PUBLISH IN THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF INFORMATION The crisis in Takum, Taraba State, Nigeria. May 20th, 2013 By Joseph Igba In Takum, crisis broke out between Tiv and Kuteb people, who according to history, have coexisted peacefully for hundreds of years, but in the past eight years, the peaceful relationship appears to have broken down irretrievably. This eight year internecine crisis is blown out of proportion and has being claiming lives and properties. Many people are displaced from both sides. Even with the intervention of the Governments of Taraba and Benue States, the crisis seems to have defiled solution as the mayhem lingers. From both side of the divide, bitter words and accusations of carnage are being traded, while on the public glare, stakeholders of the two communities lament bitterly that the crisis situation ought not to be between the two darling ethnic communities. Whether they are intervening truthfully for the end of the crisis is what remains to be seen. The cause of the new phase of the crisis, according to a source from the Tiv side, as contained in a memo presented to the peace committee and made available to news men, have it that some Tiv villages displaced by the Kutebs, in one of the series of the crisis, were not allowed to return to their lands. Their attempts to reclaim their homes and farm lands were repelled with brutality; they alleged. It is worthy of note that, it is not every section of the Tiv and Kuteb communities that are involved in this current wave of hostility. Those caught in the web of this operation of hate are Kuteb people that live around Ribasin, Nyinchu and Jenuwa – Nyifiye villages; the Tiv people that live at Ageh, Kaaor, Agbai, Gough, Tompo, Akaakase Bebe, Shior, Tyav Azember villages. Some of the grievances of the Tiv in the beleaguered area, as contained in their position paper, presented to the peace mediating committee and made available to the media, are that, at Kaor village, a Kuteb family raised a building on a piece of land belonging to a Tiv family and also rented part of it to MTN, a Telecommunications services’ provider company, to erect a mask, that is to say, they have taken ownership of the land, preventing the family from returning to the place. They further claimed that in April this year, mysterious killings began to occur. According to them, Ape Akaaga, Samuel Bossua, Iorhemen Kwange and Terver Aver were gruesomely murdered either in their homes or on their farms by people suspected to be Kuteb. Kuteb sources also complain of continuous mysterious disappearances of their people, a situation that can be likened to guerrilla warfare. In this case however, corpses are never seen. They cited an incident of 3 Kuteb people working on their Tiv friend’s land and were kidnapped by persons suspected to be Tiv. Cases of gruesome murders and kidnapping were common. Irked by the development, the Kuteb people, it was alleged, mobilised and attacked some Tiv villages leaving eight people dead. Hitler Gbaondo, a Tiv elder from the crisis zone, told us that since then, the Kuteb have continued to carry out systematic and coordinated attacks on Tiv homes within Taraba and across Benue State. Peter Kaor Zhoho, also from the area, gave details of attacks on the Tiv areas. On the 5th April, 2013, one Asema Kwaghkire was kidnapped along Takum Kpashi Road, while returning from Takum. On the 7th April, 2013, three people, Mnongo Tyohima, his immediate younger brother and his son in law were attacked, with one of them killed. Similarly, on the 8th April, 2013, the Kuteb in collaboration with their Fulani mesenteries attacked and killed one man and burnt down the whole settlement. He also stated that on the 9th, a full attack at Tse Azer was carried out leaving two people dead. He continued, that on the 10th Aril, 2013, one Lumunga Mbatshaha was kidnapped on his farm between Sufa and Gbaondo and up till now, he has not been found. He concluded that between 20 and 21 April, 2013, full attack was carried out on the following settlements: Kertyo Bebe, Ikyor, Zahemen Bebe, Mnongo, Kanshio, Atomgba Akesa Lyam, Agio, Tortsee, Akenawe, Gbaondo, Ugbaa and Ayari were razed down. When contacted for the breakdown of damages suffered by Kuteb people, the coordinator of Yangtu Special Development Area, Hon. Kefas Maiyaki declined to speak on the cause of the crisis, but recommended that the 2006 peace agreement be implemented to avoid further occurrence. Government intervention. As part of their efforts to bring the situation to normalcy, Taraba and Benue State Governors met on the border village of Dogon Gawa. During the elaborate meeting of the two States, Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State said those atrocities were committed by criminals, even as he urged security agencies from the two States to share intelligence and fish out the criminals that are fuelling the crisis. Garba Umar, Acting Governor of Taraba State on his part said, there was no need for such unnecessary crises as development would not be achieved in an atmosphere of rancour, and advised both parties to sheath their sword and embrace peace and work for the progress of Nigeria. At the end, a 12 man committee was set up to find ways of bringing lasting solution to the age long crisis. Some stakeholders faulted the two governments’ perception of the crisis. “For emphasising too much on the role of criminals in the crisis, it appears that the two Governors did not to have a good knowledge of the crisis”; one anonymous source told the media which include this writer. “It is not a fair judgement for the crisis to be blamed solely on the activities of criminals, while ignoring the fundamentals of the tribes’ disagreement, which is land”, it added. Some people who also bared their minds on the intervention of the two States say that the crisis was projected as a border crisis, which is not the case. “It is the Tiv and Kuteb people of Taraba State, living on the border villages of Takum and Yangtu Development Area that are fighting each other over land.” One of the stakeholders in the crisis zone told the media. Government’s understanding of the basic components of the peoples’ conflict is key in taking measures that will solve the problem.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:23:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015