By: Dr. Ochoga Edwin Ochoga
The recent assertion by the governor of Benue State that there is no genocide in the state is not only disappointing but deeply unbecoming of someone who proudly identifies as a priest.
His position is a stain on the dignity of priestly vocation, for it reflects neither truth nor compassion nor the moral courage expected of a man who once took sacred vows to speak for the oppressed.
I find it troubling that an elected official, who is fundamentally an employee of the people, would so casually dismiss the lived experiences and painful realities of his own constituents.
The people of Benue are his employers, not subjects to be lectured or belittled. Their anguish should command empathy and decisive action, not denial and public contradiction. When a leader chooses to insult the sensibilities of those who entrusted him with power, he exposes not only a failure of governance but a deeper moral collapse.
Even more disturbing is his apparent willingness to align, rhetorically and politically, with those whose actions have brought grief and devastation to communities across the state. Such a stance raises painful questions about loyalty, integrity, and the value he places on the lives of the people he swore to protect. The duty of leadership is to defend the vulnerable, not to rationalise the narratives of their tormentors.
If this profoundly disappointing and unguarded statement does not have consequences for his political future, it would represent yet another injury to a people who have already suffered too much.
A leader who chooses convenience over truth, denial over responsibility, and appeasement over justice does not deserve to be re-elected. The people of Benue deserve a governor whose conscience is intact, whose compassion is sincere, and whose allegiance is unwaveringly with them
