“It would be prudent for them to hurry back to their familiar propaganda workshop and attempt to craft something far more coherent and convincing”.
BY BARNS CHONKULA
A team of disgruntled politicians in Benue state who have chosen the path of weaponizing the insecurity in the country as a campaign tool against the administration of the day have once again emerged to parade their trademark theatrics of feigned concern before the public.
In their latest script, these perpetual aspirants under the label “Kunav governorship aspirants” have descended into petty gossip, clumsily packaged in a letter addressed to the leadership of the Church, in their determined move to destroy their own brother, the Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia.
My readers would recall that not long ago, a member of this same political brigade had the audacity, God knows from where, to petition the Pope to defrock the governor from the priesthood. As absurd as that episode sounded, it revealed just how far desperation can drive desperate politicians to behave like children who have misplaced the basic faculty of logic.
Today, these aggrieved political merchants are once again calling on the leadership of the Church to act against the governor for what they have described as the desecration of church platforms. They cite both imagined and selectively exaggerated instances where the governor simply stood his ground, refusing to be bullied or blackmailed merely because of his religious background.
These double dealing politicians, who have perfected the art of deceit, are the very same people who routinely mount church altars while lying effortlessly, as though they have long parted ways with both morality and conscience. It is therefore ironic that they have suddenly discovered what qualifies as the desecration of sacred platforms.
If only this crop of embittered politicians understood the obvious before them, that the leadership of the Church already knows better than to take them seriously, not yesterday, not today, and certainly not on the strength of the lengthy AI generated epistle they have hurriedly dispatched to ecclesiastical authorities.
One is left to wonder what keeps reviving the illusion in their minds that they stand any realistic chance of unseating the governor. That illusion appears to continually plant increasingly outlandish and ill-conceived strategies in their heads as supposed pathways to removing the governor from office.
Once again, they have fired blanks.
Ask these Kunav governorship aspirants to clearly state what the governor is doing wrong that they believe they can correct, and it would quickly become obvious that they lack a coherent alternative agenda. What is evident instead is a persistent desperation to remove the governor without presenting any convincing plan for doing things differently or better.
Prof. Denis Tyavyar served as an aide to Senator Iyorchia Ayu and later became Commissioner for Education as well as head of the state’s economic team, but his performance left many dissatisfied, especially in the area of scholarships. Prof. Terhemba Shija, though a respected academic, did not record widely visible contributions during his time as commissioner.
Prof. Paul Angya served as Acting Director General of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, yet there are no widely known projects or employment opportunities he facilitated for Benue State during his tenure.
The developmental impact of Hon. Dominic Ucha is equally difficult to point to, despite serving as a two term member of the State Assembly.
ESV Godwin Tyoachimin spent many years in the Federal Ministry and rose to the rank of Director, yet no tangible contributions to the state known to anyone.
These people need to get more serious.
It would be prudent for them to hurry back to their familiar propaganda workshop and attempt to craft something far more coherent and convincing. Clearly, this latest outing is yet another punctured manoeuvre, both noisy and empty.
…Barns Chonkula, a political analyst writes from Abuja
