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Dariye accuses Presidency of unfairness to Middle Belt
From Isa Abdulsalami,
Jos
REINSTATED Governor of Plateau State, Chief Joshua Dariye, again opened up yesterday on the plight of the Middle Belt in the political equation of the country.
According to him, the region is always used to accomplish difficult tasks only to be dumped at the time to reap the fruits of its labour.
Dariye who spoke during a courtesy visit on him by his Benue State counterpart, Mr. George Akume, commended the latter for standing firm against "the forces of darkness" who wanted to remove the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Audu Ogbeh, by all means.
Also making reference to the fate of another statesman from the Middle Belt, Chief Solomon Lar, Dariye said: "Whoever was doing that is unfair to this region. Chief Solomon Lar is still alive, he led this great party to victory and if that is the only way to pay back, it is unfair to us."
According to Dariye, political office holders from the Middle Belt should be allowed to exhaust their tenure. "This project called democracy has a lot of mistakes in it. And it is nobody's birthright to sit somewhere and continue to manipulate the scheme of things. We will oppose. Yes, because it is not fair."
Saying that people have been describing the plight of the Middle Belt as a vendetta, he declared: "What have we done? What have we done? We led the Presidency to victory. Is that the only way to pay back? Ladies and gentlemen, I want us to support governors of this region so that when this oppressive voice rises up, we can always say no. We are not second-hand citizens. This is the only zone you can come and make empty election promises and on credit and you can go free."
Federal appointments also came under knocks from Dariye.
"Look at the pattern of appointments. What do we have? They promised to improve electricity in Benue State. Where are we today? So, gentlemen, it is our own rights. We are not rebellious when we ask for what is ours, it is ours, and the whole country should be patient with us," Dariye pointed out.
He added: "Look at the key appointments. Where is Plateau? Where is Benue? Where is the Middle Belt? In the privatisation, we are nowhere because we are poor. Even if the spirit is willing, the pocket is weak. So, in the next 10 years, you have to send your children to some zones to go and collect notes before they get employment."
He appealed to elders in the region to support them, saying that as humans, they are bound to make mistakes.
According to Dariye, the elders should call them in private to correct them whenever they err rather than condemn them to the hearing of the forces of darkness who will seize such opportunities to entrench "divide and rule."
"These forces of ex-this, ex-that, are still with us. Please, beware of divide and rule."
Dariye used the opportunity to thank the Houses of Assembly nationwide and legal luminaries who have stood by him, saying that posterity would remember them for good.
The Benue State Governor had earlier said that the contributions of the Middle Belt region to the unity and territorial integrity of the country can never be written off and can never be forgotten.
"Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Niger, Kogi, Kwara and Taraba, Adamawa, Gombe, Kebbi and so on, we are all people who love this country and who have also made tremendous sacrifices so that this country will survive.
"Our commitment to the unity of this country, our commitment to its indissolubility is second to none. And during the civil war, we died in thousands. That was the sacrifice our people made. And we still continue to make sacrifice so that this country will survive," Akume said.
Directing his attention to Dariye's suspension, Akume noted that through the journey of life, one is bound to experience some hiccups. "When you go down, it is no more history but the test of leadership is the capability to stand up whenever you go down. And that is what has happened in this case."
"You went on a political sabbatical. So many great men in history had suffered the same fate. All these things are lessons in life. This is not the time to apportion blame. This is the time to reconcile. This is the time to heal. This is the time to accommodate. And as Christians, as Moslems, we are always reminded of these virtues - reconciliation, forgiveness. They are very essential to human co-existence," he said.
According to him, all the people of the state are looking up to Dariye for total reconciliation, adding that he has the capacity to do that.
Akume said that the upheavals in the country are a test of democracy, warning that it is not through military intervention that the problems of the country can be solved.
Akume came with his entire cabinet, members of the Benue State House of Assembly, special advisers and many senior politicians in the state.
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