By Vincent Tyona
Less than 42 hours after Fulani terrorists attacked and killed scores of people in Kwande local government area of Benue State, Governor Hyacinth Alia was seen dancing at a carnival known as “Kyegh sha shwa” in Makurdi in what could only be interpreted as celebration of the victory of his Fulani friends over Benue people whom he was elected to protect.
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In a video that went viral soon after the carnival, Governor Alia could be seen jumping up and down with a stick in hand in the exact fashion of the agwei dance called ‘Sharo’. The sharo dance is a popular cultural display which attracts people to witness the bravery exhibited by young and energetic Fulani men.
Governor Alia was in a jubilant mood at the kyegh sha shwa carnival like a young Fulani warrior who just defeated an enemy. Of course, his agwei friends had just recorded a major victory over the Anwase people of Turan in Kwande with 11 bodies so far found and many still missing at the time Alia was dancing sharo ecstatically in Makurdi.
When the killings in Kwande were reported on the evening of Christmas day, December 25, no official statement came from Governor Alia. His government ignored the wailings from that party of the state until the morning of 27th December when critics began to question the Governor’s sense of humanity and remind him that he is on oath to provide security for Benue people. That was when his media team reluctantly issued a weak and vague statement on the Kwande killings.
Many people had expected that Governor Alia would cancel every form of celebration within the period and call for a time of mourning in honour of the slain people; but he instead was busy attending carnivals.
When many people lost their lives in Ibadan, Abuja and in the East during the festive period, President Tinubu cancelled a social event that he had planned to attend. A true leader gets sober and solemn when lives are lost. Alia does not care because he is acting the script of the Fulani oligarchy who brought him to be governor of the Benue State. He promised to carve out lands in the state and give to Fulani pastoralists to occupy, and he is fulfilling his promise to them.
Insecurity is at its highest height in the state under Governor Alia. No day passes without reports of attacks, kidnappings and other crimes. Fulani herders are on the rampage. Women and children have been taken away from their families. Many are still missing.
The Fulani terrorists decide who goes where. They have appointed some of their members as leaders of the occupied communities. The indigenous villagers have to pay the armed herders money to allow them to go to their farms, and the villagers are under an unwritten oath never to complain if their farms are destroyed by Fulani cattle.
Whenever someone dies, the Fulani demand payment before allowing the bereaved family to bury their dead. That is the grim and devastating situation that Alia’s tenure has forced upon Benue people.
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Alia declared a fake 14-day ultimatum for the herdsmen to leave the state with their cattle, but since the day he returned from Sokoto after his meeting with his “daddy” the Sultan in March this year, no one has heard about the ultimatum again.
When he was campaigning, Alia promised to end insecurity in the state and return those displaced by Fulani herdsmen to their ancestral homes within his first 100 days in office. He failed woefully to keep the promise despite receiving huge amounts as federal allocations and security votes.
Alia is apparently serving the interests of Fulani and he is determined to help them become integrated into Benue State where they can own land and freely rear their cattle.
That is the agenda that brought him.
