By Samson Ochono
It has been more than two weeks since news broke that the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Benue State, Titus Uba is sick and is receiving treatment. Many people even outside the state have sent messages of goodwill and prayers for his healing. But surprisingly, the candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC who is a reverend father Hyacinth Alia has not bothered to make even a two paragraph statement to wish his opponent well. He has not called Uba to find out how he is feeling.
Haba! Is politics war? Alia is a priest whose calling is to pray for the physical and spiritual healing of people. A man who has compassion in him would have put politics aside and personally called Uba or his wife to register his empathy and offer prayers for his recovery.
Aside from being the speaker of Benue state House of Assembly, Uba is from the same place as Alia. Even beyond politics, they are kinsmen. They are not enemies. Or is Alia telling us that if he is elected, he will make everyone who contested against him a permanent enemy?
Read Also: NJC under fire to call Justice Omotosho to order over impunity in Benue
And talking about enemies, is it not the Bible which Alia took the holy oath to defend that tells us in Matthew 5:44 to pray for our enemies? This man Alia is not a good man. He does not have a good heart.
A man who intends to govern the people shows compassion and love to fellow human beings. Without love and care for others, no matter how he pontificates about being good is all window dressing.
Recall that when over 50 people were slaughtered recently in Gbeji by herdsmen, Alia refused to sympathize with families of the victims until people began to question the humanity in him that he reluctantly asked his campaign team to speak on the matter. But the very next moment, he was at a campaign rally in Daudu talking about “saving” the people, if he is given power.
Daudu is one of the Benue communities hosting thousands of people who have been displaced from their ancestral lands. A major IDP camp is located in Daudu. Alia did not bother to visit the camp and offer prayers for the IDPs. But they could hear him loudly on the public address system from their camp as he was sermonizing about his love for the people and how he would end poverty throughout the state in just one month, if he becomes governor.
It is so unfortunate that the man is deceiving unsuspecting people in the rural areas during church events.
His refusal to call and sympathize with Titus Uba or even simply make a statement praying for the healing of his counterpart in PDP has exposed his inner dark heart.
He is a vicious and vindictive man.
* Ochono writes from Apo, Abuja.
