N340 million was not the only imprint of the government in Benue South. Previously, the sum of N776 million was spent on the construction of the first phase of the Oshigbudu-Obagaji-Agatu Road. The second phase of the project covering Obagaji/Okokolo/Agagbe/Naka would commence soon.

A host of other projects―completed, ongoing or in the offing―is evenly spread in a way that the pattern tells a story of a government that wants to ensure that its administration touches every part of the senatorial district. For instance, in Otukpo, Islamiyya Primary School was reinforced with five blocks of classrooms. Generally, primary schools in the senatorial districts were supplied with over 125, 000 plastic chairs and desks.

The appreciation of the people of Benue South was once conveyed by Chief George Alli, Chairman of Otukpo LGA, who in commending Governor Ortom for providing purposeful leadership in Benue said: “The impact of your government is being felt in all sectors of the state and for that reason, the people will remain supportive and grateful.”

Specifically to the Idoma, the governor has displayed a large heart. Aside from appointing Idoma sons and daughters to prominent positions in government―he’s the first governor to appoint an Idoma as chief judge (Justice Onum) of the state―his government has also undertaken the task of rebuilding the long-abandoned palace of the Och’Idoma.

“My dear compatriots, as your governor, I pledge to govern with the fear of God.” That was a statement from his acceptance speech of 2015. That statement rings true today. And in truth, Benue is better off for it.
By all indication, he has set himself apart from the regular politicos. It is not by any political abracadabra that Gov Ortom has come to endear himself to the people of Benue. The people’s governor, as he has come to be known, has laid the foundation of his administration on a solid vision. The new Benue he envisioned was built upon five major pillars, as he unveiled at the beginning of his administration, namely: (1) good governance and revenue security; (2) agricultural-driven industrialization; (3) Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM)-Based education and health services; (4) investment in critical infrastructure and (5) promotion of gender equality and empowering women, youth, sports, and persons with disabilities.

While Benue has not been stagnant in the past 39 years of its creation as a state, it is nonetheless far from reaching its potential. Despite hindrances―recession, Covid-19 pandemic, herders crisis etc―Gov Ortom has sought to move Benue forward and take a quantum leap into the league of Nigeria’s top states. Today, Benue is on course.

Among other things, the Ortom administration has been able to stand out as an inclusive, accountable and result-oriented government. Besides the rampages of herders, there has no been any friction or allegation of marginalisation among the various ethnic groups (majority and minority) that are indigenous to Benue or the other ethnic groups resident among them. For them all, Benue is home.
After the storm, a calm. Under the guidance of Ortom, the Benue ship is moving on calm waters. Real development is taking place. Citizens of the state, especially, Benue South are appreciative of a governor in whom they see the quintessential quality of the Benue people.