ALIA, THIS WAS NOT YOUR PROMISE WITH IDPs
…Governor planning to grab Benue lands for Fulani
It started like an unwanted joke, but now the romour has become reality. The Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia has concluded arrangements to carve large parcels of land in different local governments of the state and give to his sponsors and benefactors – Fulani to occupy. The plan is cast in deceit so some indigenous people of Benue State are yet to discover the evil that is lurking around them.
Recall that during his campaign to be governor, Alia promised that within his first 100 days in office, he would return all the internally displaced people (IDP) to their ancestral homelands. But that was only a veil to conceal the real agenda until the time the Fulani agent would ascend to power as governor of Benue State. Remember that Fulani elites coordinated by former Governor of Kaduna Nasiru el Rufai bankrolled Alia’s campaign with multi billions of naira. Alia took an oath with Fulani as a binding commitment that he would fully implement the terms of the agreement he had with them and they supported him with money plus voodoo to hypnotize the people and win the election.
Governor Alia was invited by the Fulani Caliphate to its headquarters in Sokoto on the 9th of March, 2024 where he met behind closed doors with the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar whom he fondly calls “my daddy”. It was at that secret meeting that the deal was struck for Alia to return to Benue State and actualize the Fulani agenda. It was at the same meeting that Alia assured the leadership of the Caliphate that as soon as he was back to the state, he would withdraw the ultimatum he had reluctantly issued to Fulani to vacate the state with their cows, following the pressure from Benue people.
The Sultan had earlier in the day during a ceremony where Alia was present, described Tiv people in derogatory terms as cattle thieves and turned to lavish praises on the Governor for defending Fulani interests in Benue State. Alia made no effort to correct the indictment of his people by the Fulani spiritual leader.
Recently, Governor Alia began the actualization of the Fulani integration process in the state. The deal is to keep the Benue IDPs permanently in centralized locations so as to allow Fulani pastoralists free access to massive lands in different parts of the state.
On the 25th of January 2025, Governor Alia launched a five-year action plan which he claimed is to support over 500,000 IDPs in the state. The Governor said the action plan includes peacebuilding efforts, land donations from traditional rulers, and support for IDPs as they transition to their homes. The emphasis of the plan is land donation from Benue people through their chiefs where large camps will be built to relocate the people far away from their ancestral homes into those camps while their lands are turned to grazing fields for Fulani cows.
So far, Governor Alia has completed the erecting of such camps in some locations with more under construction. Each of the camps is said to have the capacity to accommodate at least 4,000 IDPs. He announced that 10 percent of Benue’s budget has been allocated for the implementation of the pro-Fulani plan.
The governor has issued a strict directive to local government chairmen in the state to hold meetings with stakeholders and get ready to donate lands for the Fulani agenda.
Already, the move has sparked protests from farmers and other indigenous peoples of the state who have sensed a land grabbing agenda. Some have told Governor Alia that his plot to snatch their lands and give to his Fulani sponsors will not work. They have reminded the governor of his promise to return the IDPs to their lands within a short period of his tenure.
Another worrisome issue is that Governor Alia has literally become the spokesman for Fulani pastoralists. He absolves them of blame and defends them against accusations better than they defend themselves. Nomadic Fulani do no wrong in the eyes of Hyacinth Alia. He says the herders only react when their cattle are rustled and he also says his people are the cattle rustlers. Each time Alia accuses his people of stealing Fulani cattle, he receives a pat on the back from the Caliphate. Make no mistake about it.
Fulani herdsmen have taken over many parts of the state and are in firm control. The pastoralists decide who goes where. The Fulani have appointed some of their members as leaders of the occupied communities. The indigenous villagers have to pay the armed herders money to allow them to go to their farms, and the villagers are under an unwritten oath never to complain if their farms are destroyed by Fulani cattle.
Whenever someone dies, the Fulani demand payment before allowing the bereaved family to bury their dead. That is the grim situation currently in Benue State under Alia.
Governor Alia is apparently serving the interests of Fulani and he is determined to help them become integrated into Benue State where they can own land and freely rear their cattle.
As a group of patriotic and concerned citizens, we call on Governor Alia to reconsider his agenda to take the lands of Benue and use it to oil his relationship with Fulani. He has been giving them all contracts for projects, but we have no problem with that because it is his decision as governor to award a contract to whoever he wants. But he should not try to trigger an unnecessary crisis within our communities. Our land is given to us by God and not even one million Alias can take it away.
Signed:
Dennis Agema
President
Network For Transparent Governance (NTG)
Oliver Omenka
Secretary General
