2015 Polls: Brewing Tension In Benue As People Relocate For Safety 

AS the 2015 general elections begin next Saturday, fear of uncertainty and violence has characterised the polls across the nation. 

 Despite the relative peace that is being enjoyed in Benue state, there is mass movement of people within and outside the state ahead of the polls. 

 Thomson Wanko, a National Youth Service Corp member serving in the state told The Guardian that he was leaving the state because of pressure on him by his parents who are resident in Port Harcourt.

According to Wanko, two of his younger siblings living in Kaduna state have relocated to Port Harcourt till after the elections.

  Not left out in the in the fears are indigenes who are resident in some parts the state, as some have already evacuated their families from spots prone to crisis to the hinterland for safety.

  The Guardian observed that the exodus of people from the crisis prone towns like Katsina-Ala, Adikpo, Gboko, Gbajimba and some parts of the state capital is becoming unimaginable.

  Despite the evacuations in Makurdi by many families, the population of the city has continued to witness upsurge as indigenes of the state in other parts of the country, particularly the troubled North East region, have continued to troop in for onward movement to their villages.

  One of such families that spoke to The Guardian said they left Kano where they have stayed for more than 20 years because life was no longer safe as political killings around their vicinity had became a daily affair.

    They vowed not to return back to the ancient city even after the elections; stating that they are prepare to start rebuilding their lives in their home state, Benue, where relative peace is being observed.

“We have no choice than to start rebuilding our lives at home, and grow from here. Kano state is very fragile for living now. I will eventually sell our plots of land in Kano and start life in Benue where there is relative peace,” one of them said.

  Meanwhile, economic activities within the state capital, Makurdi are thriving as food vendors are making brisk businesses. One of the food vendors told The Guardian that unlike in the past when he could boast of N5,000 sales a day, it has been doubled due to the upsurge in the number of people in the city. Transporters in the state capital who before now take their turn to load are making fast money due to the influx of passengers.

  But on the whole, it is clear that the political atmosphere in the state is already tense as the two major parties — PDP and APC — with their supporters are ready to die for the elections if any one would attempt to do the otherwise.