ORTOM: A Monumental Failure

 They have murdered the state itself and is in the last and highest form of decomposition.
Benue has the worst government within the north central zone and Nigeria at large, indeed as unacceptable as it is, it's a measure of the grandiose failure of this regime. The core of the crisis is the state’s failure to pay workers their salaries after billions of handouts it has been collecting from abuja and banks.Benue future has been mortgaged by ortom.

The collapse of the educational system is indicative of the general collapse and retreat of the state. That same decay is found in the health sector, where our people are suffering the indignity of feudal diseases such as Hiv/aids, tuberculosis etc. No wonder our life expectancy is now 34 for women and 37 for men; statistics rivalled only by Borno and Yobe states, whom are war torn states.
Agriculture, a sector that is supposed to be the driving force of our economy has been completely neglected and abandoned. This government wants quick money to spend. Benue politicians want to enjoy the spoils and largesse that comes with office than service delivery, the reason agriculture cannot thrive since it needs investment, time and subsidy to get it moving. If government were interested in creating opportunities for people, agricultural sector alone, can generate over 3 million or more jobs in Benue, thereby solving the problem of insecurity pari passu.
At least 3 to 4 million of our people are living in extreme poverty and currently 40% of the rural population are surviving on less than a dollar per week. In some areas, children walk hours to school, walk hours to fetch water, and there are no clinics at all.
Urban dwellers continuously tangle with issues of social amenities, infrastructure, rural-urban migration, water; the product of an erratic, dishonest, inconsistent, psychopathic policy being brewed at them by government.
The pursuance of haphazard, ill-baked polices by the past governors, from Akume, Suswam to Ortom have done more harm to Benue than 23 years of Benue creation before democracy returned in 1999. The vicious assault on the people by unleashing state agents with the aim to maim and molest is unacceptable as it is condemnable.
In short, Benue political locusts has redefined economic failure and economic bastardisation. They have shown that there is no such thing as a breaking point or tipping point in economies. That collapse is as elusive as the horizon.
It is the collapse of the public education system that is unpardonable. Education is the fundamental foundational matrix upon which a renewed Benue can be built. This regime and the one before it is refusing to understand that more than anyone else, which is why in the first decade of Benue, late Aper Aku, set out investing in education aggressively. The result was massive enrolment of students and extensive capitalisation, particularly in the rural areas.
That this regime is allowed to kill the educational system is unacceptable, especially considering that the majority of government officials have their children in private schools and universities outside Benue State. Benue state university today is ranked 82 out of 100 in Nigeria.
For years Sen. George Akume has been allowed to run amok, dabbling in quasi-fiscal activities. These activities have seen him become the de-facto government of the land. In 2015 alone, he has been alleged to have spent millions if not billions of state funds through his gangs parading as government aides.
Akume could easily have saved Benue by endorsing Emmanuel Jime or allowing free and fair primary, but no, he preferred a stooge. He didn’t because there is no immediate short-term benefit.
Faced with the frustration of failing to transform the state and deliver democratic dividends as promised during electioneering campaigns, stage of the struggle, degenerates and decomposes into neo-patrimony, clientelism, the imperial display of power and patronage. It converts the state into a rogue state where violence, corruption and personal accumulation become vehicles for the continued reproduction of negativity in the state.
Benue needs to be saved from itself or it will take the people with it. That is exactly where Benue is at the present moment. Benue needs to be saved from itself or it will annihilate the entity that Benue is.
The agreement that Gov. Ortom had with Benue must be seen in this context. The agreement to change the status quo, to give us a new lease of life, reinvent Benue and make it a better place for all, is no longer in the making but all that we see now is retreat, retrogression, intimidation, killing, kidnapping, insecurity, hunger and extreme hardship, created and supervised by government. The political locusts, who can’t see beyond their nose, continue to frustrate that agreement by making demands and complaints that will reduce an innocent and disinterested bystander. Demands in increased taxes thereby closing any hope as regard survival, complaint of lack of money to execute projects while at the same time diverting the one we have under fictitious receipts and companies.
For us in Benue State, we are fully aware of the historical duties on our shoulders and will do everything to save this state from this .

However, our elasticity is only marginal.Benue must take on ortom and it's government to task to explain on the extravagance at the expense of necessary government activities that can benefit all Benue.
Ortom is not owing himself and it's officials but is owing the poor civil servant who voted him into power to improve on their lot.Zam,one of ortom official,who like others are living on people.Ortom is settling his pocket and it's officials in million every month while the very people who are working,are being starve to death.And I asked a question;why ortom and Co.who are already millionaires cannot forfeit their bogus allowances and others benefits for the welfare of the suffering civil servants?This government lavish lifestyle as examplified by Zam is sinking Benue.
Time is up for us Benue people to continue being led by leaders who lead us nowhere due to their lack of vision,greed and corruption.
Benue has suffered mainly due to clueless leadership.The leadership that has surrendered,to fate,the Benuelites welfare thinking it can never be sustainably uplifted.They have resorted to handout as a way out.No!Benue cannot develop through handout.A well meaning government therefore should stop regarding handout as a best way out of helping Benue.
If the government is bereaved of ideas,let it quit or call for more capable hands with required creativity that can usher in real change.where have we,as a people,lost the magic?Aper Aku and Adasu of blessed memory,performed credible well even with little resources.But also believe leadership determine the direction,but in Benue case,leadership lacks it.The leadership is lacking the necessary vision and clue to revamp Benue economy.
Benue has for long,trusted leaders who have masqueraded as capable,but have failed big time due to selfishness.Even those who have started on a good note got derailed in a process owing to lack of proper planning,focus and vision.
Benue is literally on its knees,with unemployment rising,hunger and poverty stalking the majority of its people and a breakdown in social and health system.Instead of ortom, focusing on pressing issues like pensioners,workers,high unemployment rate,water,declining educational standard and deteriorating agricultural production,the government is lamenting about lack of funds to run things.
Did ortom not understand the enormity of the task ahead of him before venturing into it?You cannot know a leader when the movement is fine,you can only know a leader in critical time like this.
It obvious this government lacks the vision and leadership acumen to address the suffering of Benuelites.Ortom is overwhelmed.

Written by Terese Shawon Ute

To be continued...