By Mson Fachir
Former Governor of Benue State Senator Gabriel Suswam is a very bitter and desperate man at the moment. He is up in arms against almost everyone. He is angry with himself too. Suswam’s political career has crashed right before his eyes and he can’t do anything to help himself. He has gone berserk and has been verbally assaulting the leadership of his own party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the national level to the state level.
A few days ago, Suswam was on Channels TV and later that day on Arise News where he again viciously attacked President Bola Tinubu’s government and also rained insults on the Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee of PDP. It was not the first time that Suswam would denigrate Damagum and other members of the PDP NWC.
Senator Suswam in the Arise News interview, made frantic but awful attempts to rationalise the sham which took place on the 5th of October, 2024 across Benue State in the name of local government elections.
Suswam who has become more of an errand boy for Governor Hyacinth Alia supported the process that not only made a mockery of democracy, but also exposed Benue State to ridicule as videos of senseless scenes of multiple thumbprinting and ballot box stuffing surfaced in both the social and mainstream media.
The desperate Senator also used unsavoury words to berate the Senate – an institution he once served in and still aspires to be elected to – for condemning the sham which his benefactor and new master, Governor Alia released over N6 billion of Benue money for. In reality, there was nothing to prove that such an amount went into the election.
Suswam’s inordinate ambition, coupled with idleness and penchant for mischief have pushed him into attacking perceived enemies with unstatesmanlike utterances in public. If he is not insulting former Governor Samuel Ortom, he is attacking FCT Minister Nyesom Wike or Chairman Damagum.
Benue’s history won’t be kind to Gabriel Suswam for elevating thuggery to a state religion among several other negative acts during his reign as governor.
It is on record that the bad boys in Sankera axis of Benue State have been calling Suswam’s name as the one who started arming them against political opponents, a situation that has now degenerated into a total war against even the common and innocent people in the area that was before now reputed for massive food production.
Suswam has chosen to remain silent over the killings in Sankera and has always feigned ignorance of the magnitude of the monster he created. He seems to be more interested in destroying the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, a platform on which he won election five times. His attitude of feeling that he must be the leader of the party at the state level or the entire umbrella should be destroyed is rather unfortunate.
It is equally curious that after chasing the PDP from the Secretariat they used for years in Makurdi, Suswam is hellbent on creating a faction in the state chapter of the party. Good enough, all his desperate moves have crumbled like a pack of cards.
Funnily, this is a man who claims to be interested in becoming the National Chairman of the PDP. The question then is, how would a sane person seek to destroy a house he wishes to occupy? Fortunately, Suswam’s intentions are known and his plans to ruin the PDP before jumping ship to the All Progressives Congress, APC have been uncovered.
