OPINION: Are You the Messiah, or Shall We Look for Another?
By Chukwuebuka Chukwuemeka Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State When Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia—robed not only in clerical cassock but also in moral authority stepped into the political ring to run for governor of Benue State, he did not arrive as just another politician. He was hailed as a redeemer. A priest among politicians. A voice of conscience in the storm of corruption, insecurity, and neglect. For many in Benue, weary from years of violence and disillusionment, Alia's emergence seemed like a divine intervention. But now, barely two years into his administration, a haunting question echoes across the valleys of Guma, the burnt farmlands of Ukum, and the blood-stained streets of Makurdi: “Are you the Messiah, or shall we look for another?” This question, borrowed from the lips of John the Baptist in Scripture, captures the mood of a people betrayed by hope. For the Benue masses, who handed Alia a broad mandate in 2023 believing that the shepherd’s staff would now bring ...