BLOOD IN THE FIELDS, SILENCE IN POWER: GOVERNOR ALIA, SPEAK UP OR STEP ASIDE
By Augustine Adikwu
14th June, 2027
Once again, tragedy has struck the land of Yelewata, Nyiev in Guma Local Government Area—less than two days after brutal attacks devastated communities around the North-Bank area of Makurdi. The pattern is becoming all too familiar, and the pain far too unbearable.
On June 13, 2025, armed herdsmen launched yet another horrific assault, leaving behind a trail of death and despair. Innocent villagers—men, women, and children—were slaughtered in their own homes in what should have been just another day in their quiet, farming lives. Now, those same homes are silent, and the soil beneath them runs red.
While the people of Benue mourn and bury their loved ones, shallow grave after shallow grave, Governor Hyacinth Alia offers little more than blame. Instead of leadership, we get finger-pointing—targeting religious leaders, lawmakers, and anyone else but himself. Yet it is he who holds the mandate to lead and protect.
In contrast, Hon. Orwough Maurice, the Guma LGA Chairman, has been seen striving to calm tensions and bring relief—his efforts now overshadowed by the senseless violence and seeming inaction from above.
How many more must perish before real accountability begins? How long before leadership stops being about speeches and becomes about action? We are not asking for miracles—we are demanding duty, empathy, and responsibility.
This is no longer a political debate. It is a humanitarian crisis. The people of Benue were promised safety and care, but what they’ve received is silence, deflection, and abandonment. If Governor Alia cannot rise to the challenge, then he must make way for someone who can.
To those who have lost family, may you find strength in this darkness. And to the innocent who died for nothing but living in a place their government failed to defend, your memory will not be forgotten.
Benue is crying. The nation is watching. The silence must end.
