Undoubtedly, Prof. Iyorwuese Hagher is someone I have known for close to thirty years and, truly speaking, I have enormous respect for the man, for reasons that are perfectly clear. For one thing, Hagher is a fertile-minded University don and a shrewd theatre entrepreneur. For another, Hagher is a reputable diplomat who has discharged heavy responsibilities on the international scene. But over and above all, Hagher is my teacher and an outspoken collaborator in the democratic struggle and he, is additionally, eminently qualified to join the race for the highest office in the land---- and there are symptoms that he once toyed with that idea----- though I would not personally wish him any such misstep into that torrid arena.

It could be perceived that, by all standards, Iyorwuese Hagher is a Senior citizen with almost impeccable credentials and he has continued to articulate his vision of the nation in unambiguous language especially through the medium of the Theatre.

But the fruit of my tale is this: while I rifled through the Newspapers last week my eyes happened to light on an essay written by Iyorwuese Hagher and entitled ‘Brazen Arrogance and Dangerous Assault on Democracy in Benue State’. In the essay, Hagher laid his finger on certain weaknesses of Dr. Hyacinth Alia, the Benue Governor and the paramount ruler of the Tiv nation, the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse. The huge irony is that the entire essay smacks of recrimination instead of instruction thereby transferring the ‘brazen arrogance’ Hagher has in mind, to the Presidential envoy and not to the Benue Governor, the Tor Tiv or the ordinary citizens of Benue state. The event was the Tiv Day which took place in Gboko, the traditional home of Tiv people, on December, 13, 2025. As it is usual in Nigeria, Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, led a delegation to represent his principal, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the event. Iyorwuese Hagher among other ‘illustrious’ Tiv sons, were part of that delegation. Now, hear Hagher’s complaint: ‘as soon as we landed at the Makurdi airport, the Benue State Government and the Tiv traditional Council’s welcome party and festivities for the Presidential envoy and delegation were absent. Instead, we faced a chilling and shocking display of arrogance, lawlessness and violent intolerance in our state….. What we received was not a welcome but a humiliation’.

One would expect that the Professor of Theatre should be familiar with the meaning of arrogance and the attitude of the gods towards arrogance.

Yes, the Professor is not a stranger to Classical drama especially with characters like Agamemnon, Oedipus and Creon who were tragically brought down as a result of arrogance/pride/hubris. Truth is that the Greek gods, the supreme God and all other gods including African gods, are usually jealous and vindictive especially where arrogance and pride is involved.

We all know that President Tinubu, Prof. Hagher and all his co-travellers, are simply human beings who were either elected by the Benue people or appointed by Mr. President. So, why is Hagher so preoccupied with the idea of a splendid welcome at the airport? Is the Professor suggesting that himself, the SGF and his co-travellers are mightier than the ordinary Benue people whose votes legitimize their powers? Or perhaps as a man of the theatre, Hagher and his co-travellers just wanted sheer entertainment through dance, song and thunderous drumming? What exactly is the connection between welcome and arrogance here? The time has come for our leaders to cultivate the virtues of humility which in essence means not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. In other words, the people who voted you into the office first. That’s the true definition of leadership.

Again, the question would be asked: who were Hagher’s co-travellers? They are the same familiar Godfathers of Benue politics. They are the same political usurpers Benue people have been accustomed to. They are the same people that have produced monstrosities in the form of elected democratic Governors in the past.

Governors that sold our commonwealth to their cronies and immediate families. Governors that have retarded the growth of the state for more than three decades now. There’s nothing new in Benue state except the foundation laid by the late Gov. Aper Aku (1979-1983) which has been utterly neglected by successive governments. For more than three decades Benue has only witnessed the descent of communities and villages into a lingering state of insecurity with its attendant ills, not the least of which is economic retrogression. It is only recently that the Benue people are beginning to see a glimmer of hope with Gov. Hyacinth Alia as helmsman. One could see, for the very first time after three decades or more, the construction of township roads including underpass and flyovers in Makurdi, Gboko and Vandeikya; a new Brewery (Zeva) to replace the former BBL sold by unscrupulous and greedy Benue politicians; Bread and Water factories, but let’s reserve that for another time and place.

Prof. Hagher, should be pleased to notice that the God fathers in Benue politics are also puppet-masters. And I am happy Hagher has written copiously about the Tiv Kwaghiir and he is also one of the intellectual founding fathers of Puppet- Theatre in Nigeria. The Godfathers of Benue state have reduced the people to mere puppets manipulated on invisible strings by political tricksters, those who – from all evidence – remain obsessed with the puppet show that has the capacity to intimidate any Gubernatorial candidate aspiring to rule Benue state. It is enough of this dirty, irksome, out-worn tactic that has all the potential of taking Benue state to another dismal era.

The Professor referred to Senator George Akume as the highest- ranking Federal officer from Benue state and founding member of the ruling party, a two-term Governor, a three-term Senator and former Minister. Apparently, the SGF has a towering and, one may add, intimidatory credentials and his achievements may be difficult to count. But take note of this: the time has come for the SGF to respect himself and concentrate more at the centre or retire humbly and most respectfully to his home and allow other younger Benue leaders the steerage of the Benue ship. Prof. Hagher should advise the SGF in the proverbial wisdom of our ancestors: the best masquerade departs the dancing arena when the ovation is highest. The Benue people want a radical shift. Perhaps, the SGF does not know that his rejection of a traditional title from the Tor Tiv has unpredictable repercussions for himself as the highest Federal officer in Benue state, the Tiv Traditional Council, the Benue people and the state at large? Truth to tell, this was an abominable act!

That the Presidential envoy ‘shared seats, sat precariously on armrests’ is another direct assault and an abuse to the Benue people. It is necessary to remind ourselves that at this very occasion, the Presidential envoy had the luxury of sharing seats or perching on armrests while the teeming mass on the receiving end and thousands of ordinary Benue people----who are the electorates – were sweating it out in the scorching sun standing in the open field without canopies, without (even pure) water or a meal. Is this not an assault on the psyche of the Benue electorates?

Additionally, if the crowd turned violent or was hostile, it is an indication of the fact that the Presidential envoy is selfish, unpopular, parochial and uncaring. Perhaps, it seems clear that in the not-too-distant future, such a hostile audience may go beyond booing to pelting with stones. Their message is simple: never shall we allow the instigators of that ugly past of Benue state to clamber onto the political arena.

Again, the unfortunate scene in which someone was stabbed with a knife is very sad and it is a demonstration of mankind’s relapse into a more horrendous barbarism. But again, the act itself is a by-product of poor leadership in Benue state. Since our return to civil rule in 1999 all the state Governors in Benue state have thugs and marksmen on their payroll. Shooting and stabbing of political opponents, therefore, has become a favorite pastime in that state. Sad, so sad indeed!

Besides, it is very unfortunate that Prof. Hagher missed the Presidential jet and had to travel by road from Makurdi to Abuja. But as a diplomat, Hagher does need a prophet to tell him that even the British Prime Minister has had cause to travel by public transport when occasion demanded. Yet this is another form of brazen arrogance: what about the millions of ordinary Benue people who daily negotiate their lives on these bad roads with death daring them at every bend? More worrisome is the Professor’s claim that Governor Alia is ‘threatening to use witchcraft on people’. These are not just unprintable words they are also the grossest falsehood. Gov. Alia is a Roman Catholic Priest with incredible spiritual powers and the capacity to douse the fire of witchcraft in the state. The facts are there for all to read and the Governor’s spirituality is the major source of his strength.

Besides, for Prof. Hagher to call Hyacinth Alia a ‘one-term Governor’ is only a confirmation of the fact that the entire Presidential convoy was nothing but a group of conspirators and an unconscionable breed of politicians determined to drive Benue state to an unknown fate that has all the potential of a tragic ending.

I nearly forgot to pay deserving tribute to Governor Alia. His Excellency, Mr. Governor, I am sure you do not know me. I am one of those faceless Nigerians, a teacher for that matter, whose job is to seek, find and tell the truth at all times even at great hazard. When Senator George Akume, the SGF, in his speech quoted the parable of the Sower as contained in the Gospels and referred to himself as the Sower he gave me a good laugh. The sum of my message is that: Benue people don’t need Sowers at this time. Benue people need farmers who can till the soil, who can plant the seeds, water the seeds to germinate, bloom and eventually flower. Governor Alia is a farmer and not a Sower. Benue people have broken out of their historical lethargy and they are willing to move forward. History itself will lay its heavy hand on all those who want to derail Benue from its chosen path of orderly progress into renewed anarchy, chaos and disorder. Let’s have a new Benue.

Finally, in writing these lines I know that Prof. Hagher is my teacher but he should remember that one repays a teacher very badly if one remains a pupil forever. I have grown from a pupil to an intellectual worker and as an intellectual, I am in a position to expose the lies of government, to analyze actions according to their causes, motives and hidden intentions. No harm is intended. Long Live Benue state. Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

• Doki Jeff is a Professor of Comparative Literature with the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Nigeria.

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