From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Mutual Union of Tiv in America (MUTA) has appealed to the Federal Government to immediately wade into the protracted war between the Tiv and Jukun ethnic groups in Taraba State.
In a statement released on Sunday and signed by Prof. Joseph T. Zume and Mr Simon Kusugh on behalf of MUTA, the group recalled that in 2001, the Tiv diaspora community had cause to write the then President Olusegun Obasanjo over the massive killing of Tiv people by the Jukun militias in Taraba State, adding that Obasanjo’s interventions brought succor, albeit temporarily to the crisis.
The group, however, alleged that 18 years after the initial presidential assistance, a more vicious pogrom has been visited on the Tiv people in Taraba by the Jukun.
“In 2019, the violence killed scores of Tiv people and caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands from their communities.
“What makes the current crisis deserving of special attention is that the Jukun have not only violently overran about 30 Tiv villages and towns, but they have also renamed them to obliterate their Tiv histories.
“To provide just a few examples, the Jukun have captured and renamed the following towns and villages: In Takum LGA, Peva has been renamed Chanchanji and Tse-Ahmadu renamed Kufai Ahmadu. In Wukari LGA, Tse-Ayu has been renamed Tsokundi and Toho Abanyon renamed Adikyan. In Donga LGA, Ananaum has been renamed Wutobi and Ishagogo renamed Sabongida Suntai. In Gassol LGA, Dan-Anacha, the biggest Tiv settlement in the local government with a population of over 150,000 people has been renamed Kwararafa. The list is much longer”, MUTA further alleged.
It accused the Taraba State of executive meanness, alleging that it denied the Tiv Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) the courtesy of make-shift camps for temporarily accommodating displaced peoples.
“Instead, we understand the Chairman of Wukari LGA, for example, has stationed soldiers in Tiv villages like Tor-Iyorshagher to prevent them from returning to their ancestral homes. The renaming of Tiv communities and towns signals the unequivocal intent of the Jukun to uproot Tiv people from their legitimate ancestral lands. We have it on good word that the nefarious acts of the Jukun receive tacit approval from the Taraba State governor, Arch. Ishaku Darius, himself a Jukun.
“All these actions run contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian constitution. In contrast to what the Jukun are doing in Taraba State, their kith and kin enjoy peace and acceptability in the Abinsi community of Guma LGA of Benue State. The Tiv of Benue accept the Jukun of Abinsi as indigenes of the state, having settled there for generations”, the group stated.
MUTA, who said it has zero confidence on Taraba State government to resolve the crisis, called on the Federal government to lead efforts, not only to resolve the displacement of Tiv people in Taraba but also ensure that the threat to their citizenship rights is totally eliminated.