11/06/2025
Akume — The Silence of a Leader
By every stretch of political longevity and public office, Senator George Akume is a titan in Benue’s political landscape. From Executive Governor (1999–2007), to Senator (2007–2019), to Minister (2019–2023), and now Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Akume’s political journey spans over 26 years. And yet, across those decades, as blood flowed and grief settled like fog over the Benue valley, one thing has remained constant: his silence.
There’s something deeply unsettling about the consistent quietness of a man so often at the apex of power, particularly when that silence meets the unrelenting suffering of the people he claims to lead. Could it be political correctness, a calculated self-preservation? Or could it be something more disturbing—an indifference that borders on complicity?
Let’s go back to Akume’s time as Governor. Sankera was in flames—first from ethnic clashes, then from a military invasion in retaliation for the death of 19 soldiers. The people expected a roar from their leader. What they got was an apology to the military. No inquiry, no defense of his own citizens—just a surrender draped in political politeness.
Then came the 2004 local government elections—one of the bloodiest in Benue’s recent history. Kwande, Gwer East, and Tarka turned into killing fields. Militias were reportedly deployed to terrorize communities, especially Kwande, in a pogrom-like operation. The state was burning, but the leader was mute. A graveyard would’ve made more noise.
Even as Senator, Akume’s silence remained a political signature. When violent herders and bandits occupied swathes of Benue under Suswam’s administration, Akume neither stood with his people nor challenged the Federal Government. Instead, he played political chess with Ortom to orchestrate Suswam’s arrest—ironically for the same security efforts the latter undertook to protect the people. His position as senator was used not as a platform for advocacy, but as a perch for quiet calculation.
When Akume finally broke his silence during the herder attacks of 2018–2019, it was not to mourn with the bereaved. It was to mock. He said the people were killing themselves. He blamed the State Government. And when he lost his senate seat, he struck again—accusing Ortom of arming Livestock and Volunteer Guards to rig elections. This, while villages were razed and children buried. By then, he was a federal minister.
Today, as SGF—the highest political office ever held by a Benue son since the return to democracy—one would expect that Akume would rise to embody national statesmanship. Yet, Benue bleeds and he hasn’t coughed. Not a visit, not a condolence letter, not even a tweet. The body language is clear: the plight of Benue is not on his agenda.
Worse still, his supporters on social media have taken up his silence like a mantra—mocking Governor Alia for "not utilizing security votes," laughing off the killings, trivializing a humanitarian crisis. It's as if suffering has become a political game. If a people are not on your political side, their lives don’t matter. Is this the kind of leadership Akume believes in?
To be clear, leadership isn’t about how long you stay in power; it’s about what you say and do when your people are in pain. Akume has had opportunity after opportunity to be a voice for the voiceless in Benue. Instead, he has chosen silence—golden to his ambitions, but deadly to his people.
History is watching. And while his silence may serve him in Abuja, in the hearts of the grieving, it echoes as betrayal.
Kputu Joseph Cmp
