On Ortom's signature capBy Iorliam'Amo shija

On 6th March, 1957, delegations from fifty-six countries arrived Accra, Ghana! From Britain, to represent Queen Elizabeth came her aunt, the Duchess of Kent, there also came a Chinese army general for his country while amongst the visitors was also a future USA president, Richard Nixon, then a vice president.


As from 1947, the British had come under pressure to grant self rule to her African colony which was then known as Gold-Coast. The leader of young elites who championed this cause was Dr Joseph Danquah. It was him who had come up with the idea of dropping the colonial name of Gold Coast and changing it to Ghana.

To gain popular support for their cause, a thorough bred academic who had been living abroad for 12 years was recommended to Danquah and his colleagues. That was how Kwame Mkrumah joined the struggle.

It didn't last when the relation between Mkrumah and the others became sour. This was partly because of Mkrumah's marxist views and ambitious nature.

In his fiery speeches across the country, Mkrumah promised that "self-government now" for Ghanians would solve all colonial problems. As his radical appeal spread, he became a hero of the people but his attempts to coerce the British to self rule through calling for strikes and boycotts earned him 3 years in prison.

But far from hindering Convention Peoples Party(CPP), the party he formed, when the election of February 1951 was conducted, even though he was still in prison, he won the parliamentary election. In July 1953, Mkrumah moved a motion demanding for full independence from British.

That was how after much pressure from Ghanians under the charismatic leadership of Mkrumah, the British fixed 6th March 1957, to give Ghana self Rule!

Events of Benue politics in 2015 might not be related to the Ghana story in anyway, but maybe there might be a common ground after all!

Gwaza Ujamatyu, Becky Orpin, Jehobe Iyanya and Peggy Shande who were the lead MCs of the inauguration of Samuel Ortom on 29th May, 2015 were calling the names of guests as they arrived IBB square, Makurdi, venue of the event, so we who attended followed the guests list carefully.

As 12 Noon drew nearer, all the guests were now sitting; amongst these included the Tor Tiv and Ochi Idoma; also present, were the Catholic Bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Wilfred Anagbe and other men of the clergy. politicians of every hue had also taken their seats and their supporters were singing and dancing.

Only one man was missing; the man of the moment, Samuel Ortom Adorogo. How would he appear? What would he wear? What would he say? These and more were the questions on the minds of many.

If he had asked me, perhaps on what to wear, I should have told him to appear on the stage like the first civilian governor of Benue state, Aper Aku. He appeared on his inauguration day in 1979 wearing the Tiv black and white "anger" from the cap to down. Appearing like Aku on such a day, would have brought memories of the most celebrated governor of Benue state back and gave Benue people an instant clue that he was not going to go below Aku's landmark achievements.

Ortom chose to behave like Mkrumah of Ghana.

At Midnight on 6th March as crowds danced and sang in parliamentary square, Accra, the Union flag of British was lowered and the new flag of Ghana, red,green and gold was hoisted in its place.

Wearing a convict's skull cap embroidered on the front with the letters "PG"-his "prison graduate" badge- Mkrumah was borne from parliament on the shoulders of his colleagues to a nearby polo ground where a small wooden platform had been erected.

The independence of Ghana was strategic to the future independence of Nigeria which came just 3 years after and so many other nations in Africa and it indeed attracted so many world leaders, yet Mkrumah made the world fixed their eyes on his cap and truely the cap was able to capture the whole essence of Ghanian independence and the future of Africa.

That was what Ortom too did on his day of inauguration: he appeared wearing a cap which is called Benue United; or Unity Cap ,by others. The cap which has long become his signature cap, contains all the colours of the tribes in Benue state and the national flag.

Like Mkrumah too did, Ortom too by the cap he now wears, told Benue and Nigeria that it is time to unite and move the state and the country forward.

Any time I visit Lagos and pass around the Maryland round about, seeing the statute mounted there of men holding Nigeria's map, my responsibility to ensuring that there is peace and unity in Nigeria is activated.

I therefore call on all men of goodwill, especially those from Benue state to compliment Ortom's gesture. From 1999 till date, the major problem of Benue state has been dis-unity, sectionalism and nepotism. Today, we have a man whose primary message is to unite us and move the state forward, so he naturally deserves our support.

Benue youths, if we do not inherit a united Benue tomorrow, we shall have nothing to give to our children. Let Ortom's cap , like the statute in Lagos, ginger us to support his peace and unity initiatives.


So who is rocking the unity cap with him?