As Benue State marks 50 years since its creation, the apex socio-cultural organisation of the Idoma people worldwide, Ochetoha K’Idoma, joins the Golden Jubilee celebrations with warm congratulations—but also with a firm call for reflection on what it describes as a deep and persistent imbalance in the state’s political life.
Speaking for the organisation, its President-General, Yakubu Aboki Ochefu, says the anniversary is both symbolic and instructive. While acknowledging the progress recorded over five decades, he argues that the state’s political history reveals a pattern of exclusion that continues to sideline Benue South Senatorial District from the highest levels of power.
Ochefu recalls that Benue State comes into existence on February 3, 1976, under the military administration of the late Murtala Muhammed, following earlier political arrangements that place Idoma land within the former Northern Region and later Benue-Plateau State. Long before these administrative constructs, he says, the Idoma people occupy the fertile Benue Valley for centuries, sustaining a distinct identity while maintaining a reputation for resilience, hospitality, and peaceful coexistence.
He says the Idoma experience within Nigeria is defined by consistent national service. Despite being a numerical minority, Idoma sons and daughters, according to him, have left enduring footprints across governance, the civil service, the military, academia, culture, sports, and faith. From the early post-independence years to the present, their influence cuts across generations. Ochefu cites Dr. Edwin Ogbu, who becomes the first indigene of Benue State to serve as a Federal Permanent Secretary in 1966, and Abu Obe, who later rises to Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, as early markers of that contribution.
In legislative politics, he notes that Idoma land produces two Presidents of the Senate—Ameh Ebute and David Mark. Mark’s eight-year tenure, spanning four consecutive terms, remains the longest in Nigeria’s democratic history and, Ochefu says, firmly places the Idoma nation at the centre of national leadership. He also points to the national roles played by Audu Ogbeh, former Minister of Agriculture and ex-national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, as well as Senator Abba Moro and the late Professor Jerry Agada, all of whom serve at ministerial level.
Beyond politics, Ochefu says the Idoma presence remains deeply woven into Nigeria’s security architecture. From participation in the Second World War and the Nigerian Civil War to leadership at the highest levels of the armed forces, Idoma officers continue to play defining roles. He references the late Ebije Ikwe, who serves as Chief of Air Staff between 1967 and 1975, as well as several Idoma military governors who administer states across the federation.
In education and culture, Ochefu says the Idoma people produce Benue State’s first university graduate as far back as 1954 and go on to contribute professors, vice-chancellors, and national policy thinkers whose work shapes Nigeria’s intellectual and professional landscape. He also highlights the global reach of Idoma creativity, pointing to the late Bongos Ikwue, whose genre-blending sound defines an era, and Afrobeats icon 2Baba, whose music projects Nigerian identity to international audiences.
Yet, Ochefu says, this long record of contribution stands in stark contrast to the political reality within Benue State itself. In 50 years, he notes, Benue South has never produced a governor or a speaker of the State House of Assembly, has produced only one Chief Judge, and has never produced a Vice-Chancellor of Benue State University. He describes the pattern as structural rather than accidental, warning that prolonged exclusion erodes trust, weakens cohesion, and contradicts the ideals of unity on which the state is built.
On development, Ochefu acknowledges the presence of key federal institutions in Idoma land, including the Federal University of Health Sciences in Otukpo, but says sustained industrial investment remains largely absent since the administration of former Governor Aper Aku. He argues that without deliberate investment in infrastructure, agriculture, solid minerals, and youth-driven enterprise, the economic potential of Benue South will remain unrealised.
He also commends Elaigwu Odogbo Obagaji John, the Och’Idoma V and Paramount Ruler of the Idoma Nation, for providing steady leadership and promoting peace and unity across Idoma land amid growing social and security challenges.
Looking ahead, Ochefu says the next phase of Benue State’s history must be defined by inclusion, balance, and fairness. The aspiration for an Idoma governor, he stresses, should not be framed as a request for concession but recognised as a legitimate democratic expectation in a state that claims unity as a foundational value.
Only through equity, mutual respect, and intentional inclusion, he concludes, can Benue State fully harness its diversity and build a future that delivers shared prosperity for all its people.
