Terver Adom: Perspectives on his Writings, Public Affairs Commentaries and Social Media Engagements
Prologue
Last Thursday, December 3 at Trust Resort, Makurdi, Terver Adom played host to 20 of his Facebook Friends, which he was meeting for the first time in a “90 MINUTES WITHOUT A PHONE” informal interaction over dinner. I was among the select few of his known friends, the invitation was extended to and I shared my thoughts on his writings and personality as expressed in black and white thus…
Let me begin by stating that when an American college student, Mark Zuckerberg along with his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students; Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes conceived the idea of establishing Facebook and on February 4, 2004 launched it as a social networking service platform, they perhaps, would never have imagined that it would become a potent and veritable platform connecting people across the world and eventually bringing them face-to-face as we have congregated tonight at the instance of our host, Terver Adom.
While some of us share a close friendship witerth our host outside of the virtual world of the Facebook social media network, I am reliably informed that at least 20 attendees here at this dinner are perhaps meeting the host, Terver Adom outside of the Facebook interactions for the first time. I am equally well aware that this year, marks exactly 10 years of Terver Adom operating a Facebook account, having created his Facebook ID in August 2010.
Growing up as a young boy in secondary school, I had a couple of pen friends, I may be right to assume that some of you here equally cultivated and kept such friendship as well. Maybe I should say that social media platforms- Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram etc have come to represent the new “pen friendship” in this present-day.
From the above premise, I must commend and congratulate our host -Terver Adom for expanding scope of the social media interaction- (which I refer to here as “pen friendship”) to a real lived-world experience. Of course, you the 20 persons who accepted the invitation for this interaction outside of the social media realm, have also collectively, redefined what social media friendship and interaction entails.
Context of my Thoughts
Tonight, I have an ordinary, but obviously challenging task which is to offer a concise review of our host’s writings, especially his social media outings. In an attempt to do this, I have shaped and expressed my thoughts in this essay, which I have titled; Terver Adom: Perspectives on his Writings, Public Affairs Commentaries and Social Media Engagements.
Without trying to gloss over the obvious fact that I share a close friendship with Terver Adom (I must hasten to add here that we did not connect on the social media), I should note right away that in this essay, I intend to engage in cheerleading, as well as attempt to offer my viewpoints concerning his thoughts as expressed in his writings and engagements on the Facebook social media platform, hoping that I may elicit positive discussions resulting from my perspectives.
Basically, I have attempted an academic tradition of adopting a method of generating data for this essay. Here, I have adopted a semi-approach to content analysis often used in communications research, and my data is mainly harvested from Terver Adom’s writings, especially those shared on his Facebook timeline, I have purposely sampled a few of those articles to achieve my aim in this piece.
Sampled Case Studies from Facebook
In an essay titled, “I Need a Chinese Name” and posted on FB April 9, 2020 as at the time of downloading the piece, it had 88 likes, 179 comments and was shared by 12 persons. In this piece, Terver decried how the “Nigerian political leadership have surrendered our country to Beijing” as he poignantly noted that “our leaders are not thinking of how Nigeria can look inwardly to solve our problems” and this is leading to a collapse of the economy which is highly dependent, hence we are dubbed a consuming nation without economic models for production.
In another essay titled “Leadership Recruitment in Benue State since 1999” and posted on FB on April 17, 2020. As at the time I culled the piece, it elicited 155 likes, 402 comments and was shared by 11 other FB users. Terver in this article traced the evolution of political leadership in Benue State since the return of democracy in 1999, beaming searchlight on key actors, and the political ruling elite who have been involved in the leadership trajectory of the State. Here invites the Benue political leaders to learn to scout, find, nurture and grow a crop of emerging leaders who will steer the affairs of the State in the right direction.
In yet another article titled, “HRM Professor James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse Tor Tiv V at 61: Reflections on the Tor Tiv Institution”(NB: Tor Tiv was 64 when the article was reposted) posted on FB on May 12, 2020, it received 96 likes, 110 comments, 65 shares as at the time of downloading it. In this brilliant piece, Terver walks the reader through the coming into being of the Tor Tiv institution as well as the circumstances surrounding the selection of the first four Tor Tivs up to the reign of the current Tor Tiv. Essentially, he invites the Tiv elites and all persons of Tiv ethnicity to accord the Tor Tiv institution the pride of place it deserves in our cultural history and the national affairs of our country with the Tiv people occupying an enviable place as 4th largest ethnic group in Nigeria.
In an article titled, “Making Peace with the Devil: A Congratulatory Note to Chairmen Elect in Benue State” and published on Facebook May 31, 2020 it had 123 likes, 227 comments, 18 persons shared the piece as at when I downloaded it. In his piece, Terver courageously and firmly criticized, that the charade called elections which produced 23 LGA Chairmen in Benue State. With a constructive voice of criticism, he made a charge for the elected (selected) Chairmen, stating that “your performance in office must not be like the process that brought you in, as the daughter of a prostitute must not be a prostitute”.
The discourse on Terver’s outings on Facebook is indeed all embracing and inexhaustible as he has touched on nearly every subject and topic of cultural, political, religious, and social interests interrogating critical issues.
Perspectives on his Writings, Public Affairs Commentaries and Social Media Engagements
The introductory note on his Facebook timeline, succinctly and rightly too, captures Terver Adom as an author, biographer, speaker, critic, public affairs analyst and commentator.
Evidently, my close interaction with him over the years reveals Terver, as fitting perfectly in all these nomenclatures stated above, given that he has a demonstrable and proven capacity in performing one or two tasks that clearly connects to the aforementioned designations. I have had cause to refer to him as an independent researcher as well, considering my informed knowledge of his exploits in undertaking rigorous independent researches in diverse fields of study.
It his classic manner Terver writes with a remarkable combination of breadth and acuity along with his knack for connecting headlines to trend lines and lived reality. Anytime you read Terver, he offers a unique glimpse into the inner historical analysis in the decisive events of our time, with a specialized bias to Tiv political history. In his writings, Terver takes us on an exhilarating tour of history that makes us rethink all our ideas about ourselves and other peoples and our places in the overall scheme of things.
Although Terver writes on a broad ranging issues, it is important to point that his writings are often current, diverse but thematically unified. His writings are not for the faint hearted, and they are conspicuously devoid of politically correctness, by the standards of 21st-century Nigerian sensibilities.
He deploys a language of constructive criticism which is subtle, compassionate and firm at the same time. One can accuse Terver of many things, but certainly not even his worst enemy can accuse him of shying away from speaking and writing his mind. I read him as one writing with the future in perspective and certainly walking on the pages of history.
In his characteristic style, the groundwork laid in his writings, explains his methodical approaches like a clinical internist, at a holistic diagnosis of a Nigeria and Benue’s situation and the options it faces. Rather than deliver a worldview to readers from on high, Terver leads them along the learning path he himself follows, telling the remarkable stories of his own experiences since childhood as a way to bring readers to a broad-based understanding of the array of issues he comments and offers analyses on.
In the end, he leaves readers with an understanding, not of how daunting the Benue’s and Nigeria’s problems are, but how solvable they are-and why making the effort is a matter both of moral obligation and strategic self-interest. Terver’s writings and public affairs commentaries are works of profound moral and intellectual vision that grows out of unprecedented real-world experience.
Traditionally in his writings and commentaries, Terver presents a distinct and uncharted pathway for Benue and Tivland to advance sustainably through home-grown and grassroots based ideas, which may lead to advances in socio-economic policies for growth and development. His writings points to the fact that issues about leadership recruitment and development in Benue State as a microcosm of Nigeria must be an ongoing conversation that is open to critique and revision in a rapidly changing political landscape.
Terver’s writing and public affairs commentaries offer a thrilling and inspiring big-picture vision of the keys to socio-economic success at least in Benue today and the steps that are necessary to achieve socio-economic prosperity for all. Marrying vivid eyewitness storytelling to his laser-like analysis, Terver sets the stage by drawing a vivid conceptual map of the Benue socio-political economy.
As a public affairs commentator, Terver exudes the persona of one who believes in pragmatism and common sense rather than ideology. He is an intellectual and one with a vision, one with a strategy and the ability to get things done. His commentaries and writings deserve the attention of anyone concerned with the political history of Tivland at its most fundamental level.
Terver’s writing makes a fascinating read, even though I am familiar with much of his thoughts and philosophy, having the privilege of enjoying a close friendship with him these five years. He is a great teacher, not just for me but also for the younger generations of Benue youth. No doubt a futuristic thinker will find Terver’s intellectual focus enriching, the writing and examples engaging, and the thoroughness of his search of the contemporary social issues invigorating.
Terver’s writing style is fast-paced and conversational, with every dazzling idea and penetrating insight intact, delivered in clear, accessible, reader-friendly prose. He writes in his trademark humorous, witty and candid style broaching on a wide range of topics from the mundane to the serious. Most engagingly of all, he introduces us to the many people he meets, and gives us hilarious insights into the African character, its passion, wit and ingenuity. Terver is a futurist (for lack of a more appropriate term). His writings are stimulating, useful, brilliant, and always worth turning over the page.
In a style that is both informative and witty, Terver’s works give us deep insight into the forces that have shaped Benue and Tivland into the state it is today. The scope and depth of his works is simply astonishing. He is broadly erudite, writes in a style that pleasantly expresses historical ideas, deploying a masterful synthesis in a refreshingly unconventional approach. His writings are deeply informative and deftly balanced.
Terver’s writings also go far beyond day-to-day abstraction to achieve the aesthetic, descriptive and analytic richness of truly great value which merit much closer study. His perspectives are forcefully argued and empirically rich, so entertaining, so stimulating, dense, humorous, witty, apt, and so singularly clever, shedding new light on diverse issues of public interest.
Epilogue
On social media and beyond, there is a lot to admire Terver for and good reason to interact with him. He embodies what I would call good leadership. As I often read and interact with him, I am inclined to feel strongly that Terver’s voice has not been bought-over, his reasoning, along with his sympathetic heart is evident to all those who care to read him. He offers hope that in Benue State the status quo might one day be overcome.
Terver Adom exudes the deportment of a courageous writer and commentator who never gives up his quest to make society fairer and stronger, smarter and better. He is steadfast in his beliefs, a fighter of uncommon grace; he is an inspiration to me and to most of us. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, let me conclude by stating here that Terver Adom has the most brilliant strategic mind I have ever encountered. I must say I take pride in knowing Terver and sharing close friendship with him even as we share mutual friends both online and offline.
