Ahead of the 2019 gubernatorial elections, the Benue state governor, His
Excellency, Dr. Samuel Ortom has reiterated his determination to defend
and protect the people of the state, saying the security of the people
remain his top priority and his administration will ensure policies that
will bring lasting solutions to the perennial security challenges in the
state.
Governor Ortom who made this known in a recent chat with newsmen in
Makurdi, said his return to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was in the
interest of the people and as governor of the state, as long as he makes
policies that will protect his people, he is ready to give up his life and
no amount of intimidation can stop him.
He said his former party; the All Progressive Congress (APC) had the
capacity to end killings in the state but deliberately refused to protect
the people from killer herdsmen, rather, they conspired with the enemy to
eliminate the people from their land.
According to him, despite the daunting challenges and opposition he has
received for taking a stand with his people, especially on the issue of
the anti-open grazing bill in the state, his administration has recorded
modest achievements in the area of security, economy and value addition in
all sectors of the economy of the state.
“In 2015 when we came in, if you ask those who were here, they will give
you an account of how the security was. A lot of people were moving away
from the state and this was of great concern. There were a lot of
kidnappings, armed robbery, assassination and all that. We also saw that
there was proliferation of arms by youths so we introduced the amnesty
programme using the carrot approach first and later applied the stick
approach and these yielded results. Up till today, the carrot approach has
yielded a lot of result as more than 900 of these youths returned their
various weapons to government and in turn, we did some compensation. We
trained some, we engage some, but later, some of them went back to their
evil ways. But reasonably, we were able to get some of those weapons back
and we destroyed them. At the expiration of the carrot approach, we
applied the stick approach and that is still ongoing. Up till today, we
have recorded huge success.”
Ortom who also spoke on the issue of herdsmen killings in the state said
it is a deliberate attempt by a group of people to take over the country
and make it their own so that they will continue to rule and intimidate
others as second citizens in their own country. “As far as I am
concerned, it is not herdsmen and farmers clash. There is more to it. Let
nobody deceive us that it is about rearing cattle, otherwise, if it is
about rearing cattle, the submissions we brought up would have settled the
problem once and for all. It is about a deliberate plan by a certain
people who have decided that they will take over Nigeria. They came out
openly and said it is a continuation of 1804 jihad. That they intend to
complete the assignment their forefathers could not complete and we said
no, we cannot allow it. If you look at all these cattle we are talking
about, they are creating crises all over Nigeria, not just Benue state but
also other parts of the country”.
While disclosing that it was in a bid to find a lasting solution to the
herdsmen and farmers crises that the state enacted the anti open grazing
law, Ortom said he has no regrets for creating the law because he is
convinced it was the right thing to do in order to preserve and protect
the people and their land despite the high cost, time and resources.
“The constitution empowers states to make laws for good governance that
can protect the people and so for me, I have no regret because this law
followed due process. I tell you the truth, from the comments some federal
government agencies make on this law, you will know that they are also
part of Miyetti Allah because they speak as if they are agents of Miyetti
Allah who have continued to rain terror on our people”.
He further disclosed that based on the law, more than 400 herdsmen have so
far been arrested with over 40 convictions while more than 20 persons are
currently in prison and the government is determined to make more arrests
as it is the only way to live in peace.
He dismissed the claims by some persons that it was the enactment of the
law that ignited the crises, saying “Those who claim that it is the law
that brought crises, these crises started far before we enacted this law.
I inherited it when I came in. In 2011 when I was serving as a minister,
my house was destroyed, my farm and everything was razed down because of
these crises. There was no law then and of course how about other places
like plateau state where every day they are still killing? In Kaduna,
Adamawa and other places even in the south nobody is spared so are there
laws there”?, he asked.
“I can’t see myself as governor when my people are being killed like
chickens for no just cause and I will keep quite. I know as governor of
Benue state, the constitution provides immunity for me. Even if I commit a
crime, I cannot be arrested. I am the only one with my deputy with that
provision that the constitution covers for Benue state. So if I cannot
speak, who do I expect to speak especially when it concerns things that
are unjustly been perpetrated on my people?”.
“We have written petitions to the IGP and other security agencies and the
presidency to arrest these people but up till today as I talk to you, the
leadership of Miyetti Allah is living in palaces in this country with
heavily armed security personnel protecting them and this shows the level
of conspiracy that we are in but as far as I am concerned, we will
continue. We have taken Miyetti Allah to court in the absence of security
men arresting them. We have done everything legally and we’ll continue to
do so until these people are brought to book. They cannot go scout free”.
On the federal government’s bid to diversify the economy through
agriculture, Ortom said time has come for people in government to shy away
from hypocrisy, lies and imbibe the habit of patriotism and ensure
truthfulness in all they do. According to him, diversifying the economy
through agriculture is not achievable because anybody who is truly
concerned about economic diversification through agriculture must first
look at areas with comparative advantage. To him, Benue state is a state
where everything grows but has been neglected by government, rather, all
kinds of mercenaries are allowed to come in with their evil agenda which
can never be allowed.