Benue 2027: One term to lay foundation, another to build

File: Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State

Politics in Benue is usually very interesting, and this is more so because, more often than not, it is always treated like a race for immediate applause instead of lasting legacies.

On that note, every administration wants quick projects, loud ribbon-cutting ceremonies and visible but ephemeral promises. However, real development takes time, because a house is not built by painting the walls before laying the foundation; this is what we witnessed in Benue before Governor Hyacinth Alia.

That is why the argument for Alia in 2027 deserves serious consideration. An administration deserves one term to identify the real problem, lay the foundation, and another to build on it.

Alia took over the reins of Benue State at a really difficult moment, having been handed a state that was bleeding, a state in hemorrhaging. Before Alia, Benue faced insecurity, unpaid obligations, weak institutions, youth unemployment and a struggling economy.

These problems won’t disappear because Alia simply wishes them to; they won’t disappear with one budget or one political season. They require patience, discipline and continuity in commitment.

Every administration’s first term should be judged by the problems it met and the foundation it creates. Pertinent questions should include: Are public finances becoming more transparent? Are workers paid more regularly? Are schools receiving attention? Are hospitals better equipped? Are roads being repaired in a way that connects farmers to markets? Is security being handled with greater seriousness instead of media theatrics?

A farmer in Mbagwaza needs a motorable road to move cassava to either Ihugh, Lessel or Adikpo. A trader in Agila needs a safer route to Igumale; another trader from Gbajimba needs a good road to Makurdi to reach customers. A student in Vandeikya needs a functioning classroom, not another abandoned school project. A mother in Obi needs a health centre where basic treatment is available without travelling for hours.

Such changes may not produce instant excitement, but they create the structure on which lasting progress stands. This is the path the governor is on.

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The first four years should, therefore, focus on putting systems in place, restoring confidence in government, strengthening local administration, supporting agriculture, improving security and opening the economy to private investment.

The second term would then provide the time to expand these efforts, complete unfinished projects and turn early reforms into measurable results.

Benue cannot afford to keep starting every four years afresh because people are ambitious to prove a point that has no need to be proven.

Each new government should not spend its first year discovering what the previous one already knew. Continuity should not mean researching what the current administration already knows. It should mean giving credible policies enough time to mature while holding the government accountable.

If Alia’s administration is laying the foundation, the people must ask one simple question: Is the work moving Benue forward? And the answer on the lips of the people of Benue is yes: Benue is moving from negative to positive, a fact even the opposition is not in denial about.

Sir Tersoo Kula is the Chief Press Secretary to the Benue State Governor