Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam who has been nicknamed by the masses as, "New Nyanya," (meaning a wanderer governor) has been declared missing by Benue people.
The people are worried that the Governor, as chief security officer of the state, seems to have abandoned them to their fate while the security at home has deteriorated.
Suswam, a known globetrotter, left the Makurdi Government House to accompany President Goodluck Jonathan to Rome, but was only seen welcoming the President on arrival in Rome.
Since the President left Rome for the Netherlands, Suswam is missing. He was not seen in the Netherlands, in Abuja, nor Makurdi.
A notable elder statesman who confirmed on the phone said, "I remember Achebe once said that it is only a madman who will go to sleep with his house on fire. Maybe we have given the governor to a madman".
It was during Suswam's absence that no fewer than 60 persons were feared killed in separate attacks on Gbajimba, the headquarters of Guma Local Government, and the one which took place in Agena village of Mbaalom District of Gwer-East.
The attacks were, as usual, attributed to a suspected herdsmen’s militia who have been continuously attacking the state over the past two years.
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) Benue state chapter chairman, Engr. Baba Agan, said that though government is a continuity, and there is no vacuum even with the governor's absent, it was out of place for him to travel at all.
"Listen, number one is number one, and you cannot pretend about that. Already, security personnel in the state were lackadaisical in handling the situation. It would have been wise for him to stay and direct things for himself, than disappear".
The Governor's image-maker, Dr. Cletus Akwaya, could not be reached to explain the whereabouts of his boss at the time of filing this report. After several attempts his phone number, when dialed, was said to have been switched off.
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