GOVERNOR ORTOM ALWAYS SETTING THE PACE
Mike T. Assoh Esq
Past Chairman, NBA Mkd
22/04/2022
You may choose to love or hate him but one thing you can not take away from him is his discerning mind and the ability to predict the future with a minimal margin of error even if not exactitude. The Governor has been around for long enough to study and comprehend the political tidal waves of this nation.
While it is a fact the agenda to kill , intimidate and threaten the Benue people to vacate the rich arable lands of the Benue valley has been hatched for decades, it took a worrying dimension from 2015 to date. The reasons for this are obvious as there seems to be a conspiracy of silence from the centre.
When the Governor assented to the Anti Open Grazing Law, many people called him names. Even some sections of the press vilified him out of mischief. Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore gave press statements threatening fire and brimstone and did actually executed their threats. Was any one of their known leaders apprehended so as to face justice for the carnage? Your guess is as good as mine. Intense pressure was mounted on the Governor to rescind his decision but Governor Ortom maintained his position as once a law is duly passed , it must be obeyed. This position has put our Governor on collision course with the Presidency to date. However , even before the dust could settle, almost all States in the federation trooped to Benue State to adopt the Ortom model. Today, the Anti Open Grazing Law has been enacted all over Nigeria.
Recently on Arise TV, the Governor derided the anti corruption fight of the Buhari government. He gave it out raw to say the least. He called for the release of Jolly Nyame and Joshua Dariye from prison custody. Boom the duo and many others were granted presidential pardon with the speed of lightening. Governor Ortom first called for their release.
It is a sad fact that we hardly encourage our leaders while on the saddle with constructive criticisms. All we do is to launch destructive attacks based purely on Party differences. All our Governors from Aper Aku to date were attacked and called names. Today , Governor Aku and Fr Adasu are celebrated in death. No one celebrated Adasu by pointing out his good deeds while alive. The credit for the establishment of Benue State University was even given to others but today he is remembered for building on the legacies of Aku and laying a good foundation for industrial development of Benue state. Governor Ortom should continue setting the pace as history will judge him fairly.
