By Daily Post Staff Every Nigerian citizen home and in the diaspora who has followed Governor Samuel Ortom’s leadership trajectory m...
By Daily Post Staff
Every Nigerian citizen home and in the diaspora who has
followed Governor Samuel Ortom’s leadership trajectory must have observed that
the things he has been saying and doing as a leader guided by a sense of
patriotism, are fast becoming a template in our nation’s socio-political
discourse.
Infact, the Benue State Governor’s viewpoints and proactive
disposition on recent happenings in the country have manifested faster than
anticipated except that the country’s leaders at the centre of government have
deliberately chosen to pay deaf ears to the discerning solutions to some of our
problems which have assumed the magnitude of a national catastrophe.
It would be recalled that Governor Ortom while expressing
worry over the deteriorating security situation in the country when he featured
on a Channels Television programme, sounded a warning that the alarming
security situation if not checked, could lead to “bandits” taking over the
country’s seat of power one day.
The programme’s anchor, Seun Okimbaloye was quick to
interject Governor Ortom for what he termed “extreme views” for speaking
fearlessly and courageously concerning the impending danger of rising
insecurity that has engulfed the entire nation.
Barely a few days after Governor Ortom’s patroitic caution
on the said television programme which as usual went unheeded, bandits attacked
a national monument, the Kuje Correctional facility right in the heart of Abuja
the Federal Capital Territory where they freed over 600 inmates including Boko
Haram terrorists who were in the facility. Many commentators who had heard
Governor Ortom’s timely warning, described him as a “political prophet.”
Just as the news of the attack on the custodial centre was
settling, bandits again launched an attack on President Muhammadu Buhari’s
advance team convoy on the way to the President’s hometown in Daura Katsina
State for the sallah holiday. What a daring move that points to nothing but the
unimaginable proportion of the insecurity bedeviling the nation!
All these incidents vindicated Governor Ortom when he
expressed genuine concern that if allowed to fester, bandits could muster the
courage to one day takeover Nigeria’s seat of power at the centre of
government. Of course, the warning signs are telling, but as usual, Ortom is
rather singled out for blackmail and victimization.
Despite the unending blackmail and victimization, Governor
Ortom who has positioned himself as the voice of the voiceless has remained
unwavering in speaking against the imbalances, injustice and harrowing
experiences Nigerians have been subjected to under President Buhari-led federal
government.
Most recently, in yet another episode of his consistency in
lending his voice of reason to issues affecting our collective well-being,
Governor Ortom speaking in Washington DC, United States of America on July 13,
2022 called on the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the
proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB who has been held in detention for
sometime now.
Governor Ortom pointed out that Nnamdi Kanu’s continuous
detention was a socio-political case that required socio-political solutions as
well, while some Nigerians hailed Ortom’s call as timely, others as usual
called him names for taking the position.
In what is yet another major moment of the Benue State
Governor being vindicated again, just a few days after the intervention he made
on the matter, the United Nations has now given the Federal Government of
Nigeria an ultimatum to ippppppp0p0p00000mmediately release Nnamdi Kanu
unconditionally.
The global body, UN affirmed that the prolonged detention of
the proscribed IPOB leader amounts to gross violation of his fundamental human
rights which is uncalled for in the 21st century especially that Nigeria is a
signatory to international conventions and treaties that forbid human rights
abuses.
Here again lies the justification as to why Governor Samuel
Ortom does not just speak or act on critical issues of national relevance, as
he weighs in the right perspective and of course at the compelling moment of
urgency.
Were the Federal government to listen to Ortom’s voice of
reason without primordial sentiments, most of our challenges would have been
long frontally tackled to pave the way for our collective development and
national cohesion especially at the time our nationhood is tested and tried
under precarious conditions.
The world over, national challenges are conquered by
proactive measures beyond partisan affiliations as our citizenship transcends
political correctness. The federal government of Nigeria under President Buhari
will be continuously doing grave injustice to Nigerians if they prefer to view
Governor Ortom as an alarmist or prophet of doom when in actual sense, the
Governor is advancing meaningful ideas that could take the nation out of the
quagmire we have found ourselves in as citizens.
For once, we must learn to put aside partisan alliances and
undertones to collectively tackle and redeem this nation from the travails it
is passing through, except we are willing to one day wake up and not have a
country to call fatherland. This clarion is just what Governor Ortom represents
and has consistently stood for as time and unfolding events have clearly
vindicated him for always being on the right side of history.
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