A double portion of Adasu’s anointing needed in Benue, by Andrew Agbese
One of the most popular stories about the manifestation of the powers of God was the encounter Prophet Elijah had with the priests of Baal on calling out fire to ignite and burn both the woods and items meant for sacrifice.
When the priests failed in the attempt, Elijah used the opportunity to show he served a living God when with one call, fire came from nowhere and licked up the woods and offerings.
It was Elijah who also performed other feats like outrunning a chariot, calling rains to eclipse a period of serious drought and had ravens supply him breakfast and dinner while he cooled off and drank water from a brook for days.
You would have thought all these powers would have been sufficient for any man until it was time for his protege, Elisha, to succeed him.
Rather than be content with a proportionate dose of Elijah’s anointing, Elisha demanded for a double portion of his master’s.
Now that Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has been elected governor of Benue State and is only waiting for the clock to tick to the zero hour to be sworn in, Elisha’s experience should come as instructive because the Reverend gentleman has the benefit of history to learn from.
Thirty one years ago, a Catholic priest, Moses Orshio Adasu had contested and won the governorship election in Benue State.
Father Moses as he was popularly known before he ventured into politics, was the first Catholic priest in Benue, to go against the norm by demonstrating that priests, hitherto confined to liturgies, sermons and other soul winning ventures could go beyond the pulpit to participate in active politics.
As a priest who took the oath that forbids materialism, Adasu saw leadership as another platform to serve humanity and offered to do that through service to his people.
Adasu was lucky that in the brief period he served as governor he was able to prove that he had an anointing for political service such that by the time Sani Abacha came and sacked that administration, Adasu could say he had justified the diversion through the positive impact he made on the lives of the people.
Projects done by his administration in less than two years included the Benco Roof Tiles, the Katsina-Ala Fruit Juice Company and Benue State University.
The Reverend Gentleman also revived and upgraded the College of Education, Oju; the Benue Printing and Publishing Company; Benue Breweries;Taraku mills, Otukpo Burnt Bricks etc.
His spartan discipline as a priest made him confounded at the size and lushness of the Government House, Makurdi, that he offered that since he had no wife or immediate family, he would convert the sprawling quarters to a specialist hospital.
The Reverend Gentleman even had the plan of using the River Benue to turn Makurdi into a mini Miami with glittering structures around the River in an ambitious venture called the Beach Road Project.
With so many legacies, it is not surprising that 30 years after he left office, citizens remember him with fondness while many are benefiting from his works.
There is no doubt that the bold step Adasu took in leaving the lectern to mount the podium served to encourage Father Alia of the ‘Yes Father’ fame to toe similar line even when his insistence to do so was termed an act of ‘contumacy.’
Since he is following in the footsteps of Adasu, it goes without saying that Alia has a lot to learn from the experience of the former governor.
The basic truth is that even 30 years ago, when the population of Benue was comparatively lower and the political atmosphere was less charged with no social media to contend with, governing Benue was not a piece of cake.
Anybody telling Alia that governing Benue would be a walk in the park in the present times is therefore not telling him the truth.
Let’s start with the political climate.
From all indications, the first problem Alia would encounter would not be from the masses but from the political elites and leadership of his party who are already bragging about putting him there.
These ones would definitely come with senses of entitlement claiming to have contributed to the success of the campaign and demanding rewards.
Given the limited resources available in the state however, it is nigh impossible for the incoming governor to accommodate all and those that lost out, just like it happened during Adasu’s time, may remain inconsolable if something is not done for them.
It happened during the Adasu era when even the simple matter of nominating commissioners became a major issue.
The pervasive selfishness on the part of stakeholders was so brazen that it was said that when Adasu requested for nominees to form his cabinet, one of the stakeholders had the effrontery to submit his name and that of his wife that the governor in anger had to tear the piece of paper to shreds in the man’s face!
It seemed that Adasu’s problems began from there as those who were implacable drew the battle line from there and gave the Reverend Father governor enough heat to make him uncomfortable.
The atmosphere became so charged due to intra party rivalry that national attention shifted to Benue with the move by the SDP majority House of Assembly to impeach the governor!
Adasu only managed to survive due to the wizardry of his henchmen then especially his adviser of special duties, Sebastian Agbinda.
The administration managed to turn the tide against the lawmakers causing the House to rather remove the Speaker, Stephen Tsav in a move that cleared the doubt about who was in charge and allowed the executive some peace.
From the look of things, the turmoil Adasu faced in the early 90s would appear a child’s play compared to what Alia may encounter.
This is because while most of the issues that dogged the Adasu administration have remained, there are some that are peculiar.
Adasu was luckier in that he contested the SDP ticket against the choice of those that could be regarded as godfathers in that era and was clearly the underdog in the primary. Notwithstanding, the powerful forces behind his opponent, Adasu triumphed due to his popularity and track record.
But even the few in the camp of progressives that supported him came with senses of entitlement and were making huge demands on him.
For Alia, the experience is not going to be anything different. Those that claim they procured him from relative obscurity to the klieg lights of Government House would make similar demands on him.
Not only that, but Alia would also be put to task by the forces he defeated to rise to power.
Unlike Adasu who took over from a millitary governor and had no hang-ups with his predecessor, Alia had just defeated an incumbent government and invariably poked his fingers at the ribs of the opposition.
The urge by these elements to cash on every crack while strategizing to get back at him would be very strong.
Alia would also have a hard time choosing between being populist or taking very hard decisions that will be for the benefit of the people in the long run.
That is one of the problems of riding on the back of populism; it puts the leader in tricky situation of whether to act meretriciously to attract applauses from the Hallelujah Corner or take drastic steps that initially appear discomforting but intended for the general good.
The issue of security also stares the governor in the face. Unlike his would be predecessor who could come out boldly to act even against the wish of the central government and be justified on account of political difference, Alia from political infancy to baptism, belongs to the ruling party at the center and cannot afford such confrontation.
Yes, while he enjoyed massive support on account of his being a Catholic priest, the manner he reacts to any attack would be closely watched and analysed against the backdrop of what his soon-to-be predecessor would have done in similar circumstances.
But the situation is not a hopeless one.
One of the things the Governor-elect has to do is to reassure all that he means well such that even when all who worked for him are not accommodated in government, they could see reasons with him and not fight back
But most importantly, the incoming governor must work hard and ensure he surpasses not just what his predecessor had done but set a new record that would be seen as doubling the efforts of Adasu.
Added to that, there are a few problems inherited from past administrations which the incoming governor had to act fast on to reassure the people that their confidence in him had not been misplaced.
These include paying arrears of salaries and pensions said to be owed and addressing infrastructural deficits in the state.
As a priest, Alia is seen as a man unencumbered by the demands of families hence would be expected to be more focused than those that came before him.
His calling as a priest also requires that the things that easily lure men into temptation would be far from him as his long years of service in the Lord’s vineyard should imply that he has overcome such distractions.
Such things, trivial as they may seem, have stood in the way of many of his predecessors from achieving set goals.
Clearly, Father Alia would require a double portion of Adasu’s anointing to succeed.
Mr Agbese writes from Abuja
