It is on record that the Northern elites were the first to reject Senator George Akume when he vied for the position of the President of the 8th Senate. The Fulani hegemony particularly said the man they described as “Dan Giya” which means drunkard in Hausa was not fit to preside over activities at such a hallowed chamber.
The Oligarchs have once again shown that the man who has always shown the attributes of a traitor, betraying his people for peanuts and unmerited political favours is not someone they could trust with anything worth protecting. That is why North Central stakeholders of the All Proressives Congress, APC have opted for Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State as their candidate for the position of the National Chairman of the party.
Ordinarilly, the Tiv nation would have been unsettled by that huge blow to their supposed kinsman; but the bitter truth is he neither deserves sympathy nor fit for the position.
It is no doubt that a man who has penchant for betraying even his immediate family members does not deserve to hold such a sensitive position as the National Chairman of a political party. If a man can sell the entire Tiv nation for an unfamiliar and redundant political position like the one he currently holds, what won’t he do to turn the office of the National Chairman of a party to a super market where party nominations shall be up for sale at all times? Won’t such a character trade the soul of the party for pecuniary benefits?
If Akume was not a bad student of the political history of Nigeria, he would have known that his uncle/brother/forerunner, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka was used and dumped by these same people who he is now romancing with. Tarka thought he was in the pole position for the NPN Presidential ticket; but he was frustrated out of contention. Akume’s case is even more precarious because he has persistently betrayed the Tiv people, unlike Senator Tarka who stood with his people to the dissatisfaction of the Fulani Oligarchy. Yet he was not treated fairly.
George Akume was advised by Tiv people of various demographics and other well meaning Nigerians to be cautious while dining with the enemies of the Tiv nation; but he would not listen to wise counsel just because of desperation for power which even when available to him, hardly benefits his people. It is no longer news that the Fulani hegemony has always gone beyond limit to put hurdles on the way of any Tiv man to success after using them. Akume is not just having a taste of the bitter pill. But would he change? We doubt.
We can see that Akume has now been handsomely rewarded, not only for betraying his people, but also for dancing on the graves of Tiv children, women and the elderly who have fallen by the sword and guns of Fulani militia. The same Fulani manipulators who are always delighted to sing for Akume and applaud him as he dances on the graves of his fallen kit and kin have now told him that he doesn’t really matter to them, contrary to his erroneous thinking.
Like the Tiv man says, any man who goes for a hunting expedition and makes fortune or has a big catch must have taken his luck from home. And no man can make it big in the hunting expedition or anything he searched for if his people do not approve of it. The manner in which Senator Akume has been suffering rejections among his people and beyond is a clear signal that the gods are not happy with him. His lack of empathy for his people first attracted a humiliating defeat for him in the Benue Zone B senatorial election in 2019. Lack of good will for him at home also made him fall out of favour with the power brokers at the centre, leading to his appointment as a minister without job to do.
We are even ashamed to remember that Senator Akume has never taken time to visit any of the IDP camps or considered it necessary to send relief materials to the displaced people. He rather prefers mocking the people by accusing them of killing themselves. What could be more heartless and sacrilegious! Even if the Tiv people were at war with the Falanis ( which is not even the case in the Benue genocide), Akume who is seen as responsible by unsuspecting and gullible followers should have been in the vanguard of ensuring that peace is restored between the “warring” sides. But it is sad that he enjoys cheering the killers of his people, while jeering the victims. Shame.
George Akume will be looking for some level of support and reprieve now that the heat is on him. But it is not clear where that can come from. He has become most unfortunate because the prayers of the Tiv people are not with him and the bones of those killed by Fulani militia to his delight are crying for justice to be meted to him. George Akume wants a bigger responsibility than the Ministerial position which has been inconsequential to him and his people, except serving as an avenue to sell the Tiv nation for pieces of silver. But the humiliation that has come with his rejection by the north-central stakeholders of the APC will haunt him for long, especially as it once again, presents him as an unstable character who should not be trusted by anybody with a responsibility.
Akume’s humiliating experience should serve as a deterrent to other Tiv sons and daughters who may be tempted to sell their people for plates of food. Anyone who buys the dummy of believing that he can get fame or prominence politically by betraying his/her people must be mistaking as there is nothing more than the backing from home. But when you stand alone, you risk the chance of falling into the pit without anyone drawing your attention to the death trap ahead. Akume has fallen into a ditch and we will not cry for him, because he committed political suicide.
Granted that the snubbing of Akume has further reinforced the fact that the APC is anti-Tiv in disposition, we sense the continuation of the jihad against Tiv and the unstable nature of the failed politician as the main drivers of their recent decision. Choosing Fulani man as the only viable option for the APC National Chairmanship position zoned to the Middle belt tells the story better. But with a resolute and brave leader like Samuel Ortom who is defending the Benue Valley without fear, we are sure of surviving the current jihad just as we did in 1804. Ortom is not a betrayal and he has been resilient and committed to standing with the people at all times.
We can’t conclude, at least for now, that all hope is lost for Senator Akume who has squandered all his political capital both at home and beyond. But he must humble himself, show that he really regrets his actions and apologise to the entire Tiv nation, failure of which he would simply destroy what is left of his waned political stature.
Comrade Ternenge Bendega, is the President, Zone B Youth Alliance in Benue State
