Why is Suswam Destroying other Prominent Tiv Sons?

By Peter Awunah

Those who have read George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm are familiar with the character known as Squealer, one of the pigs who was clever and quite cunning. He could turn black into white with his actions and words. 

The former governor of Benue state, Senator Gabriel Suswam has always been known to be one who only cares about his personal interests but he recently took that habit to the limits. 

Suswam is one of the luckiest Benue sons. He rose from nowhere to become a wealthy man at a very young age using public funds. Today, he has multi-million investments in Abuja, Lagos, Makurdi and overseas. He owns one of the biggest markets in Abuja and luxury hotels home and abroad. It is public knowledge that Suswam bought the highest shares to acquire the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED). He also owns the Dunes Hotel, Abuja and is the owner of Metropolitan Hotel Makurdi. If not with public funds, where did he get money to own the exotic properties? 

We have not forgotten how he sold Benue’s shares worth N3 billion in Julius Berger and other public assets and diverted the money to his personal use. The case against him is still in court. 

Since he lost the 2023 senatorial election, Suswam began to make underground moves to dislodge every other person close to Governor Hyacinth Alia and has taken over as the godfather. Alia takes the advice of Suswam like the water he drinks. 

Suswam has made nothing less than N2 billion from governor Alia in the last two months promising to help the governor win the court case against him at the tribunal. 

Suswam and governor Alia have been sponsoring groups to hold press conferences and attack Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF Senator George Akume and other prominent Benue sons. The first group he used was the one called Zone A People’s Assembly (ZAPA). He is the founder and financier of ZAPA. The group insulted the hell out of Akume whom they tagged as a wicked and selfish man.  

Some days ago, he and governor Alia sponsored another group which called itself Benue Progressives Forum for Good Governance. The group addressed a press conference in Makurdi where they poured insults on Akume and accused the SGF of nursing an ambition to contest the 2027 presidential election. They called on President Tinubu to sack or caution Akume. 

How heartless, wicked and ungrateful can Alia and Suswam be! 

What is Akume’s offense to Suswam? 

If any Benue politician is to be grateful to the SGF, that politician should be Gabriel Suswam. 

Akume has over the years treated Suswam as a son. During the PDP governorship primaries before the 2007 election, Suswam was not the candidate to beat. In fact, he was rated to come a distant 3rd behind the likes of Chief Mike Onoja and Stephen Lawani. It was Akume with the support of others that gave Suswam the undeserved victory at the primaries and later the main election. 

Suswam has been moving from Akume, Ortom to Gemade and other Tiv sons telling them to support governor Alia to succeed, but when he is with Alia, he tells him never to allow any of those other leaders to come near him. His only target is to be the ‘sole proprietor’ of Government House. 

Suswam has advised Alia to stay very far away from people or be ready to sink soon. He convinced Alia that only he Suswam means well for him. He said all the other leaders from the state want Alia’s downfall so the best thing for him is to dine with the rest unsing a long spoon. The naive governor agreed and is busy implementing Suswam’s “blueprint”.

By the time he destroys Alia and the Governor loses out, the Squealer will abandon him and “marry” the new bride.

~ Awunah writes from Durumi, Abuja.