2Face Idibia Appointed As Adviser to Benue Governor Amid Rising Communal Clashes, Herders Attacks, Killings

By: Olufemi Orunsola 

Reports reaching the news desk of OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News have it that Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia has appointed legendary Nigerian singer, 2Face Idibia, as his Technical Adviser on Entertainment and Community Outreach amid rising incidents of communal clashes, herders attacks and killings in the central Nigerian state.

The award-winning artist hails from Okpokwu Local Government Area in the Benue South Senatorial District in the state.

In a viral video that surfaced on Wednesday, Governor Alia praised TuFace for all the support towards his administration, stating that TuFace could do more.

The Governor stated, "On behalf of the Benue State government and our very good people, we want to give you some more responsibility plus the ones you have been doing because you have the capacity to do some more and help us chart a way forward to improve other people’s lives and to gain more from your wisdom and advise as well.

“So, I’m pleased to announce that we will make you a technical adviser to the governor on entertainment and community outreach.”

OTN News recalls that over the past twenty years, Benue State, which answers to the slogan, "Food Basket of the Nation," has been a hotbed of relentless communal clashes while boundary disputes have ignited a significant part of these conflicts.

The state also has a long history of mass killings by herders, of which the most well-known massacre was the January 1st, 2018 new year day Massacre in Guma and Logo local council when the government gave them a mass burial.

While it is believed in some quarters that the new year day massacre was only more publicised, the worst herdsmen massacre that claimed the highest number of lives in Benue state was the Agatu massacre of 2015 with the death toll at Agatu was put between 300-500 people.

While in all previous attacks, the herders came with stealth during hours designed to take their victims unawares, this time they came, mostly un broad day light, openly flaunting their AK 47s and other weapons in full public glare.

The locals alerted the security agencies and even publicly posted the pictures of the marauders on the social media. Conventional news media outlets also carried the story of the arrival of the terrorists (including The Guardian) for a good more than 24 hours before they eventually struck.

However, the latest massacre in Benue is the most confounding to the people of the state as it reported that this particular massacre took an entirely different dimension, as the herders were brazen with a completely devil-may-care attitude.

The appointment of 2face Idibia is, therefore, coming at a time when other prominent Benue leaders like former Senate President David Mark has also spoken up, saying, “This is no longer a random occurrence. It appears to be an organised and premeditated onslaught. We can not continue to sit back and watch our people being slaughtered for no reason,”