Map of Benue State in Nigeria's North Central region
“Not that I love Caesar less, but that I love Rome more.” – Cassius.
In these perditious times for millions of my beloved Benue people, these lines from a famous character in the all-time Shakespearean classic, Julius Caesar, readily come to mind for their direct relevance to our contemporary situation.
To paraphrase these eternal words and directly relate them to Benue’s contemporary situation, it is not that I hate (Rev. Fr.) Hycinth Alia (or any other person for that matter), but that I love Benue State and its millions of people more.
It is because I love Benue and its people more that I refuse to remain silent in the face of day light robbery; it is because I love Benue more that I say the deception, marginalisation and exploitation of Benue people these past two decades plus must stop. Yes, it is because I love Benue more that I refuse to be part of this mass hysteria; that I cannot be part of the madding crowd.
Because I love my people more, I refuse to be part of mass ejaculation, the orgy of deception which solely derives from this ‘opium of the masses’!
My stance is firmly rooted in just one fact: the entire thing is built on a lie. It is a blatant fallacy because even the masterminds who hatched this evil, and its most ardent supporter knows that what went down, that (non)process that threw up the young man, was exactly what it was, and remains: a sham; a mere charade which makes mockery of all democratic principles and practices. That is why the drums remain silent!
It is for this reason that I doff my hat for those brave Benue sons who, instead of goading their teeming supporters to mass action and a breakdown of law and order, are currently in the court of Justice to seek redress, for only here can Benue (at last) find lasting peace, become free and set upon the journey to true greatness.
Because we love Benue more.
- Adzegeh, a media consultant, writes from the heart.
