Chief George Akume, Governor of Benue State

BENUE STATE: FACTS AND FIGURES

Origin: Benue State derives its name from the River Benue, the second largest river in Nigeria and the most prominent geographical feature in the state

Date of creation: February 1976 Characteristics: Rich agricultural region; full of rivers, breadbasket of Nigeria.Present Governor: Chief George AkumePopulation: 5 millionArea: 34,059 sq. kmsCapital: MakurdiNumber of local government: 23Traditional councils: Tiv Traditional Council, headed by the Tor Tiv; and Idoma Traditional Council, headed by the Och’Idoma.

Location: Lies in the middle of the country and shares boundaries with Cameroon and five states namely, Nasarawa to the north, Taraba to the east, Cross River and Enugu to the south, and Kogi to the westClimate: A typical tropical climate with two seasons – rainy season from April to October in the range of 150-180 mm, and the dry season from November to March. Temperatures fluctuate between 23 degrees centigrade to 31 degrees centigrade in the yearMain Towns: Makurdi (the state capital), Gboko, Katsina-Ala, Adikpo, Otukpo, Korinya, Tar, Vaneikya, Otukpa, Oju, Okpoga, Awajir, Agbede, Ikpayongo, and Zaki-BiamRivers: Benue River and Katsina AlaCulture and tourism: A rich and diverse cultural heritage, which finds expression in colourful cloths, exotic masquerades, music and dances. Benue dances have won national and international acclaim, including the Swange and the Anuwowowo

Main occupation: FarmingAgricultural produce: Grains, rice, cassava, sorghum, soya beans, beniseed (sesame), groundnuts, tubers, fruits, and livestockMineral resources: Limestone, kaolin, zinc, lead, coal, barites, gypsum, Feldspar and wolframite for making glass and electric bulbs, and salt

Investment policies: Government has a liberal policy of encouraging investors through incentives and industrial layout, especially in the capital Makurdi, which is served with paved roads, water, electricity and telephone.Incentives: There is an initial five years tax exemption for new industries and government is also willing to go into partnership with investors (up to 15% shares).Industries: Benue Cement Company PLC, Taraku Mills, Benue Roof Tiles Company, Benue Breweries, Benue Burnt Bricks Company, Benro Packaging Company, AgroMillers Ltd, etcNew Industries: Cement Company at Mbatyav, Fruit Juice Factory at Katsina Ala, Fertiliser Blending Plant in Makurdi, Furniture Factory and Plastic Factory.

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O ne of the many characteristics of the people of Benue State is that they are among the best farmers in Nigeria. They are also the people through whose land runs the country’s second

largest river, the Benue River. Acclaimed for their prowess in agriculture for centuries, they have succeeded in taming their plush and resourceful countryside and justifying their position as the breadbasket of the nation.

The current state governor, Chief George Akume, was first voted into office six years ago and is now serving his second and final term. In that

period, he has taken agriculture and agro-industry to a higher level through his Benue Advance Plan, and has thus increased the state’s contributions to the national economy. According to Governor Akume, “most of the food produced through the hard work of our farmers is exported to feed other parts of the nation”.

The Benue people are also proud of the fact that they have earned accolades as a people whose cultural forms are important elements in the rich heritage of a nation made up of a multiplicity of ethnic groups

Holding the middle ground for national stabilityBenue State was created in 1976 out of the old Benue Plateau State which itself was created in 1967. Today, Benue, the land of the great river, prides itself as being the bridge between the two oldest political zones in the country, the South and the North. Ben Asante reports.

Governor George Akume has dramatically changed the face of Benue State.

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and cultures. Their unique locally woven native cloth that forms the main component of the traditional costumes of the two major ethnic groups in the state, is a distinctive example of its rich cultural history. The black and white version of this cloth is associated with the Tiv people, and the brown and white version with the Idomas. These Benue cloths are among Nigeria’s more easily identifiable national symbols.

Although the hard working people of these two ethnic groups are regarded as members of Nigeria’s minority people, they form a substantial majority within Benue State. As minorities in the old Northern Region, alongside their more numerous Hausa-Fulani neighbours, the people of Benue struggled zealously to maintain their religious faith and core traditional and family values.

They believe that their devotion to the Christian faith in particular played a large part in helping them to ward off invaders from further north in many battles. They became known for their bravery in these struggles and this is why they were considered particularly useful as military recruits by both the colonials and those who built the post-independence Nigerian Army.

The Tiv are the largest single group among the so-called minorities who occupy this middle ground between the three generic regions of the Nigerian polity known as the North, the West, and the East.

Their leaders were at the forefront of the struggle for autonomy for the Middle Belt.

Even after his death, the late Joseph S. Tarka, the patriarch of that struggle, is regarded as the most important leader who made it possible for Benue and Plateau States, the core states of the Middle Belt, to come into existence. In fact, the first state created in the territory was the Benue Plateau State in 1967, and it was not until 1976 that Benue was created as a state on its own.

Tarka, who was a popular national politician in the 1960s and 1970s, led a bitter struggle against the hegemony of Northern Muslim Hausa-Fulani rule as part of a wider struggle for minority rights. Some of his admirers describe this as a battle for “internal independence”.

Tarka and his followers, through their agitation for minority rights, changed the country’s geo-political map permanently.

The victory of this struggle largely paved the way for greater devolution of powers from the centre to the regions through the creation of states. The process has now benefited all other minorities throughout the nation of 120 million people.

Echoes of the struggle for self-fulfillment and recognition for Nigeria’s many minorities are however still reverberating. One recent example of this is the increasing attempts to broker a convergence of the interests of the people of the Middle Belt and the oil-producing South-South political zone in an attempt to have the minorities produce the country’s next president in 2007.

Governor Akume, the third democratically elected governor of Benue State, is highly regarded by the people because of his simple and unassuming nature. He is a humble and selfless leader who seems to be always seeking to find ways to serve others even as he provides leadership.

These are traits that appear to be ingrained in his family background. His father was one of the pre-independence leaders of the Middle Belt Movement that spawned Joseph Tarka.

The family comes from the same town as Tarka, just 30 minutes drive from the state capital, Makurdi, with their family compounds sharing a common fence.

Tarka’s political influence is still strong throughout the state and the torch of self determination first lit by him has been passed from generation to generation since his death in the 1970s.

The first elected governor of the state, the late Aper Aku, a highly respected teacher, was a disciple of Tarka. The second democratically elected governor, Reverend Moses Adasu who died recently, was also a custodian of the Tarka legacy, and Governor Akume’s links to the movement go back many years.

Before entering politics, Akume was an accomplished civil servant who started at the bottom and worked his way to the top. He retired as a permanent secretary in Benue’s civil service in 1998, thus ending an

illustrious career that included time spent working in the federal civil service.

He was a director in the State House under the last elected governor. When he stood for elections six years ago, he had been well prepared by his career for the position he sought through the ballot box. He has worked with notable politicians at both the state and federal levels, and was once an aide to the current Federal Minister Iyorchia Ayu, one of the most influential leaders from the Middle Belt.

Under Akume’s stewardship, Benue State retains a unique place within Nigeria as a bridge between the South and the North, and a symbol of the determination of the minorities not to become second class citizens in their own land. c

“Under Akume's stewardship, Benue State retains a unique place within Nigeria as a bridge between the South and the North, and a symbol of the determination of the minorities not to become second class citizens in their own land. ”

Benue State’s rich culture is displayed in their distinctive traditional cloth, dance and music

T he Benue State government has made the participation of investors an integral part of its strategy for development. Although the state has been known for its agricultural potential

for decades, the planned growth pattern that the state governor, Chief George Akume, initiated when he took office six years ago had industrial expansion as one of the core pillars.

The state is not only blessed with fertile land and an extensive riverine base (thanks to the mighty Benue and Katsina Ala rivers that traverse its length and breath), but it also contains substantial mineral deposits that have not been fully explored or exploited.

There are rich deposits of limestone, coal, barytes, gypsum, and feldspar. The government is ready to provide substantial support (financial and in kind) for research and development of these resources.

The state wants to ensure that the employment of local staff is an integral aspect of every investment initiative. To this end, the government has upgraded technical education to make the indigenous workforce conversant with the skills needed to develop these resources.

Because Benue is a gateway for the South and the North of Nigeria, it has the potential to develop into a major commercial crossroads. It is surrounded by six states and also has an international border with Cameroon.

The potential for industrial growth is, however, surpassed by the state’s existing agricultural importance that has already earned it the sobriquet of the “the bread basket of Nigeria”. No wonder: Agriculture and agro-industry have always provided most of the investment opportunities in the state.

Yams, cassava, rice, maize, sorghum, soya bean, beniseed (sesame), and groundnuts for use in food processing industries have made Benue State a major source of economic activity nationwide.

The government is now offering special incentives to investors who show genuine interest in developing the processing, preservation, and export of local produce. Raw materials exist in abundance for agro-industry, as potatoes, sugar cane, millet, ginger and beans are produced in huge volumes,

and the farmers who produce these crops have become so expert at their task that, with a little spur from investors, they will be able to expand their output even more.

The state is also blessed with fertile soil that produces a wide range of vegetables, fruits and pasture for livestock. The government’s strategy is to enhance this potential by providing infrastructure and extension services to ensure that the quality of raw material produced locally meets the highest standards. This will ensure that investors have a good supply of quality produce for processing.

The government has, therefore, identified a number of priority sectors for investment focus. These include large scale mechanised farming, vegetable oil processing, sugar manufacturing, livestock farming and feed production, meat processing, fruit juice production, starch and glue production, and the production of organic and inorganic fertilisers. Investors who target these areas will find a willing and very attentive listener in the state government.

In the area of mineral exploitation, the vast limestone deposits in the state are already being utilised by the Benue Cement Company Plc, but the government plans to expand the cement manufacturing potential of the state. A new state-owned cement factory is on the cards, but the government wants private companies to come in as well.

Benue also has vast deposits of silicate sand for the manufacture of glass products. This resource has not yet been tapped at all. There are also huge deposits of clay for brick-making, and kaolin, coal, gypsum, and even important industrial metals such as lead and zinc also exist in commercial quantities.

As part of the incentives to attract investment, all applications for registration of businesses and acquisition of land are treated with dispatch. The cost of land and support services is kept to the barest minimum and is acknowledged to be among the lowest in the nation. An initial five-year tax exemption is granted to investors in industry. The government has funded several feasibility studies which are made available to investors, thus saving them research and development costs.

Government-private joint partnerships also exist, with government shareholding limited to a maximum 15%. To speed things up, the government has already prepared an industrial lay-out with support services in the state capital, Makurdi. Similar lay-outs are also planned for Gboko, Otukpo and other major towns.

In its attempt to make Benue a haven for agricultural investment, the government has already embarked on a large-scale land clearing exercise across the state. These plots are suitable for mechanised farming of grains, and other food products.

In addition, the government has also established a mechanism to facilitate the distribution of new seeds and seedlings, fertilisers, and other vital inputs. For example, tractors and other implements can be hired from the state extension services.

The government is also cooperating with international agencies, such as the UNDP, to help small-scale agricultural investors to improve their yields and gain better prices for their products.

In sum, Benue is an investor-friendly state, and more efforts are being made by the state government to make investors even more welcome. c

The breadbasket of NigeriaAn investor’s havenThe “bread basket of Nigeria” is open for business, and as an added incentive, the state government is pulling all the stops to make investors even more welcome.

Say it in symbols – the breadbasket of Nigeria

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I n Benue State, most people who occupy leadership positions are often also very religious. This is a clear acknowledgement of the role played by religion in the numerous struggles of the people, including

the struggle for political rights. Governor George Akume and his wife are deeply religious. He attends mass regularly. It is a routine family affair for him. He arrives most Sundays without any official paraphernalia and leaves quietly after the service.

On a recent visit, I found the governor and his wife, Regina, at a thanksgiving service in Gboko. The local Catholic parish church had specially arranged the thanksgiving for the governor and his family.

Gboko is considered to be the traditional spiritual home of every Tiv, and on this Sunday things were rather different. The governor and his family had come to the St. Joseph parish at the invitation of the leaders of the Church. It had rained heavily that morning, something that is common at this time of the year. But not even the rains were going to stop the church service. It turned out that the cathedral where the worship was being held was still under construction. The walls had been raised to roof level. The floors had been cemented but the entire shell of the massive cathedral was without a roof. Heavy rains, which later turned into light showers, fell intermittently during the worship. Everyone present appeared to understand what needed to be done. The unspoken word on every lip, including those lucky enough to find shelter under the few canopies, was the need to roof this House of God.

Governor Akume and his wife read the scripture lessons. When it came to addressing the congregation, Akume said (to thunderous applause and cries of Amen): “Today we shall roof the Lord’s House.”

Among the worshippers were local residents of this historic town and many others from the nearby farming communities. The influential king of the Tiv, the Tor Tiv, lives in this town. Many of the governor’s friends had come to lend him and the Church their moral and financial support.

The parish bishop spoke of the reasons for holding the service for the governor’s family. Turning directly to the governor, he said: “The people of this state have been witness to the many trials which you, as our elected leader, and your family have been through in the past years.”

At these words, a group of elderly women, mainly widows dressed in the traditional black and white cloth, sang and danced. They were all beneficiaries of Mrs Regina Akume’s “Hope Alive Foundation” and had come to show their gratitude to the family. The group’s performance drew Mrs Akume back to the rostrum. She said God had done so much for her family. “I just wanted to thank everyone for their support for the governor who happens to be my husband, and as Christians our doors are always open,” she added.

The entire gathering fell silent when Governor Akume took the rostrum. There was no mistake about the sentiment in his deep clear voice deliberately pitched to sound no different from that of a class teacher who wanted everyone to hear his words:

“In the past six years, including one extended period during which I was not here but faraway undergoing complicated surgery,” the governor said, “you supported me to win two elections. I have survived a plane crash, and just about this time last year, I was tragically attacked in the middle of nowhere, resulting in the death of two of my close friends.”

You could hear a pin drop as the governor’s voice roared on. “What happens to us as individuals, and what positions we hold, comes to pass because the Good Lord wills it. It behoves us to keep our covenant with the people,” he urged the congregation. The attack on the governor’s convoy last year on the highway as he was going to the federal capital, Abuja, attracted national headlines. It raised major security concerns – for both the ordinary people and elected leaders. This influenced some states to change their previously vulnerable official vehicles for bullet-proof jeeps. But here in Gboko, seeing Governor Akume among his people, exhibiting not the slightest sign of fear for his life, left one with a sombre feeling. The fear for his personal safety appeared to be hardly a concern at all. He said the purpose of leadership in a place like Benue was to create a level playing field in building infrastructure, roads and providing social amenities and education for the people. In this way, he said, “the people must have the enabling environment to develop and to meet their capacities”. With less than two years remaining in his last term of office, and with a keen eye on his legacy in government, the governor spoke of priority projects which he hopes to complete before he leaves office. They include the construction of general hospitals in all the 23 local government areas of the state, a major teaching hospital, and the advanced health services training institute, all part of the Benue State University, located in the capital, Makurdi. c

Keeping hope aliveThe Benue State governor, Chief George Akume, is forging ahead with his plans to develop the state, including capacity building for the people. That is not all, he wants the state government to cover the fees of every Benue native who wants to study at home or abroad. Ben Asante reports.

Governor Akume

Home of hospitality and culture: Governor Akume and a young girl in traditional colours welcome guests to Benue State

Ben Asante: What is the place of Benue State in Nigeria?Governor Akume: Before the discovery of oil, agriculture was the mainstay of this country’s economy. And being a predominantly agricultural state, Benue contributes significantly to the nation’s economy. We contribute in feeding the people of Nigeria and providing raw materials for industries. Agriculture is of great significance to the future of Nigeria since food is on

top of the fundamental needs of man, closely followed by shelter. Oil is produced in the Niger Delta region, and a significant percentage of Nigeria’s staple foods is produced in Benue. It is not for nothing that we are called the “breadbasket of the nation”. We are the largest producers of tubers such as yams and cassava, and crops such as soya beans, oranges, mangoes, and sesame seed. We are the second largest producer of rice and are poised to

Interview We are committed to the politics of inclusionThe governor of Benue State, Dr George Akume, 52, is a former civil servant, now serving his second term in office. Elected on the ticket of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he inherited a rich legacy of political activism from his late father, Pa Akume Dajo, who was one of the leaders of the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC), a party that championed the rights of minorities in the old Northern Region. Ben Asante spoke to Dr Akume in Makurdi.

The First Couple: Governor Akume and his wife, Regina, receive honours from the Catholic Church

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be the number one soon. When you see so many trucks loaded with produce from our farming communities on a daily basis, one wonders whether any food is left for us. But our people still have a lot to eat because we produce so much for both subsistence and commercial purposes. The soil is rich, the weather is suitable, and the farmers have tremendous experience in various aspects of agriculture. A quick look at Nigeria’s import bill for rice, for example, shows how much foreign exchange is taken out. The Federal Government is set to ban importation of rice, and Benue State is well positioned to produce more rice to take care of local demand, thereby saving the nation huge sums of money in foreign exchange that otherwise would have gone into importing rice.

Asante: Before the 1960s, the area which now makes up Benue State was famous for rice production accounting for about 50% of Nigeria’s rice requirement. What happened to reduce this output?Governor Akume: Many parts of the country relegated agriculture to the background once oil was discovered. But the case of Benue State is different. The evidence is there for you to see when you visit Makurdi, Oturkpo, Gboko, Vandeikya and other towns where food processing activities, like rice milling, goes on. We have reactivated the state’s rice milling factory, Agro Millers Makurdi, which is one of the biggest rice mills in Africa, in partnership with foreign investors, and we are producing a lot of rice.

Because of the priority the state government has given to agriculture, we have also increased the production of other crops in the last six years. We have re-ignited this critical sector. The practical approach we adopted was to bring farmers to the centre of our agricultural strategies, through the provision of extension services and making fertilisers and other inputs easily available and affordable. We have done quite a lot in recent years in

the agricultural sector, including increasing the production of fish. And we are going to do more. Asante: When you came into office, you introduced the Benue Advance Plan. Has it worked?Governor Akume: This was our vision and strategic plan of our government. While seeking election, we made a firm decision to come into government with a plan. The answer was the Benue Advance Plan. It was put together by a think-tank whose membership was drawn from experienced administrators, politicians, academics and the private sector. The idea was to adopt a comprehensive plan to develop our people and the state. We were far ahead of others in the sense that it was long after the Benue Advance Plan had been launched, that even the Federal Government came out with a similar plan known as National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), and other states adopted their own variants. We set out under the Plan to create an enabling environment for our people to achieve their full potential as farmers or business people, with the state providing the infrastructure and social amenities.

In terms of developing human resources, we gave priority to education, starting with increased enrolment in primary schools through to university and other tertiary institutions. We made sure that instructional materials were available and teachers’ salaries were paid on time. We took the decision to provide proper health care services, including building a general hospital in each of our 23 local government areas. We are also building a major health services training school and a teaching hospital in the capital, Makurdi, as part of the development of the Benue State University.

In addition, we have pursued urban and rural renewal by building new infrastructure and rehabilitating old ones. We are also providing houses for various income groups as well as an efficient public transportation system.

Asante: Have you had any cause to change parts of the Plan?Governor Akume: No matter how beautiful a plan seems, its efficacy can only be ascertained at the stage of actual implementation. We thought we could cover so much ground in road construction, for example, but then we discovered that the cost of bitumen and diesel had increased way above our estimates in the course of implementation. This has compelled us to readjust our coverage of the state in terms of kilometres of road slated for construction in each local government area. However, what is significant to note is that we are making progress as many rural roads are under construction. We are improving on the Plan as we move forward. In actual fact, the Plan was not intended to end in 2007 when we leave office, but to continue - it is a 10-year plan. When you look at the things we are doing in food processing and the building of infrastructure, you will realise that the foundation we have laid is so strong that whoever comes after us will have no problems building upon it.

Asante: How would you ensure that the next elected governor continues with the Plan?Governor Akume: If you cook a delicious meal for your guests at a party, both the invited and uninvited will enjoy it. Even those who eat the food after the party will still enjoy it. In essence, the point I am making is that anybody who wants to serve the interest of the people will be bound to follow the Plan. This is not a plan for George Akume, but a plan for the development of Benue State.

Asante: Your people who have a long history of political struggle are situated in the Middle Belt of the country and constitute a vital part of Nigeria’s minorities. Recently Benue has become part of the

“The Benue Advance Plan to develop our people and the state was put together by a think-tank whose membership was drawn from experienced administrators, politicans, academics and the private sector. ”

The state is providing housing for various income groups.

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Rice, yams, cassava, maize, sorghum, soya bean, beniseed (sesame), and groundnuts for use in food processing industries have made Benue State a major source of economic activity nationwide.

political alignments being worked out with the South-South and South-East zones. What do you make of this development?Governor Akume: All of us in this country have resolved that no matter which political zone or political leaning we belong to, whatever religion, creed, tribe or political belief, we will stay together. Both the majority and minority ethnic groups are committed to the fact that we all belong to one nation. This fact is settled. Politics is about the aggregation of interests and in a complex country like Nigeria, we try as much as possible to build a consensus when contentious issues arise.

So the geo-political zone I come from continues to dialogue with the other zones. This is a time-honoured tradition in the interest of democracy, and in the larger interest of this country. In working together, nobody will be left behind. When some people express unhappiness, it can only be due to marginalisation or exclusion. To avoid this, we have committed ourselves to the politics of inclusion. Nigeria is a country in transition but I believe that given our material and human resources, we cannot afford to disappoint Africa, or Africans in the diaspora, and the rest of the world.

Asante: The people of Benue have contributed a lot to Nigerian culture and the military. Why is this so?Governor Akume: We have a rich cultural heritage as our contribution to

Nigeria and indeed Africa. When you see our people dance, listen to them sing and see them act, it does not matter whether you understand the language, the richness of the culture is not in doubt. Our cultural troupes and singers are in high demand in many places. Our people, whether in the military, in politics, business, commerce and education, have continued to distinguish themselves. We believe our experience and cultural heritage has enriched Nigerian culture.

Asante: Last year, gunshots were fired at your convoy on the highway. You survived but two of your friends were killed. Why are there threats to the lives of leaders like you?Governor Akume: Whatever the motive, I believe the attack on me in that morning ambush was a savage act. It caused the loss of two vital lives. As a person, I believe in the sanctity of life, I abhor violence and wouldn’t like anybody’s life to be cut short in a violent manner. In this country, the security of all our people, not only elected leaders but also the ordinary people, must remain a priority. The provision of security and the protection of life and property is critical to the nation’s economic growth, especially our drive for foreign direct investment. There are risks in providing leadership here like anywhere else, but God remains the protector of all of us. My hope is that the tragic attack on me should never happen to any other person. c