In a bid to encourage Igbo language and its cultural value, the Imo state government through the administration of Governor Anayo Rochas Okorocha, recently rolled out Free Igbo Language classes at the Imo state liaison office in Lagos for its citizens.
The governor’s Special Assistant on Lagos Liaison, Hon. Lisa Asugha emphasized that the on-going Free Igbo Language education was in fulfillment to the office late last year’s unveiled blueprint, which she said would strengthen Igbo’s cultural institution.
Though, she added that the Free Igbo Language Education for Imo children both at home and abroad would also enable them speak the language fluently, as against being phased out by the new and digital generation.
However, she opined, “Truly, this will go a long way in helping our children both at home and abroad to learn and speak Igbo language fluently. It has been noticed that our language and culture is gradually phasing out in this new generation, and on this note, the governor has thought it wise to establish such a school to educate our children”.
Meanwhile, Asugha also disclosed that plans are in progress over the establishment of the first of its kind ‘Imo City: Gallery of Igbo Heritage,’ a world class monument that will take people through the evolution of Igbo race.
The gallery which according to her would be depicting the Igbo culture and heritage will also help children of the digital age understand what life and culture of the Igbo man used to be.
She also stressed that it would reflect the different stages of transition and evolution with the aim of presenting the traditional ways of life of the Igbo man, showing life in the villages before the advent of colonialism and post-colonialism.
The Revolutionary Guard accuses “mercenaries and supporters” of Israel for being responsible for Wednesday’s killing of Gen. Hassan Shateri on the road from Damascus to Beirut • Iranian media say Shateri was in charge of reconstruction projects in southern Lebanon.
A senior Iranian official has vowed to take revenge on Israel for its alleged involvement in the killing of a commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard.
The Guard has accused “mercenaries and supporters” of Israel for being responsible for Wednesday’s killing of Gen. Hassan Shateri on the road linking Damascus to Beirut.
Ali Shirazi, representative of Iran’s supreme leader to the Guard, says Israel will soon pay the price for Shateri’s killing.
“Our enemies should also know that we will quickly get revenge for [the death of] Haj Hassan [Shateri] from the Israelis, and the enemies cannot shut off the Iranian people with such stupid acts [as the killing],” Shirazi was quoted by the Iranian Students News Agency Saturday.
Israel has not commented on the killing.
Iranian media say Shateri was in charge of reconstruction projects in southern Lebanon. It is unclear what he was doing in Syria, but Tehran is a close Syrian ally. It counts on Syria as a bridge to Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Shateri had been killed outside Iran by “Zionist agents,” according to some Iranian news agencies. It quoted Iranian news site Balagh and a person with knowledge of the situation saying that Shateri had been killed in Syria, making him the highest-ranking Iranian official killed in Syria’s uprising.
Meanwhile, major powers plan to offer to ease sanctions barring Iran from trading in gold and other precious metals in return for steps to shut down its newly expanded Fordo uranium enrichment plant, Western officials said on Friday.
The officials said the offer would be presented to Iran on Feb. 26 at talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and they acknowledged that it represented a relatively modest update to proposals that the six major powers put forward last year.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officials said their decision not to make a dramatically new offer in part reflected skepticism that Iran was ready to make a deal ahead of its June 14 presidential election.
The P5+1 group — Britain, China, France, Russia, the U.S. and Germany — wants Iran to do more to prove that its nuclear program is for only non-military purposes and to permit wider U.N. inspections.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday that his country was not seeking nuclear weapons, but that if it intended to build them, the U.S. could not stop it.
Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, also rejected direct talks with the U.S. over the nuclear program, despite the pressure of sanctions.
“We believe nuclear weapons must be abolished and we have no intention of building” such weaponry, Khamenei said in remarks posted on his website, leader.ir. But he added: “If Iran had the intention to build nuclear weapons, the U.S. could in no way stop the Iranian nation.”
He said Iran would hold talks with the U.S. if the latter respected Iran’s rights instead of resorting to bullying.
“They want to deny the Iranian nation of its definite and inalienable right to uranium enrichment and peaceful use of nuclear energy. Of course, they won’t succeed,” Khamenei said.
Addressing a group of Iranians at his home in the capital, Tehran, Khamenei also scolded Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his conservative rivals for factional fighting, saying they should unite rather than quarrel at a time when the West was stepping up sanctions on Iran.
Earlier last week, U.S. President Barack Obama stressed that he wanted to resolve the dispute with Iran through diplomacy, but repeated a veiled military threat, saying, “We will do what is necessary to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon.”
The core of the new offer revises last year’s demand that Iran ceases producing higher-grade uranium, ship any stockpiles out of the country and close down its underground enrichment facility at Fordo.
“The next proposal is remarkably close to the old one,” said one official who spoke on condition of anonymity, describing it as “a way to test whether they are serious or not.”
“We don’t think the Iranians have given us reason to do much more,” he said. “It’s basically an update … so it does require a little bit more from Iran in terms of cooperation with the [International Atomic Energy Agency] and at Fordo.”
The Western officials declined to specify precisely how the U.S. and European Union might ease such sanctions.
It is unclear whether the Iranians would find such an offer appealing or even the basis for further talks, or whether they might hold out for a much more comprehensive offer that the P5+1 do not, at present, appear ready to put on the table.
“It’s not the crown jewel,” one Western official said of the sanctions relief now on offer.
The offer may also stir up opposition in the U.S. Congress, which passed sanctions that went into effect on Feb. 6 that tighten controls on sales of precious metals to Iran.
Bankers told Reuters in Istanbul that U.S. sanctions on gold are killing off Turkey’s gold-for-gas trade with Iran and have stopped state-owned lender Halkbank from processing other nations’ energy payments to the OPEC oil producer.
Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an advocate of harsh sanctions on Iran, said easing sanctions depended on Iranian behavior.
“I believe yielding on this sanction or any other sanction depends wholly on what the Iranians are willing to do,” Menendez said. “If they are willing to perform concrete steps towards stopping and dismantling their nuclear weapons program, that’s when we can consider easing some of our sanctions.”
A Republican congressional aide said most members of his party would oppose sanctions relief until Iran met all its U.N. obligations and suggested Congress could strip the president of the flexibility, known in Washington jargon as “waiver authority,” on whether or not to impose gold sanctions.
“While Congress gave the president a national security waiver, Congress can and should move to take it away in the next round of sanctions legislation if he intends to give the Iranians a pass in exchange for peanuts,” he said.
According to the IAEA’s November report, Iran has increased the number of centrifuges at Fordo, an underground plant that could be largely impervious to attack from the air, by 644 to 2,784 since mid-August.
In further defiance of international demands that it scale back uranium enrichment, Iran said last week that it was installing advanced enrichment machines at its main plant at Natanz, adding to Western worries it may be able to refine uranium even faster.
According to an IAEA report released in mid-November, Iran has a stockpile of 134.9 kilograms (297 pounds) of 20 percent enriched uranium, bringing it closer to the ability to produce the 90% uranium needed to provide fissile material for atomic bombs.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Last year Members of Ebonyi State House of Assembly suspended one of their own, the Honourable Member representing Ivo Constituency in the state Assembly Mrs Lillian Igwe for ‘drunkenness and other spurious charges’. Moving the motion for the suspension of Mrs Igwe the member representing Afikpo South East, Blasé Orji, said ‘The House has been brought to ridicule by the member representing Ivo State Constituency…She does not only engage in excessive alcoholic drinking, she also boards commercial tricycles, popularly called KEKE NAPEP to the House, thereby not carrying herself as an honourable member; Mr Speaker, based on this therefore, I move a motion that Hon Lillian Igwe be suspended from the House.
After making the unsavoury statement above, Mrs Igwe was suspended and by extension, the Assembly suspended all her Ivo constituents. In short, Ivo Constituency has no representative in Ebonyi House of Assembly as at today. But our investigation revealed that Mrs Igwe does not drink alcohol but she sometimes rides KeKe NaPep as one of her ways of connecting with the people who voted for her. By riding in Keke NaPep she engages one to one with some members of her constituents who do not have time to attend her monthly constituency surgery.
The action of Ebonyi Male Dominated House of Assembly (EMDHA) against Honourable Igwe to say the least is senseless and immature.There are only 4 women out of the 24 legislators in the Assembly. Firstly, they slandered her, turned round and became the judge and the jury. If the members have any reputation at all left, the suspension of Honourable Mrs Igwe has turned it into shreds. If ‘drunkenness and coming to the Assembly in Keke Napep’ are the only allegations the members could come up with against Mrs Igwe, it shows they are lazy, chauvinists, incompetent and dishonourable. And, for this singular action their bums no doubt, irritate the chairs they sit on in that House of Assembly.
Good, they did not accuse her of incompetence because she is better, organised and more educated than most of them. Her crimes are that she is a woman and outspoken. She also defeated an ‘anointed man’ in PDP primary election and did not support the impeachment of the former speaker, Mr. Ikechukwu Nwankwo. If this unjust suspension is not lifted as soon as possible, Nigerians and the world will continue to see Ebonyi House of Assembly as hostile to women and a place where male chauvinism is a standing order.
These ‘boy legislators’ should grow up quickly and join real men in the real world. They can call themselves whatever name they like but their action says a lot about them and the type of laws they are making in Ebonyi State. And, come to think of it, the pedigrees of some of these legislators seem suspect and should be challenged by the people of Ebonyi state for the sustenance of democracy in the state.
If the House of Assembly members are not aware, let me quickly remind them here that Ebonyi State is one the least developed states in Nigeria and the challenges facing them are numerous and overwhelming. But male chauvinism is their greatest headache. The ridiculous allegations levelled against Mrs Igwe are nothing but stragglers tittle-tattle.
The suspension of Hon. Igwe is in bad faith and it beats the imagination of right thinking Nigerians that a state like Ebonyi that produced Statesmen like Dr Akanu Ibiam and a former Senate President who is now the Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria would ignominiously suspend a very hardworking Assembly woman on spurious allegations. The injustice against this Honourable woman must not stand. Women in Nigeria and Human Right Organizations should step forward now and defend this defenceless woman. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere. The House of Assembly members should wise up now and listen to Plato who once said ‘He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it’
Sam Asoluka is the President of Wind-of-Change, UK. He can be reached on windofchange360@gmail.com
“Africa’s Diabolical Entrapment” is the title of the latest book written by Frisky Larr. To simplify the weight of the words chosen for this title, I will first attempt to explain the word Diabolic. Taken from the Latin word “Diabolicus” or the Greek “Diabolikos” or “Diabolos”, it is the equivalent of the English word “Devil” in both languages. Some sources describe the word as depicting activities enlisting the aid of the devil especially in witchcraft or sorcery. A character that is devilish or fiendish. Taken analogically, we will understand that Frisky Larr has set out to describe an Africa in his range of vision that is trapped within the Devil’s den.
Indeed, this title struck me as brutal and wantonly presumptuous. Without recourse to the writer, I was determined to read every bit of his submission to get to the root of this damning title on the reputation of Black Africa.
It did not take me long to figure out where the author was heading when he undertook a journey through history to identify the significance and meaning of witchcraft in other civilizations such as Europe and the Americas. The Celtic roots of the Halloween tradition, the Inquisition of the Middle Age and the grand witch-hunt of Harlem highlighted the understanding of witchcraft as a phenomenon that is not confined to Black Africa.
This is the challenge that is posed to the impatient reader in search of immediate sensation. The scientific-style qualitative analysis with which the author explains that there are believers and followers of witchcraft in Europe today will not make an easy reading for the average reader who has no academic background. Having gone through this analogy with all relevant details, the author devoted his time to identifying the understanding of witchcraft in Africa with a view to highlighting the differences in the cultural accentuation of beliefs. From this point on, the book makes easy reading for all classes of potential readers.
In fact, it was at this stage that I slowly began to understand why Africa was truly trapped in the devil’s den of its own volition. The narrative journey slowly transformed into an exposé on Africa’s pre-colonial past examining myths and fictions and comparing them with modern realities. The myth surrounding the hunger strike of Oba Ovonramwen under the British colonial administration was factually compared with the hunger strike of Bobby Sands of the Irish Republican Army under the democratic iron fist of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The abolition of the practice of human sacrifice predominantly at the West Coast of Africa by the colonialists and the modern-day resurgence of rituals involving human parts in Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria etc. clearly highlights the self-entrapment of Black Africa in the diabolical den.
Frisky Larr goes ahead to identify even one more modern incarceration of the mind in the psyche of the Black African. The relationship between dwindling economic fortunes and the breakdown of law and order as crucial factors in the mass shift towards higher acceptance of traditional values vis-à-vis traditional medicine intertwined with witchcraft and sorcery! This is explained in the typical Frisky Larr’s fashion. He further proceeds to identify precisely these hopelessly dwindling economic fortunes as the cause of another paradigm shift. The mass embrace of Christian beliefs often with the parallel but quiet (behind-the-scene) practice of animism! This time though, witch doctors are replaced by vision-seeing self-styled “overseers”, “Bishops” and “Vicars”. The story-telling narrative goes on to portray criminal activities in the name of Jesus much like fake witch doctors and healers roam the African streets.
I have no doubt that committed loyalists of traditional institutions and admirers of traditional rulers and their widely accepted supernatural powers will be clearly irritated by the author’s frank and blunt rejection of these notions as a factor of collective and mass stupefaction. In the same vein, faithful Christians that are stuck to the Gospel as taught by the Bible will have their fair share of irritation in the face of the author’s condemnation of what he describes as materialist Christianity holding believers hostage in Black Africa. In spite of all these irritations though, it will be very difficult to disagree with the author in the face of compelling evidences that truly seem to portray the continent as entangled in a fundamental trouble of mental deprivation. A problem that plays into the waiting hands of incompetent and inefficient political leadership that is not in a hurry to have it solved as long as it impedes the urgent need for public accountability!
The most impressive and fascinating aspect of Africa’s Diabolical Entrapment is the conclusion and projection for the future of Black Africa. The author makes a daring 30-year projection for developments in Black Africa.
A readable work described by the author as a “pseudo-scientific analysis” that is truly worth its while. It contains recommendations that may be useful to innovative political drives.
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The book is currently available in Paperback at www.Authorhouse.co.uk, Amazon and several online bookstores. It is yet to be released or launched in Nigeria.
Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has warned cattle rearers whose animals destroy farm crops to desist from such acts or face dire consequences.
Dr Uduaghan who gave this warning at the 20th Annual session of the Delta State Baptist Conference in Oghara while reacting to complaints from farmers of the massive destruction of their crops by cattle said the land owners who rent their lands to Fulani cattle rearers for grazing should desist forthwith or face severe penalty. He noted that the ugly incident if not checked could cause hostility between the communities and the cattle rearers.
The Governor assured the people that measures would be taken to deal with the problem explaining that a meeting of the leaders of the Fulani cattle rearers and the state government would be convened soon to check the ugly trend.
“It is very wrong for cattle rearers to allow their cattle go into people’s farmland to graze and destroy the crops. Those land owners who rent their lands to Fulani cattle rearers to graze their cattles should stop it or they will be punished,” he said.
Responding the Chairman of Ethiope West Local Government Area, Hon. Precious Adjaino told the Governor that he had severally warned the cattle rearers to ensure that their cattle stay clear from people’s farmlands in the area to no avail. He explained that his effort to stop the cattle rearers from allowing their cattle destroy crops was frustrated by some land owners who rented their lands to them.
According to him “I have tried my best to talk with the cattle rearers on several occasion on this issue but my effort was being frustrated by land owners who rent their lands to them for grazing their cattle,” he said.
Reacting to a question on the poor quality of some government projects, Governor Uduaghan urged contractors in the state to execute projects according to specification and schedule.
He said government have put measures in place to check corruption and appealed to religious organizations not to celebrate persons with questionable character.
Speaking further, the governor promised to look into the cases of Nurses having promotion issues and primary school teachers yet to get their promotion arrears..
In a welcome address, the Executive Secretary of the Delta State Baptist Conference and Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, Delta State, Rev. Gideon Oyibo commended Governor Uduaghan for his infrastructure developmental efforts.
He however decried the poor attitude of some contractors in executing government projects adding that such projects should be monitored independently.
Rev. Oyibo appealed to the state government to include private schools in the payment of WAEC and NECO examination fees.
Indigeneity is simply a discriminatory concept employed in the Nigerian state to distinguish between the indigenes or natives of a state or locality and those who are referred to as non-indigenes or settlers. Despite the constitutional provisions guaranteeing the citizenship status of Nigerians, yet within the country, the issues of indigeneity is making Nigerians to becoming second-class citizens in states other than their own.
The Tiv people like the Hausa/Fulani who considered themselves indigenous in virtually all states in northern Nigeria, are indigenous to many more states than Benue State. A larger population of Tiv people is found in Taraba, Nasarawa part of Plateau and Niger States, while some are in Abuja (FCT), Cross River and the Republic of Cameroun.
Tiv people like other ethnic nationalities such as Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo inhabit several states comfortably. It is only the Tiv, arguably the 4th largest ethnic group in Nigeria, who must be confined to Benue State, they are designated “settlers, non-indigene or immigrants”. This write up is to seek for clarification on the “settlers vs. indigene syndrome” in Taraba and Nasarawa States.
The Tiv People in Taraba State
Historically, the Tiv people in Taraba State particularly the Ukum, Shitile and Ugondo clans arrived the present area of Taraba State at the same time with the Chamba tribes between 1750 and 1800AD. According to Dr. Hassan Mahmoud in his Ph. D. Thesis on the Rise and Fall of Emirate of Muri 1812 – 1903. Historical records by Professor Webster (1775) and Dr. Erim (1981) indicated that with the fall of Kwororofa Empire, the Jukum marched against Bornu’s capital Gazargamo in 1684, they were roundly defeated by the Bornu Empire (See R. C. Abraham’s page 33, and the Bornu Chronicles p.35).
The remnants at Kororofa in preset day Gombe State, were again routed by Buba Yero of Gombe and around 1860, “the Jakun mated away before Buba Yero of Gombe and Abubakar, Alkalin Dagara, and Buba of Bakundi finally destroyed what was left of Kororofa” (see R. C. Abrahams p.34).
Even before the final destruction, the Jukuns had fled westwards to meet the Tiv who had already occupied the Benue valley at Kassan Chikki in present day Awe in Nasarawa State.
The present Jakun settlement at prestn Wukari, Taraba State was already occupied by the Tiv which they called Waka District.
The arrival of British between 1800 and 1900AD commence a period of systematic recording of the historical account of the relationship between the ethnic groups. It is an established facts that prior to the arrival of the British, the Tiv has co-existed with their neighbours the Jukun, the Kuteb, Chamba, Alago and other smaller nationalities.
Available records indicate that at the time of Amalgamation of Nigeria in 1944. The Tiv resisted the penetration of the white man into Tiv land. Indeed effective penetration of Tiv land by the British was not accomplished until about 1915.
Following the creation of the northern protectorates, the Tiv were part of the then Lower Benue Province. In 1905, Tiv were under the administrative sphere of Muri province. In 1918, all ethnic minorities south of Benue River, including Bassa, Idoma, Igala, Igede, Tiv, Jukun, Kuteb Chamba and others. Smaller ethnic minorities were group to form Munchi province. Munchi is a term widely recognized as a nickname for the Tiv a term not acceptable by the Tiv people. This Munchi province covered all the areas now under Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and part of Kogi State.
In 1926, Mr. Palmer the then governor of Northern Nigeria placed together all so called Pagan ethnic groups of the western and Muri province to form Kabba province. The remaining part of Munchi province was called Benue province. It covered the present day Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States.
Under this arrangement, Katsina-Ala District was merged with Ibi District to form Wukari Division under the traditional authority of the Aku Uka of Wukari. It is common knowledge that Tiv had no Central Chief until 1946.
All Tiv lands west of Katsina Ala were placed under southern protectorates and administered from Ogoja and Obudu in present day Cross River State. The rest of Tiv lands were administered from Lafia in present day Nasarawa State.
When Tiv division was created in 1938, the Tiv in Katsina-Ala District were placed under Tiv native authority in Gboko, segments of Tiv clans namely; Gaambe Tiev, Ukum and Shitile who were in Wukari division were left under the authority of the Aku Uka of Wukari.
It can be seen that when Tiv were part of Northern protectorate, Muri province, Munchi province, Benue province and even in Benue Plateau State, there was no talk of “settlers, non-inigene or immigrants.”
The boundary separating Tiv Native Authority Division and Wukari which became known as Wukari Federation was made fragment through homogenous Tiv Villages such as (Gbeji, Vaase, Abako, Sail, Peva/Chanchanji and Kashimbila. Some districts/clans were arbitrarily/ fragmented by conflicting delimitation documents. The boundary divided these villages in such away that members of the same family were divided with some in Tiv division and others Wukari Federation.
The Tiv Population in Defunct Wukari Federation which comprises of Wukari District, Takum District and Donga District.
The 1947 census put the Tiv population as 34% of Wukari federation, while the Jukun were listed among the others who were 64%.
It was noted that the Tiv officially outnumbered the Jukun as shown in the table below – hence, the Tiv are the single largest ethnic group in Wukari, Taraba State:
Tiv
Kuteb
Jakun
Ichen
Hausa
Chamba
Others
40,400
26,284
10,867
6,775
5,287
4,500
20,229
Source: National Archives Kaduna (NAK/MAK/Prof. 4377)
Wukari Factsheets No.253 (S.E, N.E, and N.W) 1923 provide sufficient topographical evidence that, the Tiv people dominated the areas surrounding Wukari town.
The detail photographs of the Tiv villages includes; Tor-Damsa, Tse-Afogba Tse-Kpandi (all of them Ugondo) in present Donga Local Government Area. Tse Agbanyam, Tse Ashiekaa, Tse Nyam Tse Agbe (Shitile) Tse Daar, Ikernum, Zegeate, Kyambe, Torluam, Aondogbila, Harabiem, Tse kanyoom, Jigba, Deke and China (Ukum).
Politics
In Taraba State the political equations of the Tiv people in the defunct Wukari Federation which comprises the present, Wukari, Takum, Donga and Ussa have been a constant source of worry to the various ethnic groups in the area.
The following Tiv people were either elected or appointed to political positions:-
A Tive Charles Tangu Gaza, contested under the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) for the 1959 Federal House of Representatives against a Jukun candidate Ibrahim Sangari, of the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) Gaza defeated Sangari with a wide margin. During the second republic, Hon. Simon I. Awuah and Hon. David K. Mtuam were elected in the defunct Gongola State House of Assembly in 1979-1983. Mr. Simon I. Musa was elected the First Chairman of Wukari Local Government in 1979-1983. Hon. Hitler Gbaondo represented Takum Federal Constituency in the House Representative in 1979-1983. Hon. Tsetim Gwakyaa represented Donga Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives in 1983.
Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the former Governor of Defunct Gongola State Appointed Dr. Samuel Tor-Agbidye, Commissioner for Health in 1983, he also appointed Mr. Emmanuel Yawe as Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, in 1983 and Group Captain Jona David Jang also appoint Mr. Emmanuel Jawe again as his Chief Press Secretary in 1987.
Governor Jolly Nyame appointed Mr. Ubee Uchive as Adviser in 1994 and 2000.
The Current Governor of Taraba State Mr. James Danbaba Suntai appointed Mr. Daniel Orkuma Nav Permanent Secretary, Government House, Mrs. Rebecca Torpeva as Adviser to the Governor on political affairs, Dr. Tor-Agbidye was also appointed adviser to the Governor while Mr. Emmanuel Orabunde was appointed the INEC Commissioner.
The Tiv People in Nasarawa State
In Nasarawa State South Senatorial District the settlement pattern then showed the existence of Isherev, Utyondu and Nongov clans of Tiv extraction, who lived with their kith and kins peacefully, co-existed with other tribes such as Alago, Koro, Abakpa, Gwandara and Kamberi were Tiv neighbours in Nasarawa State without rancor since the 17th century.
The Tiv settlement in what is today Nasarawa State predated the Colonial era and is similar to the Tiv in Taraba State from the Munchi province up to the Benue Plateau State.
The Tiv Population in Defunct Benue Plateau
The population of Lafia Division in the defunct Benue/Plateau State, which comprised the present Nasarawa South Senatorial District are made up of Awe, Doma, Keana and Lafia Local Government Areas.
By the 1963 Census, the total population of the Lafia Division was 424,219. The Tiv people accounted for 289,559 representing about 49.2 percent of the total population thereof. The 1991 population census did not reflect ethnic grouping, but going by the indices of the population growth and projection, one has a clear view of the population of the Tiv in Nasarawa South Senatorial District.
Politics
In Nasarawa State, successive democratic administration had fund it complete impossible to ignore the plight of the Tiv people in view of their populations during the second republic therefore, Tiv people did not only have effective representation at Local Government Councils in the areas, but there were also represented at National Assembly by one Hon. Athanasius Tyo was elected to represent Awe, Keana and Doma Federal Constituency from 1979 – 1983, while in 1983 Mr. Emmanuel Orshio represented the people of Awe, Keana and Doma Federal Constituency.
In 1999 Tiv people won election to various Local Government Councils as well as the State Assembly. During the Government of Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, he appointed Tiv Sons of Nasarawa State into key positions of the State Public Service i.e. 1 Special Adviser, 1 Permanent Secretary, 1 Secretary, Teachers Service Commission (TSC), 1 Chairman of Board, 1 Commissioner of the State Electoral Commission (NASIEC), among others, while the current administration of Alhaji Tanko Almakura appointed Mr. Solomon Ihuman as Commissioner for Culture and Tourism and Mr. Philip Audu as Permanent Secretary, Water Resources.
The position of the Tiv in Nasarawa, like Taraba State is very clear; they have lived in these ancestral lands as far back as the 16th century. The Tiv are mostly Christians who are proud of their own religion and culture. However, they respected the religions and cultures of other people.
The phenomenon of “settlers, non-indigene or immigrant” is no more than an attempt by ruling elite in affected areas to deny the Tiv people access to socio-economic and political opportunities including the right to vote and be voted for.
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Mr. John Akevi
Primary Reference Sources:
Abraham, R. C. (Capt.) Tiv People, Muri Province (Anthropological Office, Norhern Nigeria) National Archives Kaduna.
National Archives SNP 17/18 K4049 (B) Benue Province, Wukari Division.
Makar T. The History of Political Change among the Tiv in the 19th and 20th Century (Fourth Dimension Press) 1994.
Tseayo, J. I. Conflict and Incorporation in Nigeria (Gaskiya Corporation Zaria 1975).
David, T. (eds) Political Aspects of Tiv Social Organization in Tribe Wukari Rules, (London 1958).
The Nigerian Police officers have exhibited the usual shameless tendencies by desecrating, disrupting and distracting worshippers during the church service of Sunday 17th February, at the State Headquarters of Winners Chapel , Enugu ,arresting a deacon and an official with the Crowd Control Unit (CCU) in the process. The drama started after the first service when a member of the CCU was defied by a worshipper when instructed to stop for other vehicles from the other lane to pass. The errant worshipper , (the Chief Detail to the Governor of Enugu State) refused to follow the order of the Traffic Controllers and in the process his vehicle hit and run over the leg of another worshipper. In the ensuing melee and confusion the Chief Detail held the tie and pushed around the Usher who retaliated by roughly shoving the man. The wife of the chief detail came to the rescue of the husband by giving the Usher two hot slaps and another lady CCU member slapped back the wife of the government official and a brief fight ensued at the car park leading to tearing of dresses of both women.
The aggrieved Government Official called for reinforcement from a group of mobile policemen who came to the church to arrest the leaders of the CCU but met with resistance from church members. They called for a second and third heavily armed reinforcement that came with two Hilux vans from Government House , Enugu and after much argument, whisked off a Deacon named Kanayo and a CCU usher named Louis. All efforts by the resident pastor and other pastors, elders and deacons to plead with the top government official failed. The duo were arrested and taken to Ogui Police Station around 1pm and were there till 9pm. This melee caused confusion , distracted the second service as worshipers abandoned the church service to witness hollywood movie. Traffic was held up for over two hours while angry worshippers expressed disappointment at the Police partiality in the matter.
The entreaties of people including the State Director of State Security Services and an Assistant Commissioner of Police to release the church officials failed as the government top shot insisted on teaching the church rats the lessons of their lives. The Resident Overseer, Pastor David Bamigboye sent his assistants including Pastor Kunle Olarewaju, Pastor Kingsley Ikobi, Pastor Obiora Madu . The Chairman of Deacon’s Assembly , Deacon Chibuzo Ogoma and Elder Igbinidion were among officials of Living Faith Church stranded at Ogui Police Station till night in efforts to release their Deacon and CCU official.
This action by the Nigerian Police Force attached to Government House Enugu is irresponsible. It is expected that the police should have used wisdom to ask the church to settle the matter as internal affairs. Without the Crowd Control Unit in the church, just as in other denominations, it would be difficult for worshippers to enter and exit the church premises especially in churches that have large crowd and more than one service on a Sunday, particularly with vehicular movements. It is obvious that this Chief Detail cannot understand how this ‘rag-tag’ usher had the effrontery to confront and obstruct his exalted personality. This man whose infamous name is not worth mentioning, should know that his boss, Governor Sullivan Chime, just escaped from the hands of death and Governor Liyel Imoke in Calabar is still battling to escape from his travails. Therefore, showing off might in the church is not good for posterity purposes.
Old Anambra State knows the story of Bishop Godfrey Okoye in 1975 versus Senator Offia Nwali and Barrister JSP Nwokolo owner of Pascan Jake Hotels and how posterity smiled on them after conniving to collect church land in show of might with the Catholic Church. Governor Ohakim beat up a priest and in the process lost his governorship seat in Imo State. The political enemies of Rev Fr Mbaka have become dustbins in Enugu State. Therefore, whosoever this man thinks he is, the church is not the place to display executive recklessness, whether Catholic, Anglican, Winners, Redeemed or otherwise. He should tender unreserved apology to the management of Living Faith Church for being used by the enemy to distract the Winners family in this season of double portion, next levels and prayer reach.
This man who claimed that he is a member of the church, was banging on the table of the resident pastor in utter show of disrespect for the ecclesiastical institution. Therefore, as Living Faith Church is gathering crowd unto it, they should be mindful of mixed multitudes whose arrogance, anger and faulty orientation could mar the operations of the spirit. Therefore, lessons on pride and anger management should form part of the foundation class and even Word of Faith Bible Institute (WOFBI) curriculum could include such. This is to avoid a repeat of this shameless display of arrogance from a government top shot who though claiming to be a church member, colluded with the police to desecrate the church.
Bauchi State Government has condemned in strong terms last weekend’s killing of a security guard and the kidnap of 7 foreign nationals working for a construction company, Setraco Nig Ltd in Jamaare, Bauchi State by yet to be identified gun men.
In a press release issued by Ishola Michael Adeyemi, Chief Press Secretary to the State Governor, the state government described the act which also included the burning down of a Police station and forceful attempt to enter the Prisons as outrageous, criminal and barbaric. We condemn the act in all its ramifications”, said the statement.
The State Government however assured that it will do all within its powers, in conjunction with the Federal security agencies in the state, to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped victims and the bringing of the perpetrators of the dastardly act to justice in accordance with the relevant laws of the country.
It then called on the law abiding citizens and residents of the state to go about their activities without any fear of any molestations as the state government is committed to the protection of lives and properties of all law abiding citizens, and assured that the state is relatively peaceful, notwithstanding the security challenges being faced in the northern parts of the country.
The government further urged members of the public to furnish security agents with useful information that will lead to the arrest of bad eggs in society.
The attention of the All Nigeria Peoples Party [ANPP] has been drawn to media reports about the Nigerian Meteorological Agency [NIMET]’s 2013 rainfall prediction, which it presented to the public over the weekend in Abuja. According to the agency’s Director General, Dr Anthony Anuforom, this year’s rainfall pattern would not be different from what the country witnessed last year. He specifically mentioned that the annual rainfall amount is expected to be above normal in comparison to 2012 in the northern areas of Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Zamfara States and environs. While we commend NIMET for introducing zonal seasonal rainfall prediction in order to reach the grassroots, we maintain that this warning should not be taken lightly by the States and Federal Government.
Fresh in our memory is last year’s unrelenting and havoc-wrecking floods in several parts of the nation, and the fact that experts averred that we suffered more gruesome impacts because the government did not react to early warnings in good time. The nation watched in shock as homesteads and farmlands were swept away. We also witnessed the flooding which was brought about as a result of sudden release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam by the Camerounian authorities, which displaced over 100 communities in 13 local government areas, rendered more than 10,000 people homeless and killed about 16 persons. In all, the flooding emergencies were more destructive because the government’s response was only reactive and neither visionary nor proactive.
Our great party is concerned because floods pose a threat to the nation’s food security, and also has a potential to cause general angst on our farmers, and therefore engender a renewed rural-to-urban area migration, unemployment, insecurity and general depression. It is a globally accepted truth that climate change will worsen environmental disasters and therefore nations are concentrating on mitigation and adaptation strategies in order to curb the impacts. Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind.
We therefore call on the Federal Government to do all in its power to avert a repetition of the flooding disasters that befell our nation last year. This is the time to construct more buffer dams as a matter of urgency, and to create a sustainable water disposal infrastructure, not only in the affected states, but in all the states of the Federation as climate change has instituted an unpredictable weather regime. As a party, we believe that our dear nation has the human and natural endowments to effectively fight environmental disasters; all that is needed is a visionary leadership.
Ifeanyi Uba and the others were charged with economic sabotage, obtaining money by false pretences, stealing of N43.291 billion, money laundering, forgery.
Ifeanyi Uba will be compensated by Nigeria’s police force for unlawful detention.
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday awarded N10 million damages to Ifeanyi Uba, Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas Ltd., in his suit against the Inspector General of Police, IG.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke also granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining the police, either acting by themselves or their privies, from harassing, detaining or infringing on the fundamental rights of the applicant.
Mr. Ubah had filed the suit on January 10 through his counsel, Ajibola Oluyede, against the IG and three others for alleged infringement on his fundamental human rights.
Joined in the suit are the Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit, SFU, Ayotunde Ogunsakin; the Managing Director of Access Bank, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; and the Managing Director, Coscharis Motors, Cosmas Maduka.
Mr. Ubah had filed the application seeking an order to set aside an interim report issued by the Commissioner of Police, SFU, dated November 2, 2012.
The applicant in his originating motion said that the interim report that indicted him of money laundering and criminal conspiracy was a prosecutorial misconduct.
He also affirmed that another report by the SFU dated November 3, 2012, in which a case of stealing and economic sabotage was levelled against him, amounted to a breach of his fundamental right.
The SFU in a 23-page report indicted Mr. Ubah of obtaining N43.291 billion for a supposed importation of 538.74 million liters of fuel, through fabrication and forgery of documents.
Mr. Ubah had also sought a declaration by the court that the complaint by the Presidential Committee on Verification of Oil Subsidy Payment to oil marketers was tainted by malice.
The applicant had asked for N10 billion compensatory damages from all respondents, jointly and severally, for the injury suffered as a result of his detention for 10 days at the SFU office at Ikoyi, Lagos.
The objections
At the last adjourned date, Godwin Obla, counsel to the IG, had raised a preliminary objection to the application, contending that Mr. Uba could not prevent the police from discharging their statutory duties.
Mr. Obla also contended that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter since judgment had been given against the applicant in a similar suit heard by another judge of the Federal High Court.
He, therefore, argued that the applicant should be stopped from bringing the application for the enforcement of his fundamental rights.
According to him, the application constituted an abuse of court process.
Counsel to Access Bank, Paul Usoro, had also raised a preliminary objection to the suit, alleging lack of service of court processes on Access Bank.
Mr. Usoro argued that none of the court processes were served on Access Bank, and so, the court cannot assume jurisdiction over a party that was not properly constituted before it.
Counsel to Coscharis Motors, Osita Mbamalu, aligned himself with the argument and also objected to the suit on the grounds that they too had not been served with processes in the suit.
He contended that this robbed the court of the requisite jurisdiction to hear the suit.
The ruling
Delivering his judgment, Justice Aneke said the court was not estopped in any form whatsoever, from hearing the plaintiff’s application.
The judge said that although a similar case may have been adjudicated upon before a brother judge in the same court, the substance and ingredient of both suits were entirely different.
“The doctrine of estoppel only operates where the parties are privies.
“The suit referred to by the respondent which came up before my learned brother Justice Okon Abang, has no bearing with the current suit.
“The facts, substance and ingredients of both suits are completely different, I therefore hold that the judgment of Abang does not constitute estopped to this suit,” Mr. Aneke ruled.
On the issue that the police could not be restrained from discharging their duties, Mr. Aneke held that the provisions of Section 4 of the Police Act, is subject to overriding statutory provisions of the constitution.
He held that the court had a duty to regulate public officers in the discharge of their duties, especially where it is not done in accordance with the law, and where the personal liberties of individuals are at stake.
Mr. Aneke said that the police must ensure that their duties are carried out in accordance with the principles of natural justice, equity and good conscience and in line with laid down provisions of law.
He, therefore, held that it was the duty of the court to regulate the conduct of public officers in the dispensation of their duties.
On the issue of non service as contended by counsel to Access Bank and Coscharis Motors, the judge held that a proof of service of court process is an overwhelming evidence of service.
He held that the proof of the service of the court processes on the two respondents were clearly exhibited in the court’s file.
He, therefore, held that the proof of service, points to the fact that all respondents were duly served, contrary to their claim.
“The proof of service in the court’s file is a testimony to the service of processes on the respondents, and it stands unchallenged,” he said.
He, therefore, held that the respondents were duly served with all court processes.
“It is my humble but firm view that this suit as instituted by the applicant is competent.
“By the provisions of Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the applicant’s suit and his ancillary reliefs sought is hereby sustained.
“The preliminary objection of respondents has no basis and is devoid of merit. The objection hereby fails and is accordingly dismissed.
“An order of perpetual injunction is therefore made restraining the respondents either by themselves or their privies, from arresting, detaining or otherwise harassing the applicant in any form whatsoever.
“The sum of N10 million is also awarded as damages against the respondents, jointly and severally, for infringing on the personal liberty of the applicant,” Mr. Aneke added.
