The name Reverend Father Hyacinth Iormem Alia evokes the memories of his healing masses conducted once every week at St. Thomas Parish Catholic Church, Anum. The church was situated directly opposite Benue State University (BSU), Makurdi, for several years until he was transferred to another parish in Vandekiya Local Government Area of the state.
For his healing masses, Alia had remained a well-known crowd puller at various parishes throughout the years of his priestly assignment before his sudden venture into politics.
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During the ministerial heyday, motorists usually encountered difficulties plying the BSU dual carriage road whenever the healing meetings were taking place at the St. Thomas Parish because of human and vehicular traffic as people from all walks of life used to converge on the ground to be touched by Alia who was being used by God to perform miracles in the Catholic fold.
Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that his joining the All Progressives Congress (APC), raised dust among the long list of governorship aspirants on the party platform.
However, when the party released the N50 million price tag for the nomination form, only 13, including the priest out of the initial 33 aspirants, purchased the form to vie for the gubernatorial ticket.
Though, from the moment of his entry into the party, his co-aspirants caught cold, they were however optimistic that the party’s hierarchy wouldn’t bat an eyelid over his coming because in their estimation, ‘Father’ as he is fondly called hadn’t any structure to rely on to succeed.
Similarly, chieftains of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) lost their sleep as they viewed the priest’s entry into the gubernatorial space as a threat to their political calculations to retain power in 2023.
On both sides, politicians and their foot soldiers did all they could to discredit the cleric’s emergence, but to no avail as he emerged at the primary election with a landslide victory.
Alia polled a total of 526,807 votes to defeat 12 other aspirants of the party, including, a former national chairman of PDP, Senator Barnabas Gemade; a former deputy governor of the state, Steven Lawani; a House of Representatives member, Herman Hembe; a don, Prof Terhemba Shija; a business tycoon, Dr. Mattias Byuan; two former ministers Sam Ode and Michael Aondoakaa, and several others.
Our correspondent gathered that delegates from across 23 local government areas of the state participated in the indirect primary election, whose winner was formally declared at exactly 9:51pm on Saturday, May 28, at the Aper Aku Stadium, Makurdi.
The priest won in 13 out of 23 LGAs, while Lawani led in five LGAs. Ode won in four LGAs, while Byuan won in one.
Chairman of the APC electoral panel for Benue, Dr. Peter Ojie, announced the winner penultimate Saturday at the end of the special congress of the party.
Secrets behind Alia’s emergence
One of the factors that enhanced the priest’s emergence is the huge following occasioned by his priestly preoccupation as well as the potency of his healing activities and miracles.
The second factor is the quest for change in leadership of the state from known politicians to fresh breeds as well as the legacies laid down by the late Reverend Father Moses Adasu (also a priest) who was a former governor of the state.
Alia, according to belief in the public domain, wouldn’t have been a match for political juggernauts like Gemade, Lawani, Hembe, Shija, Aondoakaa, if the party had adopted an indirect primary.
This is because the known politicians have existing structures which could have worked against the ‘tsunami might’ of their challenger, Alia.
A political observer, Terkula Ayem, said Alia’s case indicated that the people had a genuine desire to effect a change in the leadership of the state in 2023, beginning with the direct primaries exercise which opportunity they seized to react against poor governance.
“Alia has not been tested and found wanting. He is not one of the politicians people are afraid of. So, there is this feeling that when voted to power, he will be different. He is the only one among all the aspirants who isn’t a core politician and he is different,” he said.
“As a priest, he would likely make a mark just like the late Governor Moses Adasu, who was also a Catholic priest and performed in his time. Alia didn’t come into the race with money and nobody demanded money for votes from him. Most of those who voted him hadn’t seen or met him before. People just wanted a genuine change so that the society will be better for it,” he added.
“Again, the factor which worked for him was the adoption of the indirect primaries which eliminated the issues of vote buying. All the party members were involved in the process which showed a true reflection of the people’s minds.
“Going by the feelers, Alia might become the Benue State governor next year. He will win against the PDP candidate as general opinions favours him. I foresee a landslide victory for Alia which might have a spill over effect similar to President Muhammadu Buhari’s coming in 2015,” Ayem said.
A media consultant and president, Dreams and Vision Resource Centre, Makurdi, Dr Bem Ugoh, observed that the priest’s background played no small role in his emergence as the party flag bearer.
“Well, the obvious factor is his priestly background and outdoor activities of engaging a massive crowd for periodic healing masses. The political capital of his popularity which originated from this background as a factor in response to lingering faith-based animosities became the tool for him among religious factors,” he said.
“Secondly, the failure of the political elites to deliver good governance and dividends of democracy has prompted the electorate to entrust their destiny in safe hands. There is however no guarantee that the situation may change under his administration, given the issues surrounding his controversial emergence which has really unsettled the APC family in the state. His rumoured sponsorship by the influence of Senator George Akume may both be an asset and a liability as the elite may gang to sabotage him,” he added.
Nevertheless, the State APC chairman, Comrade Austin Agada, in an earlier interview with our correspondent, said the party emphasised a level-playing ground for all aspirants to become formidable to take over power from the incumbent PDP in the state.
Intrigues in Alia’s emergence/suspension
Expectedly, Alia’s entrance into the political scene has generated controversies not only among politicians but also in the church, following his temporary suspension from priesthood.
However, the suspension, a development which his detractors feasted on, aided his popularity to clinch the party’s ticket.
Some people had based their support for him on the ridicule he suffered on social media as a result of the suspension letter shared on various platforms by opponents.
Recall that the Catholic Diocese of Gboko announced the suspension of the priest for expressing interest in politics cum the governorship position after he purchased the nomination form to participate in the party’s primary election.
The suspension letter which went viral was addressed to all priests, religious and laity of the Catholic Diocese of Gboko. Dated May 20, 2022 and signed by the Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Gboko, Bishop William Avenya, who is also the Apostolic Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Kastina-Ala, the letter indicated that the he had earlier been warned in line with the church’s rules on partisan politics.
Reacting to the suspension, Head of Media and Publicity, Alia 2023 Gubernatorial Organization, Kula Tersoo, said it was a normal practice by the church. He added that Alia was only suspended from celebrating public Eucharistic masses, but that he remains a priest of the Catholic Church forever and that after the end of his tenure in public civil service, he shall resume his priestly duties.
Tersoo recalled that a former governor of the state, the late Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu, who served as the second civilian governor of the state went through the same process.
The man, Alia
Alia means different things to his parishioners scattered all over the Catholic churches he has shepherded, especially considering his healing/deliverance masses in Makurdi since the 90s.
He was born on May 14, 1966, in Mbangur, Mbadede in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State to the family of Mr and Mrs Thomas Katsina Alia.
He attended St. Francis Primary school, Agidi, Mbatiav in Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate and proceeded to the then St. James Minor Seminary Makurdi where he obtained his General Certificate in Education GCE in 1983. Then, he gained admission to study at St. Augustine’s Major Seminary, Jos (an affiliate of the University of Ibadan). He obtained a Diploma in Religious Studies in 1987 and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sacred Theology in 1990 (affiliate of Urbaniana University, Rome).
The clergy proceeded to Fordham University, Bronx NY, USA for a Master of Arts Degree in Religious Education (Psychology and Counselling) in 1999. He thereafter went to Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA in 2004 for another Master of Arts Degree in Biomedical Ethics and completed his Doctorate Degree in Biomedical Ethics in the same University in 2005.
Alia has worked in God’s vineyard in many places both home and abroad and many of his parishioners describe him as the “Fr. Mbaka” of Benue.
Until his entry into politics, Alia was the Project Director for the proposed Catholic University Ankaa- Vandeikya of the Catholic Diocese of Gboko. His name rings a bell as far as Christianity is concerned in Benue State.
Recently, when he appeared before the state APC Working Committee to intimate them of his intention to run for the state’s highest office under its platform, he expressed the desire to rescue the citizens from bad governance.
“After preaching the gospel on the pulpit for 32 years, I decided to extend it to governance,” Alia had said.
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