Senator Titus Zam, representing Benue North-West Senatorial District, has said that meaningful political inclusion for minority ethnic groups in Benue State remains unlikely unless the dominant elite deliberately agrees to concede power.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, he responded to long-standing complaints of marginalisation by the Idoma and Igede ethnic groups. Zam acknowledged that leadership of the state has historically been dominated by the Tiv, who constitute the majority of the population. He attributed this imbalance to the structure of Nigeria’s democratic system rather than deliberate exclusion.
He said, “That is a reality, that the Idoma and the Igede segment of the state have not had the opportunity of leading the state at the level of governor. But it has to do with the nature and character of the democratic system of government that Nigeria is practicing. This liberal representative model of democracy confers a lot of advantage on the majority. So, it becomes a problem when a particular majority ethnic group is deploying its numerical strength in the politics of the state for them to concede power to a less populated segment of the state. That is the problem. That has to do with the model of democracy we are practicing.
“It is true that the Tiv people that constitute 75% of the population of Benue state have dominated the political space. Unless there is a conscious elite consensus to concede power to the Idomas and the Igedes, it is impossible within the nature and character of the democracy we are practicing for the other ethnic groups to participate in the leadership of the state. But it is not only as governor that you can also rule or participate in the governance of a particular state.
“The Idomas have held very important positions, deputy governor, number two position, secretary of state of the government at some times. So the focus really should not be whether the Tiv have been dominating the political space. It is about majority rule, which is a derivative of the liberal democratic system of government that Nigeria is practicing.”
Beyond questions of political representation, the senator also addressed claims of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, particularly in the North-Central region. Zam urged caution in framing the country’s security challenges along religious lines.
He explained that casualties in violent attacks often reflect the religious demographics of affected areas rather than targeted extermination.
He said, “Yes, we have had security challenges. And in north central Nigeria, the majority of the states are populated by Christians. So if there are killings in a particular location in the north central, you have to take a look at the demographics of such a place. If it happens in Nassarawa, most of the people that will be killed there will be Muslims. If it happens in Benue, the people that will be killed will be Christians. So you have to look at the geography of the incidences of attack before you can arrive at a conclusion.”
Melissa Enoch
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