Benue Government Urged To Honour Obekpa

-The Benue Assembly Resolution that has not been Uphold

-A Tale of Misplaced Priorities and the Death of Educational Values

By Morgan Adikwu

On August 7, 2025, the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Terver Zamber, issued a statement with a headline that carried the promise of a new dawn: “Benue Assembly to Honour Obekpa, Ordega for their Excellent Performance.”

The resolution passed by the House was simple yet profound, to celebrate Mr. Joshua Obekpa, a young man who shattered records at the Nigerian Air Force Military School, Jos, emerging the best graduate in the entire country.

The same resolution included Franscisca Ordega, the Super Falcons’ star, who added another WAFCON trophy to her cabinet. It also urged that Ushahemba Benedict, a first-class law graduate from Reverend Father Moses Orshio Adasu University and the Nigerian Law School Abuja, be given the right of first refusal for academic employment in Makurdi.

But what followed the very next day left many wondering whether Nigeria truly values the power of education.

On August 8, the media space exploded with glamorous headlines; Governor Alia hosts Francisca Ordega to a State Dinner. Within hours, the news trended nationwide. Special gifts were reeled out like confetti at a carnival: ₦50 million to Ordega herself, ₦10 million to her grassroots coach in Gboko, a three-bedroom bungalow in Makurdi, and even a street named after her. Ordega’s triumph was rightly celebrated, yet it was the imbalance that raised eyebrows.

Weeks have passed since then, but silence hangs heavy over the fate of Obekpa and Benedict. The Assembly’s resolution remains in limbo. The young Air Force School genius, who put Benue and Nigeria on the map with pure academic brilliance, waits in the shadows. No dinner. No cheque. No building. No street. Just suspense, as if intellectual achievement were a burden instead of a badge of honour.

Now tongues are wagging, and the anger is real. On the streets of Makurdi, in political circles, and across social media, citizens are voicing their frustration: Why has the government elevated sports over education? Why do entertainers and athletes get instant millions while the Obekpas of our time are left unrewarded?

This outrage is not just about one boy. It reflects a deeper moral crisis in Nigerian society. Across the country, entertainment shows like Big Brother Naija generate billion-naira endorsements and produce instant celebrities who live in luxury, while our best brains languish in underfunded schools, begging for scholarships or job placements. Public opinion is unforgiving: “If Obekpa had dribbled a football or twerked on TV, he would be a millionaire today,” one frustrated teacher remarked.

History, however, tells a different story. The Asian Tigers; South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, built their prosperity not on sports or showbiz but on education and innovation. In South Korea, teachers are revered as “nation builders,” their students motivated to dream and invent. In Singapore, scholarships, not celebrity endorsement deals, were the tickets to success. Even the Catholic missionaries who brought religion to Nigeria knew this, they came with schools. Education was their first gift to society, because they understood it is the bedrock of every developed nation.

And yet, in Benue today, we risk betraying our own future. By failing to celebrate Obekpa’s historic achievement, what message are we sending to the younger generation? That academic excellence is worthless? That you must dance on TV or play football to be recognized? This imbalance is at the root of the surge in “Yahoo Yahoo” culture among our youths, quick wealth celebrated, intellectual rigor ignored.

Back in the days of our founding fathers, young Nigerians competed for scholarships and academic prizes. National leaders like Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Ahmadu Bello rose to prominence on the strength of education, not entertainment. Today, however, the moral fabric has been eroded. Children now look at who is celebrated in society and conclude, books are pointless.

Obekpa’s story should be different. His feat deserves not just applause but tangible recognition. He should be given scholarships, mentorship, and platforms to soar higher. He should be held up as a role model so that millions of children in Benue and beyond can look at him and say: If I study hard, society will reward me too.

As things stand, the conscience of Benue is being tested. Governor Alia, who promptly rewarded Francisca Ordega, must prove that he values education as much as sports. Hon. Samuel Agada Auchi, the mover of the Assembly motion, must rise again to remind both the Governor and the House that the clock is ticking and the honour of Obekpa cannot wait forever.

For if we continue to ignore our brightest minds, the question will not be whether Benue can develop, but whether Nigeria itself has any future left.

The youth are watching. The world is watching. And Joshua Obekpa is still waiting.