Following the response of Benue State government, after rights lawyer and law teacher, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, came hard on them with a blistering post on X (formerly Twitter) criticising Governor Hyacinth Alia, over his handling of the ongoing violence in the state, Odinkalu has again replied that the government’s reaction “wld have been beneath laughable if we were not dealing with a life-and-death crisis. All I have done is advise Mr. Governor of Benue State to go back to the Seminary, where they will teach him that there are no #HausaFromMali.”
Odinkalu in an earlier post on X wrote:
“@ChidiOdinkalu: #OnThisDay of #PopeFuneral, Benue State Gov, Hyacinth Alia, a Catholic Priest, has no time to mourn the Pope. Instead, he’s sent out Tersoo Kula, his #Spox, to issue a cringe-worthy statement protesting that I said he, Mr. Catholic Governor, needs re-education. Here’s why….”
The comment immediately drew swif disapproval from the Benue State Government, which described Odinkalu’s reaction as “disturbingly insensitive” to the plight of victims suffering from terrorist attacks across the state.
Sir Tersoo Kula, MNIPR, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Alia, in an official statement, said it was unfortunate that Odinkalu chose to mock rather than empathize with the thousands of families displaced by incessant attacks by armed herders.
“It would be more rational if the focus remains on the plight of the people suffering these unprovoked terrorist attacks, rather than sneering at the Governor and his approaches,” Kula said.
Benue State, known as the “Food Basket of the Nation,” has endured repeated violent incursions that have left many dead and thousands homeless. According to Kula, Governor Alia has consistently named criminal elements among Fulani herders as the perpetrators of the violence, while stressing the importance of avoiding ethnic generalizations.
“Governor Alia, as a well-educated priest, understands that generalizing an entire ethnic group only deepens divisions and distracts from real solutions,” the statement noted.
Kula criticized Odinkalu’s remarks as a form of “performative critique” that ignores the dire humanitarian situation in the state.
“What truly matters now is solidarity, empathy, and working towards effective solutions for the displaced victims, not cynical commentary that detracts from the crisis,” Kula concluded.
The government’s response came after Odinkalu’s previous criticism of Governor Alia’s remarks about the recent violence in the state. On April 24, Odinkalu took to his official X handle, questioning the governor’s claim that the recent massacre in Benue was carried out by Hausa speakers from Mali. Odinkalu argued that the governor, given his background, should return to the seminary or seek re-education, as his assertions about the attackers were misguided.
Odinkalu pointed out that Malians speak languages such as Bambara, Songhai, and Malinke, and that the governor’s description of the attackers as “Hausa speakers with a French accent” was inconsistent, as Hausa speakers with such an accent would likely be from Niger, not Mali.
“Benue massacres are the handiwork of Hausa speakers from Mali? Malians speak Bambara, Songhai, Malinke. Hausa speakers with French accent should be from Niger, not Mali,” Odinkalu emphasized.
