Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Benue State chapter, Reverend Akpen Leva, speaks on the kind of leaders Nigeria needs.
This time last year, Benue State was in deep mourning over the continued attacks by herdsmen. One year on, would you say Benue has been liberated from these attacks?
Last year, first of January, 2018 was a gloomy day in Benue State. Many families were thrown into a state of mourning. Many were badly wounded, many were killed and many left their homes. It was a very pathetic situation because we have never experienced that number of killings in Benue State before, in which more than 73 people were killed in one day. The 73 deaths were the ones confirmed, others were not discovered. We also had many others wounded. The mortuary in Benue State University Teaching Hospital was filled. The beds were filled and some of the wounded were rushed to other hospitals for medical attention, still, some of them died. And so, it was a gloomy day, everybody was weeping. Benue State was thrown into confusion because the people were preparing for a prosperous new year and just few hours before that, suspected Fulani militia came and killed a lot of people. So, it was really a gloomy year. And that is why this year 2019, we held a memorial service in honor of those that were massacred. The idea came because in Benue State we have not experienced that kind of massive killings before.
Is it true that in the course of your message on the day of the memorial service, you placed a curse on any Benue son or daughter who connives with the enemies to change the narrative about the killing?
Well in my speech, I just reached out for what I said on the day of the burial of the Benue 73 that since we all know that in every family, there must be a black sheep who would like to betray their own to the outside world. I know that before a thief will come into your house, there must be an insider who will be giving the information. On that day, what I did was to warn our citizens that anyone who is giving information to our enemies should better repent or it will not be well with such person. It wasn’t actually a curse but anyone who refuses to listen and take heed will face the repercussion. It was a warning to our people never to give information to our enemies because if they do that, then they too have become our enemies. I only reechoed what I said on January 11, 2018 during the burial of Benue 73.
The Federal Government through Vice President Yemi Osinbajo promised to rebuild all the villages destroyed by herdsmen from a N10billion fund. How many of such villages have so far been rebuilt?
We heard the vice president when he came to Benue and we accepted him as our own because he took Benue as his second home. When he came, he sat with the church and during our discussions with him; he gave us all these promises. We appreciated his coming and then invited him for the burial of the two catholic priests and the 17 parishioners that were murdered in Mbalom in the course of the crises. And thank God, he was in Benue to honor our invitation. But when he came and told us about the N10 billion fund for rebuilding of destroyed villages, the amount is not enough for Benue alone not to talk of sharing it with other states. And he promised that the Federal Government would look into the matter. But it is very unfortunate that up till now, we are yet to witness the utilisation of such funds because our people are still there in IDP camps and no village has been reconstructed as I speak with you. We are still expecting that the government will live up to expectation by fulfilling its promise to us. We are expecting that the affected villages will be rebuilt as the Federal Government through the vice president has promised. That is very important. These people cannot return home because there is no place for them to go and stay. And that is why they are still within IDP camps.
What is your idea of the kind of President Nigeria deserves?
I want to first of all say that leadership is given by God and if you are not given, you can’t be there. Leadership is not a do or die affair. We want our president to be somebody that will cater for the masses, somebody that is God-fearing, and somebody that will attend to issues affecting our nation and our people. Nigeria is a very large country and we are one. We want somebody that will recognise every part the of the country one. So, my advice to the electorate is to choose their leaders wisely and prayerfully, and to the aspiring leaders, we want to know their manifestos. We want to know whether they are coming for the interest of the people or for their own selfish interest. When we look at these parameters, then, we will go to the polls and vote for somebody that we feel will come and help Nigeria to be one of the great nations in the world.
Many are jostling for the governorship seat in the state. Without mentioning names, what are the qualities that the church is looking for in the next Benue governor?
In Benue State, this is not the first time that people are coming up to jostle for that position. It has been like that over the years. But what we do know is that it is only one person that will emerge as the governor at the end of the day. And because Benue is a Christian state, first of all, we want the next governor to be God-fearing. That is the first criteria that we will consider. Secondly, we want somebody that will have the interest of the masses at heart. We want somebody who will be serious about the welfare, security and the entire livelihood of the masses. These are the qualities we want to see in anybody that will become the next governor of Benue State. And we want to believe that on March 9, such a person is going to emerge as the governor of Benue and God knows the person because leadership comes from God.
There seems to be serious religious divide in the country. Don’t you think it will have impact on the elections?
I think you are also a Nigerian and you know what happens in Nigeria. The problem in Nigeria is about religion and sadly, our leaders are promoting that division. It’s so unfortunate. For example, you have come as a Christian leader and then all your lieutenants are Christians, the Muslims will question that and ask what agenda does this president has that all his security men are Christians? And if you are Muslim and everybody surrounding you is a Muslim of the same faith, that makes people wonder. That is the problem with our present administration. We love our president but the problem is that most people around him are from one faith. How can, out of about 17 chief executives or heads of security units in this country, 16 or all of them are all Muslims and from the same North? It makes people suspicious and makes them lose confidence in such a leader. We are one in Nigeria and what a Muslim can do, a Christian can do. If you are a Christian president, make sure you mix up the appointees around you by having people from all the geopolitical zones in your administration. If you are a Muslim, we know you are a Muslim and there certainly must be Christians that will be loyal to you. Why not pick such instead of constituting an all-Muslim government? But when all the people surrounding you are from the same religion and ethnic group, maybe one day you will wake up and conduct security meeting in your language and nobody will hear what you are discussing. If that is happening, you will lose the confidence of Nigerians. If you say you want it that way because you want people you can trust, know that it’s not everybody you trust that can be very effective. Somebody you think you cannot trust might even be better sometimes than the person you feel you trust and sometimes, the person you trust may disappoint you and may no longer be afraid of you. I want to advise our leaders, please, if you are in a position, don’t say you must fill that position with your own people alone. That is nepotism and it’s very wrong because you are bringing division into your leadership. Nepotism will not help Nigeria but will further divide this nation. Until we solve that problem, Nigeria will not be able to move forward.
What is your advice to Nigerians ahead of the elections?
I want to first of all advise the electorate that everybody should have his or her PVC. That is our power. Also, don’t allow anybody to come and buy your PVC. Vote buying is common these days. We have desperate politicians going from one place to another, buying PVCs. They will disenfranchise you. Don’t sell out your PVCs. Look for a leader that will move Nigeria forward. We want Nigeria to be one despite the fact that Nigeria is so big. Our situation is peculiar. Let us be warned and elect leaders that have the interest of the people at heart and not tribalistic or religious bigots. We need somebody that can come and move our nation forward. It’s my desire that Nigeria should remain one.