Benue is at a very crucial time in history. It is time for stakeholders, opinion leaders, men and women of good thinking, to guide our people away from being entrapped in small-minded politicking that holds self-materialism in the highest regard.

The elections have come and gone but whatever happens thereafter, would directly or  indirectly shape the future towards sustainable development or otherwise. However, if we fail to guide and re-orientate our people positively, the consequences of our inaction, would deprive us the necessary development. In essence, the development of Benue State is through collective responsibility.

Although the state witnessed intense politicking on the road to the April 2011 general elections, which sometimes resulted in confrontations, however it is high time all gladiators sheathed their sword. The great people of Benue State are looking forward with great enthusiasm and hope for the prospect of a rewarding second term with Governor Gabriel Torwua Suswan, whom they voted for massively having made far reaching impact in the first term.

It was obvious the people pitched their tents with reality, the imperatives of the moment and in a man that they can trust. The Governor has assured that his focus is on creating an enduring polity: “Our Benue that guarantees our future”.

However, we have come to the realisation that the root cause of the state’s problem in the past lies in the fact that some selfish individuals in the corridor power are largely in a world of their own, perpetuating selfish political interest instead of making self-sacrifice for the collective good of the people. But the people have now understood that the entrenchment of  core values in the polity as clearly identified and defined by the Suswam led government, as the major thrust of his government, would help to take the state to a great height.

There is, therefore,  the need to sustain the present momentum which eluded Benue State before 2007 in order to nurture the right environment that would enable us, whether Tiv, Idoma, Etulo or Igedde, to unleash our creative energies and full potentials.

Since the creation of Benue State in 1976, its journey has been characterised by sparks of hope such that what needed to be done was to build on and consolidate early achievements. However, all hope is not lost as indications currently exist that Benue State under the leadership of Dr. Suswam is gradually being repositioned to realise her destiny.

He has demonstrated doggedness in reforming important sectors and liberating the people of the State. Unfortunately, these meaningful strides have not gone down well with the self-seeking power mongers who are agitated by the scale of the reforms taking place. But it is time to collectively move the state forward and do away with bad politics of the past.

Cynics who have often sought to denigrate the Governor should have a rethink that the development of the state is not about Suswan alone but a collective task. The ongoing campaign of calumny over the election petition tribunal is a needless distraction.

What has generated so much heat was the issue of academic credentials.  But in the eighties when the General Certificate ofEducation Examinations, GCE, were taken with a class made of barely 30 students, no one could contemplate or even procure a proxy to write the examinations as being alleged and to say the least, forging secondary school results.

The Governor graduated and was called to the prestigious Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria! The Governor has proved that his academic background and intellectual capacity remain unassailable. There is no doubt that the  people of Benue State who turned out to felicitate with him on the successful completion of a PhD degree in Law know better. Therefore, in the interest of our collective development, we should stop this ‘pull him down at all cost syndrome’. Benue is beyond individuals and groups.

There is also the need to stop the mischief being propagated over  failure of leadership; infrastructure decay; non-performance; corruption and insecurity. It is sickening and portrays those making such comments as desperate.

Any objective mind would not dispute the fact that the solid foundation laid in the first term of the Governor is being sustained and developed to unlock the full potentials of the State. The act of attaining greatness is not difficult to understand once a good foundation has been put in place.

Mr. Teddy Yankyaa writes from Kubwa, Abuja.