Moses Orshio Adasu: Priest, Educator and Governor of Benue State
Rev. Moses Orshio Adasu was a Catholic priest, educator and statesman who became the second Executive Governor of Benue State. He is remembered for founding Benue State University and for his belief that politics could be a noble calling.
Early Life and Education
Moses Orshio Adasu was born on June 12, 1945, at Mbaamena, near Awajir in Shangev-Tiev District, in what is now Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State.
He studied at St. James Junior Seminary, Keffi, and then at St. Augustine’s Major Seminary, Jos, an affiliate of the Propaganda Fide, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in divinity. He later pursued further studies in the United States. At St. John’s University, New York City (1975-1976), he earned an M.A. degree, and at the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC (1976-1978), he earned a Master of Religious Education.
Priest and Educator
Fr. Adasu had a long career in education. He was a Senior Inspector of Education at the Benue State Ministry of Education headquarters in Makurdi, and he taught in secondary schools and teachers’ colleges in Jos, Otukpo and Adikpo, as well as at the Colleges of Education in Akwanga and Katsina-Ala.
He also served on several public bodies:
Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board
Benue State Prerogative of Mercy Committee
Advisory Council of the Episcopal Commission on African Traditional Religion
Board of Governors, College of Education, Katsina-Ala
Within the Church, he was Chairman of the Presbyteral Council, Dean of Makurdi Deanery and Vicar-General of the Diocese of Makurdi.
Governor of Benue State
On January 2, 1992, His Excellency Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu was sworn in as the second Executive Governor of Benue State. He is said to have had a positive impact on conditions during his two-year term. His notable initiatives included:
Benue State University: founded on December 27, 1991
College of Education, Oju: reactivated and upgraded
Tarka Foundation: conceived in honour of Senator Joseph Sarwuan Tarka and launched on July 2, 1992. Its building stands on five hectares in Makurdi and includes an art gallery, conference rooms, recreational centres and chalets
Other ventures: BENCO roof tile and the Katsina-Ala fruit juice company, which he started but could not take far in so short a time
He was also known for a memorable remark on public life. Politics itself, he said, is not a dirty game; it becomes tainted by those who enter it for selfish reasons. “I am in politics to baptise politics and make it pure,” he declared.
His tenure ended when General Sani Abacha came to power in November 1993. He was removed from office and replaced by Group Captain Joshua Obademi.
Return to Public Life
In the Fourth Republic, Fr. Adasu was appointed a member of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in January 2001. He resigned in June 2002 to return to politics.
Running on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), he challenged the incumbent governor, George Akume of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the April 2003 gubernatorial election but was unsuccessful. In September 2004, he headed one of the AD’s National Convention Committees, following a factional split in the party caused by the return of its former chairman, Ahmed Abdulkadir.
Moses Orshio Adasu
Passing and Legacy
Fr. Adasu died on November 20, 2005. Following his death, Benue State University, the institution he founded, conferred an honorary doctorate degree on him.
