Benue is half dead!

Benue like the rest of Africa is in anguish. Analysts largely describe Africa as a continent of contrasting extremes. In this frame of thought, there is a portrait of an enormously endowed continent of rich natural resources that has remained, ironically, a hub of extreme material poverty. Like other regions of the continent, the Benue valley is plagued by a systemic infection of poverty amidst natural wealth.

The human cause of this poverty is undeniable. As the Catholic Bishops of Africa remarked during the1994 Synod, the African continent is like the biblical victim of robbery who was stripped, beaten and left half dead (Ecclesia in Africa, 41; cf. Luke 10:25-37). This comparison is significant on several levels.

First, the victim of robbery is drawn
from the unique characters in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Some biblical scholars remark that as recent as in the 1930s, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho remained notoriously dangerous. Consequently, as other commentators hold, it was foolhardy for anyone to travel the Jerusalem-Jericho Road alone. The risky situation of this road presents some semblance of the dangerous road on which many Africans travelled during the struggle for political independence.

The initiative of traveling the road with others for security could be likened to the African wisdom of Ujamaa and Ubuntu by which one’s identity is defined in relation to others. This wisdom is also echoed in the Tiv philosophy of “aya tutu ka se,” underscoring the strength of unity vis-à-vis the suffocating scent of capitalist individualism.

Second, as a victim of robbery, the man had certain valuables that were forcibly taken from him. Undoubtedly, corruption remains a household name of the robbery that devastates African societies. Its victims abound in Benue as much as elsewhere in Africa. On both official and unofficial levels, the people of Benue continue to be robbed, beaten and left half dead by unconscionable fellows. Among other examples of this robbery are the experiences of the Benue farmers who suffer sunburns on the farms, get attacked by Fulani herders, while agents of the State Revenue Board lie in wait on the roads and at the local markets to strip them in the name of produce levies. Revenue “extortion” remains the most functional government program in Benue.

Third, a priest passed by this victim without offering any assistance. Biblical experts explain his attitude, citing the book of Numbers 19:11, that a priest on schedule for Temple worship was prohibited from touching a dead man, as that would make him unclean and ineligible for religious duties. Thus, imagining that the man was dead, and in obedience to the claim of religious ceremonial prohibition, the priest opted for an adherence to rites and rituals above the pains of his fellow man.

Needless to state that such religious reasons are still available for some high-profile church personages in Benue who prefer the protection of institutional image and personal sentiments above charitable civil engagements that could help the Benue victims of political robbery. Yet, does it not appear ironic, if not contradictory, for a priest as a liaison between God and people to turn his back on the people, remain silent or side with the oppressing political class that is stripping the people to stupor?
Fourth, a Levite also passed by this victim of robbery but deemed his personal safety as paramount.

Accordingly, he avoided falling into the trap of bandits who would often put one of their own in pretext of a wounded man to stage a decoy. An unsuspecting traveler who stopped by to help was at risk of being attacked. Is the attitude of the Levite not similar to that of many who in the face of political mischief have chosen the path of inaction and silence for fear of being attacked? Indeed, speaking for the victims of civil exploitation by pointing out government ineptitude potentially attracts violent attacks from political sycophants who never perceive anything wrong with their principals.

Lastly, a Samaritan came across the victim of robbery and went out of his way to help. Notably, the parable is silent regarding what inspired the Samaritan into such a positive action. There is no suggestion that he was moved by any religious obligation, political interest or economic benefit. Moreover, he was a Samaritan, probably from the same village that refused to welcome Jesus (Luke 9:51-56). Yet, he exhibited an unlimited disposition in his expression of goodwill toward a fellow human being in pains. This shows that the seeds of compassion and love are productive when, beyond religion and politics, ethnicity and gender, one is willing to identify with others in their pains.

The capacity to feel the pains of others is not alien to our contemporary African generation. On 24th November 2022, Honourable Fatoumatta Touma Njie, a National Assembly member in the West African Republic of the Gambia, rejected a proposed increase of salary for lawmakers. She emphatically stressed that her elected position was for service and not for self-enrichment at the expense of poor fellow citizens. Sadly, her position is contrary to a political worldview that makes fellow African citizens victims of unconscionable leadership robbery.

Honourable Njie’s example is a stark contrast to the insipid robbery of some unnamed Nigerian State Governors whom President Muhammadu Buhari recently alleged have been misappropriating local government allocation funds.

The tragedy of misappropriation and political robbery is terrible in Benue. For instance, the designation of Benue State as “Food Basket of the Nation” is an eloquent testament to its fertile agricultural land. However, the reality of generational poverty in the State has continued to advance a sequence of an empty basket. This contradictory reality is the African experience of the Benue valley in which it remains a miracle to see smiles on people’s faces amid the unfortunate lot of their living condition.

What is required in this situation is not a plethora of doctrinal abstractions or principles that solely present what is not to be done rather than what should be done. From the example of the Good Samaritan, what is needed urgently in Benue is the replacement of a religion and politics of indifference with a goodwill that concretely expresses itself in positive actions.
Paul Utser <[email protected]> Ottawa Ontario, Canada