By Pita Agbese
Governor H.I. Alia wears a cassock and other priestly regalia, but to hope that those accoutrements inoculate him from behaving like a run-of-the-mill Nigerian politician tantamount to throwing sputum at the moon for not being as bright as the sun. In every way, expectations to the contrary notwithstanding, Alia has followed the familiar pattern of typical Nigerian politicians: promises more than he can deliver; bears grudges against his opponents; bewildering divisiveness; clannish disposition; impulsive behavior; prioritizing the mundane and the nonsensical; insufferable arrogance; nepotistic inclinations, vainglorious pomposity; and wastefulness.
Each of the above characterizations of Alia can be backed up with ample evidence, but I will limit myself to just a few. Building an underpass in a place with little or no traffic congestion is a monument to self-glorification. It is wasteful and it was impulsive. Alia has been divisive even within his own political party. His haughty attitude to those he disagrees with and his proclivity to use insulting and belittling words on his opponents are not tactics that can bring people together. Alia’s decision to expand Government House in the face of more important issues on which to expend public resources is unconscionable. Why, for example, would Alia put a higher priority on expanding Government House than in resettling the IDPs?
The announcement that Alia has appointed a Gubernatorial Liaison Officer (GLO) for each of the twenty-three local government areas cannot be defended on any logical ground. What functions exactly are the GLOs supposed to perform? How much money has Alia devoted to creating these Potemkin Villages? Where in this year’s budget is this wasteful expenditure reflected? In an age in which efforts are being made to conduct the business of government more efficiently, why is Alia saddling us with the albatross of GLOs? GLOs fly in the face of reducing the costs of governance through e-governance. No part of Benue is more than an eight-hour drive away from Makurdi, the state capital. Why then, other than a strategy of jobs for the boys, did Alia create the GLOs? He already has his men as chairmen of the local governments. Why does he need to duplicate his men in the local governments? At a time in which the incubus of the state government has been removed through the financial autonomy of the local governments, why does Alia seek to control the local governments through the backdoor? Does Alia really believe in local government autonomy? If so, why is he compelling them to expend money reconstructing state roads? Is the federal government forcing Alia to share in the construction of federal roads?
It should be recalled that President Shehu Shagari’s establishment of similar offices (Presidential Liaison Officers) in each of the then nineteen states came under withering criticisms. Happily, no other administration at the federal level has followed Shagari’s foolish debacle. Alia’s decision to domesticate Shagari’s blunder in Benue should not escape public opprobrium.
It may be too late to put the GLO milk back in the breasts, but it’s certainly not too late to draw attention to how Alia was more interested in creating GLOs than in responding to the debilitating strike of hospital employees which has further crippled the epileptic health system and services in Benue.
