By Peter Duru, Makurdi

Bothered by the recurrent crisis that trails elections in Benue State, and the heightening tension in the state ahead of the February elections, Catholic bishops, last weekend, organized a two- day Prayer Pilgrimage for Peace in the state.

The pilgrimage, held at the Saint John’s Catholic Church, Gboko, brought together all major political actors in the coming elections, paramount rulers and non-Christians alike.

The gathering, which afforded political actors and leaders of thought, irrespective of political affiliations, an opportunity to bare their minds on burning issues in the state and country at large, also availed them a platform to make definite commitments to ensure the peaceful conduct of the forthcoming general elections in Benue.

To set the ball rolling, the convening priests, through the Most Rev. Peter Adoboh, the   Bishop of Katsina-Ala, said the pilgrimage the third in the series, was organise to chart the way forward for the conduct of credible, free, fair and peaceful elections in the state and the country.

He said the Church was committed to ensuring that the elections were held without incidents as was recorded in the past, advising government to provide a level-playing field to allow for the elections.

“With the advent of elections, it is important that religious leaders encourage their congregation to exercise their franchise rightly and not coerce them on who to vote or party to support. The pulpit should no be used to canvass for vote”, Adoboh said.

“Traditional leaders should also disengage from obstructing the free flow of the process. Voters should desist from selling their votes while the youths should should shun being used for killings, maiming or destructive actions.

“Our people have suffered enough; politicians must desist from adding to their excruciating pains, poverty and suffering. I admonish you to be united, regardless of your political and party affiliations.”

He said since the Church has a moral responsibility to the people, it would not fail to speak out against the ills of the society and the dangers posed to the unity and peace of the country and it’s citizenry.

Among those who were called upon to address the gathering were leaders of thought,   past, present and future leaders of the state.

In his speech, Gen. Atom Kpera (rtd.) noted that the absence of peace in Benue and Nigeria in general was disturbing “which should give us sleepless nights because 2015 is full of dangers.

On her part, Dr. Magdalen Dura lamented the level of injustice in the society, regretting that Nigerians suffer discrimination in their own country on the basis of tribe or place of origin. “To discriminate against anybody in an electoral process because of where he comes from is an act that is not right with God,”Dura said.

“I want to move on to what is happening in our state. Indeed we are in difficult times and people are being frustrated, our people are dying, our people are suffering. Across the federation, salaries have not been paid. In Benue, salaries have not been paid.

“I want to say that anybody in the position of leadership who believes in Christ and the concept of peace must ensure that people have what to eat.

“The situation in our state today is that our people can no longer pay fees, they can no longer eat food. Indeed there is economic recession across the world. What Benue is suffering, other states are also suffering because of inadequate allocation of funds but please our rulers should ensure that the people earn their wages so that they can take care of their responsibilities.”

Dura also enjoined the Church and the traditional institution to lead the people aright by being unbiased umpires on issues that affect the people.

In his remark, the APC governorship candidate in the state, Dr. Samuel Ortom, urged the people to imbibe the fear of God and by so doing take heed of the word of God and do the right things.

“We must also imbibe the habit of forgiveness which will usher in peace”, Ortom said, noting that the peace initiative by the Catholic Church came at the right time in an election year.

Also speaking, the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Dr. Terhemen Tarzoor, cautioned against desperation among politicians, stressing that desperate acts on the part of political office seekers was a recipe for crisis, break down of law and order and lack of peace.

Senator Barnabas Gemade, on his part, urged the men of God not to renege on their responsibilities to the people but guide the rulers rightly “so that there can be peace and hope in the state and the country at large.”

In his speech, the Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume, assured that his party would work closely with the ruling party to resist any attempt to plunge the state into crisis and bloodshed, before, during and after the polls.

Governor Gabrel Suswam, in his speech said, “I have been contesting elections since 1999, and nobody can associate me with violence because I have continuously eschewed campaign of calumny and name calling.

“As we go about our campaigns and move closer to the elections, i plead with all politicians to desist from using inflammatory languages that could incite the people into violence. It is a duty we owe the state and the people we hope to lead.

“On my part as the chief security officer of Benue state, I assure and guarantee Benue people that the coming general elections will be conducted in an atmosphere that is devoid of violence and crisis.

“Since Senator George Akume has also agreed that the opposition would work towards a peaceful process, we will collaborate to ensure that the coming elections would be the most peaceful in the history of our state.” The Governr said.

In his remarks, the Senate President, David Mark, noted that peace was fundamental to the survival, development and growth of any society and sued for peaceful coexistence in the state.

Addressing the gathering, the paramount ruler of the Tiv tribe, Tor Tiv Dr. Alfred Akawe Torkula, whose speech was intermittently disrupted by the congregation, insisted that the clery, politicians and everyone had been involved in the breach of peace in the state and called for a change of heart.

In a joint pastoral letter on the 2015 elections, issued at the end of the pilgrimage, the Catholic bishops expressed fears about the capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct free, fair and credible polls in the country.

Titled “Let there be peace”, part of the letter read, “In view of the unfortunate challenges encountered in recent elections conducted in some states of the country, there is considerable pessimism regarding the capacity of the Commission   to organize free, fair and credible elections in 2015.

“But we believe a change can always be effected by those determined to do what is right and noble. Hence, we are all yearning for trustworthy elections in 2015, and it is the responsibility of INEC to satisfy our yearning.

They added, “Since free and fair elections start with good preparations, we earnestly request the electoral commission to ensure that all processes from the registration to the actual voting and beyond are properly and diligently managed in an open, honest and transparent manner.”

The priests further observed with dismay that elections in Nigeria were usually tainted with malpractices and violence and called for a change of heart among the political class.