Paramount ruler of the Tiv people worldwide, Tor Tiv, Professor James Ayatse, has reconciled Governor Hyacinth Alia with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George Akume.
The duo – Governor Alia and Akume – have been at loggerheads over the control of the All Progressives Congress (APC) structure in Benue.
Supporters of both men have severally traded accusations while efforts made at different times to resolve the crisis rocking the party failed such that the APC now has two secretariats under two chairmen in the state.
Worried about the development, Tor Tiv had on Easter Monday summoned both of his subjects to his palace in Gboko.
At the meeting, the monarch said it had become necessary to hold discussion with both men over the political conflict.
He expressed worries that the utterances, statements and activities from both camps and warned them to sheathe their swords.
He stressed that the disunity would affect the Tiv nation at a time which the tribe needed peace the most just as he admonished the Tiv politicians to note that they have only Benue to call their own and must do everything possible to protect it from disintegration.
“I have noted that Tiv politics has been in the bad news for quite sometime for the wrong reasons. I have been having sleepless nights over these. We are all from Benue, we are one and we speak one language, we are no strangers but the disunity among you our prominent political sons makes it look like, we are strangers in our home.
“Be mature and be proud of Tiv nation. Do not make Tiv a laughing stock, I cannot have you fighting. I want to plead with you and and all the politicians in Tiv land and the political actors to sheath their swords, because the international community is watching, Nigeria is watching, our neighbors are watching,” the monarch posited.
Consequent upon the royal father’s intervention, journalists were let into the meeting room during which both the SGF and the governor shook hands, embraced themselves and took photographs together with the monarch as well as few supporters of the duo who were present at the reconciliation meeting.
The Tor Tiv thereafter expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting, saying that they have both agreed to bury their differences and work together as a team for the good of the Benue people.
Ayatse added, “So all the past differences have been put aside you have a fresh start, working together in unity, in cooperation and agreement for the progress and development of Benue State.
“They (Alia and Akume) have made a commitment before us and they have agreed by symbolically shaking and embracing one another. We (council of chiefs) are happy with the resolutions they took themselves.
“We are their fathers in the land and our blessings have a lot of importance in their activities so to make such commitment in the presence of the traditional rulers in the land is very weighty. And we do believe that they will adhere to the resolutions that we have reached today (Monday).”
Reacting to the reconciliation, a witness at the meeting described the body language of the SGF and that of the governor as, “The two gladiators were acting like a movie script, Tor Tiv directed them to shake hands they obeyed but mute, Tor Tiv directed them to embrace each other, they obeyed but mute, Tor Tiv directed smile at each other, they obeyed but mute, they snapped together as directed but nobody talked to each other, they were acting as if they were eating immature honeycomb in the night.”
The witness observed that during the meeting, the supporters of both men were locked outside while the two gladiators (Akume and Alia) were accompanied by only one delegate each.
While Senator Barnabas Gemade accompanied Governor Alia into the meeting, the SGF was followed by Senator JackTilley Gyado.
Meanwhile, neither Governor Alia nor the SGF addressed journalists over their reconciliation after the meeting as they both left the palace separately.
