I was nature’s design that the Tiv and Jukun settled in the trough of Taraba and Benue states. Their ancestors, who were hunter-gatherers and farmers, migrated from different places and quartered there. In Benue, you will find indigenous Jukuns in Abinse, near the state capital, Makurdi. In southern Taraba, there are indigenous Tiv people in appreciable numbers in Takum, Donga, Wukari and Ibi local government areas living with the Jukun. In Takum, there are also indigenous Kuteb people. These tribes have intermarried. For instance, Governor Darius Ishaku, a Jukun, is married to a Tiv woman from Benue State. Jukun and Tiv ethnic groups are peace lovers known for their sincerity and hospitality, but at the slightest provocation, they prove they are no weaklings.
Taraba, known as ‘Nature’s Gift,’ and Benue, with its enviable epithet ‘Food Basket,’ have agricultural potentials to feed the nation. But protracted communal skirmishes have hampered development among these tribes and the two states. The fattest yams in Nigeria are produced in southern Taraba and eastern part of Benue. But the fertile land, with its lush vegetation, rather than be a blessing, has become something of a curse, always tearing the people apart. For instance, in 2001, the Tiv and Jukun at the border clashed in a fierce war that snowballed into Taraba versus Benue crisis. Many Tivs and Jukuns were killed while homes and pricey properties were destroyed. There have been many clashes, but the ghost of the 2001 crisis has always come around.
Since the return of calm in late 2002, although pockets of violence among Jukun, Kuteb and Tiv still exist, governors of Taraba and Benue have always tried to sustain the relative peace for harmonious co-existence at the border. This is because peace is the fundamental ingredient for sustainable development.
Penultimate week, the peace initiative by Governors Ishaku (Taraba) and Samuel Ortom (Benue) culminated in a boundary adjustment conference in Ugba, Logo Local Government Area, Benue State. The meeting, in the form of a town hall meeting, came after a tour of all the border towns of Taraba and Benue, from Jootar to Jandeikyura, Kente, Arufu and Akwana.
Governor Ishaku and his team, including his deputy, Haruna Manu, the Jukun king, Aku Uka, His Royal Highness Dr. Shakarau Angyu Masaibi, welcomed his counterpart at Jootar, a Tiv village translated to mean ‘border territory.’ There, the governors demonstrated love for one another by shaking hands and hugging themselves. Governor Ortom’s team also included his deputy, Benson Abounu and Tiv’s paramount ruler, His Royal Highness, Prof. James Ortese Ayatse. From Jootar, the leaders drove through Wukari with stopovers at the border settlements. The peace and security and boundary adjustment meeting finally took place at the Youth Centre in Logo.
The opinion leaders, who addressed a massive gathering, agreed to demarcate their boundary as a panacea to the lingering skirmishes between the people of the two states. They urged the people to embrace peace and cohabit as brothers, irrespective of tribal and religious differences.
Ortom said the technical committee, headed by the deputy governors of Taraba and Benue, will work with the state and national boundary commission as well as traditional rulers to come up with a transparent and acceptable demarcation. He said he and Ishaku, who were ministers in the last administration, have many things in common such that they would avoid whatever is capable of compromising peace, unity and progress in their states. “He and I came to power by sheer divinity,” he noted.
He added that, just as Ishaku appointed some Tiv people in Taraba in his cabinet, he also has appointed Jukuns in Benue. He expressed optimism that the appointments were a sure way of cementing their relationship. “What the Tiv in Taraba need to do is to respect constituted authorities,” he advised.
Governor Ishaku said, “The demarcation of the boundary is for administrative convenience, which if completed, the exercise will help to end the clashes between Tiv and Jukun brothers. He pointed out that based on an agreement earlier reached, all the Tiv People in Taraba were automatically indigenous to the state with the same condition applying to all Jukuns in Benue. “God designed that Ortom and I should be governors at this time, for the good of our people,” he said.
“Let us not take tribe or religion to be the aim of life, but let love lead us. After this resolution, if you are a Tiv and you find yourself in Taraba, I will be in total care of what concerns you. And if you are a Jukun who ends up on the side of Benue, my brother Governor (Ortom) will henceforth take care of all that concerns you,” Ishaku said.
The Tor Tiv, Prof. Ayatse, called on Tiv people in Taraba and elsewhere to be law abiding citizens. He pledged that the Tiv Area Traditional Council will support the two governors to succeed in their determination to achieve peace in their states.
The Aku Uka, Shakarau Angyu, alluded briefly that Tiv and Jukun share one ancestral origin and are therefore, of one lineage. “There is no need whatsoever for us to be at war with one another,” he said. Aku Uka commended Ortom and Ishaku for the peace initiative.
The joint meeting between the two states, coming after another one earlier this year at Anyiase and Kashimbilla, ended successfully with a communique signed by Ortom and Ishaku. It was agreed that the deputy governors of Taraba and Benue should immediately hold a meeting of the technical committee with the National Boundaries Commission and work out modalities of carrying out a demarcation exercise that every affected person will accept in good faith.
The communique urged communities of the two states to respect constituted authorities where they find themselves as a result of the demarcation. The governors are to ensure the safety and protection of all the citizens who fall within their respective jurisdictions. The federal government, like the states, was urged to provide critical infrastructure, especially to rehabilitate the Kwatan Sule-Wukari Road to ease movement of people, goods and services.
Tag: Benue
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Taraba, Benue mend fences
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Benue not part of secessionist agitation
Benue Governor Samuel Ortom said on Monday that the state was committed to building a strong and indivisible Nigerian nation and would never support any secessionist agitation.
Ortom, who spoke at a meeting with Benue Council of Chiefs, also restated government’s readiness to protect the rights of Nigerians resident in the state, irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds.
The meeting, held in Makurdi and attended by various stakeholders and the leadership of tribal and religious groups resident in Benue, was a proactive measure against reprisal violence over skirmishes in some parts of the country.
“Benue is not in support of any secessionist agitation and will not want mischief makers to cause violence in the state. People with such plans are advised to leave in their own interest,” he said.
Ortom charged traditional rulers and leaders of other ethnic groups to preach the message of peace to their localities, urging them to report trouble makers to the appropriate authorities.
In his remarks, the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, commended the proactive steps of the government toward calming nerves, and expressed the Tiv Traditional Council’s readiness to support the measures.
Also speaking, the Och’Idoma, Mr Elias Ikoyi Obekpa, said that Benue has remained the most peaceful state in the country and would strive to keep that status.
The President of South-South residents in the state, Chief Godffery Ogboro, in a remark, said that his people were committed to the promotion of peace and unity in Nigeria.
“We are committed to peace and unity of Nigeria; we cannot wage war against ourselves.
”Some of us have houses here and also married from here. We shall be the greatest losers if there is no peace,” he said.
Chief Chuks Albert, President, Igbo Assembly, Benue State Chapter, in his speech, condemned the secessionist agenda being pursued by some sections of the Igbo community, declaring that his group was in support of one Nigeria.
“We stand for one Nigeria; we are not part of the Igbo that want to secede by force. We thank the governor for guaranteeing our peaceful stay in Benue.
“We have an umbrella community which is Igbo Delegate Assembly; we also have Ohaneze Ndigbo. We have all met and resolved that we belong to one Nigeria,” he said.
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Otukpo killings: Peace Corps seeks better security
Security agencies have been urged to step up security in Otukpo Local Government area of Benue state to curb the wanton killings and destruction of property going on in the area.
National Commandant of Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN), Dickson Akoh made this call at a news conference in Abuja.
Akoh described the latest attacks in the area as “premeditated” being perpetrated by hoodlums in the two communities of Ondo and Ogobia in Ugboju community of Otukpo local government of Benue state.
He said, “This morning, Nigerians woke up to the sad news of killings of innocent civilians in two communities of Ondo and Ogobia in Ugboju community of Otukpo local government of Benue state.”
Akoh who is an indigene and holds traditional title of “ Ogigo`mebe of Ugboju land” said the renewal of killings yesterday in the area have led to the killing of a retired major general of Nigerian army and former chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue state, Lawrence Ugbo.
“He was allegedly locked up in the boot of his car and burnt to ashes. This is coming closely on the heels of similar attacks in May and August this year, when several persons were reportedly killed and their houses set ablaze. These attacks, just like this one, left behind tales of anguish in its wake.”
He said that over 50 persons have lost their lives, saying “these needless attacks have continued unabated for over three years.”
“Despite the amnesty programme extended to the bearers of illegal arms by Governor Samuel Ortom at the wake of his administration in 2015, the perpetrators of these nefarious acts have refused to surrender arms; perhaps, they enjoy the backings of some blood-thirsty powerful individuals in the society.”
Akoh lamented that what made the whole incident worrisome is that, the security operatives in Otukpo appeared helpless in containing the situation, which prompted him to donate a well equipped police station and an operational vehicle to Ugboju community last year.
Akoh therefore called for the setting up of a high-powered and Independent panel of inquiry to immediately investigate and bring I book those behind the attacks even as he appealed to affected individuals and families to exercise restraint for the interest of peace, while the security unravel the mastermind of the killings.
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Senate seeks revocation of N3.2b Benue road contract
The Senate Committee on Works has asked the Federal Government to revoke the N3.2 billion contract for the reconstruction of Wannue-Yadev road in Benue, citing alleged incompetence by the handler.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 19-kilometre road contract, awarded in 2013, had a completion period of 24 months.
Its chairman, Sen. Kabiru Gaya, told reporters in Gboko that his committee was “greatly disappointed” that not much had been achieved in the execution of the project four years after it was awarded.
“We have gone round portions of the road; we have asked questions and made observations. Our conclusion is that the contractor lacks the capacity to handle the job.
“We have resolved to ask the Federal Government to terminate the job and engage a competent firm. Huge monies have been paid to the contractor with nothing to show for it. We cannot continue like that,” he said.
Gaya regretted that the contractor had failed to live up to expectations, “despite letters asking him to sit up”.
“At some spots on the road, asphalt was being laid without leveling the affected areas; the contractor also scrapped large portions of the road last year and disappeared, making them impassable. We feel that this is being insensitive.
“The point we are trying to make is simple. Since the Federal Ministry of Works has written three times threatening to revoke the contract, the job should be terminated. We shall investigate it and hand over the report to EFCC.
“It is not right to allow contractors collect tax payers’ money and waste it,” he said.
Sen. George Akume (APC, Benue North-West), who also spoke to reporters, decried the state of federal roads in Benue.
He claimed that cement dealers, who plied the Gboko/Makurdi road with heavy loads, were responsible for most of the massive damage and should be made to assist in reconstruction.
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The toil after the peace
SINCE the administration of Governor Simon Lalong came into being in Plateau State in May 2015, the midnight attacks suffered by residents of various communities in the state between 2010 and 2015 have become a thing of the past. The Lalong administration made deliberate efforts to halt the trend as soon as he became the state’s chief executive. Last week’s incident in which 20 people were killed, however, came as an exception that punctured the long period of peace.
But the humanitarian problems posed by previous conflicts in the state are still posing serious humanitarian challenges to the government and the people. The grave conditions of the people displaced by the conflictswere worsened by the prevailing economic situation in the country on account of which the government cannot meet up with its responsibility with respect to providing the necessary aids to victims.
However, one humanitarian organisation that has never relented in providing succour for humanity in conflict situations globally is the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The humanitarian body has rendered its services to victims of conflicts in Plateau, Benue, Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states.
But for the work done by ICRC to save lives since the beginning of the conflicts, the humanitarian situations in the affected states could have been worse than was experienced during the Nigerian civil war. According to a recent facts and figures compiled by ICRC, the humanitarian challenges facing the country could be the worst in its history.
The media officer of ICRC in Nigeria, Eleojo Esther Akpa, who authored the figures, noted that “more than five million people in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states were in dire need of food, while an estimated two million persons have been displaced from their homes in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe and Yobe states.”
Akpa said: “The situation is further compounded by the steady flow of returnees from neighbouring countries of the Lake Chad Basin who took refuge there at the peak of the armed conflict in Nigeria. In the places they are returning to, the scale of devastation is astounding and implies continued hardship for those heading home. People’s sources of income have been decimated. Their fields have been left uncultivated, pastoralism has been disrupted and trading opportunities cut off. The conflict has separated families and destroyed access to food, water, education, shelter, and health care.”
She said to help mitigate the conflict’s humanitarian consequences, “the ICRC has been delivering emergency aid, as well as supporting health-care services and livelihoods, particularly in remote areas where few other humanitarian organisations are able to operate.
“Together with Red Cross societies in the Lake Chad Basin, the ICRC is searching for more than 10,000 persons who have been separated from their families as a result of the conflict.
“Apart from the conflict in the North-East, communal clashes in the Middle Belt and urban violence in the Niger Delta have led to forced displacement, disruption of health services and long-term psychological trauma.
“In these conflict-prone states, the economic base and sources of livelihood of residents, especially farming and trading, have been inconsistent, and lack of food remains one of the most urgent humanitarian needs. People are bracing themselves for a prolonged lean season due to the sporadic rainfall and several missed planting seasons.
“The situations of the most vulnerable groups such as children, women and the elderly, is of particular concern. They will remain dependent on aid for some time, and sustained food assistance will be necessary to prevent further malnutrition and death.
“The ICRC, in partnership with the NRCS, aims at meeting the immediate needs of the most vulnerable populations in hard-to-reach areas through the distribution of food and essential household items to the displaced, returnees and vulnerable residents.
“Those returning to homes that they had abandoned in search of security are apprehensive about rebuilding livelihoods. The ICRC has started, whenever feasible, to move from emergency food relief to greater support to livelihood initiatives for these affected communities, identifying with ways and avenues to provide more durable and sustained solutions centered around resilience and self-reliance.
“We seek to support sustained livelihoods through the provision of improved seed for farming activities as well as cash and vouchers in areas with active markets. In particular, households where women and particularly widows are the main breadwinners receive cash for the purchase of items that they consider the most important.”
According to ICRC, in all, almost 398,380 people in the North-East and the Middle Belt regions received food for three months or longer. It also noted that in the area of the health of the victims of the conflicts, the period of conflicts exacerbated the already difficult access to health care in the North-East, whose development had lagged behind the rest of the country. Many clinics and health care centres were destroyed while the health personnel fled for safety.
However, the ICRC continues to support primary health care centres of the Ministry of Health in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states with medicine and technical support for the identification and treatment of diseases. Two ICRC surgical teams provide care for the wounded in need of emergency surgical care in the North-East while the ICRC trains the staff of Nigerian hospitals nationwide to enhance their skills in the treatment and management of wounded patients.
The ICRC also provides psycho-social support for trauma-affected victims of the armed conflict and the NRCS volunteers working to assist them. The ICRC first aid training programme spans over 15 states and includes the North-East, the Middle Belt and Niger Delta states.
According to the data provided by ICRC, “Close to 255,300 patients attended 23 ICRC- supported centres for primary health care and three mobile clinics serving the displaced, returnees and residents in North-East Nigeria and the Middle Belt; over 13,050 children were delivered in ICRC supported clinics; around 6,520 children under five suffering from severe acute malnutrition were treated in ICRC- supported clinics in North-East Nigeria, including 170 children with medical complications from Borno South treated in Biu stabilization centre; over 990 patients benefited from free surgical care with 720 of them treated as out-patients while 360 patients were admitted to the ICRC surgical ward and a total of 820 surgeries were performed; 33 NRCS and community volunteers were trained and supported by the ICRC to provide basic mental health and psychosocial support.”
The data added that “almost 106,000 displaced persons in North-East Nigeria improved their sanitation and hygiene conditions. Almost 10,000 returnees and persons affected by communal clashes in Michika (Adamawa), Barkin Ladi, Riyom and Bokkos (Plateau) received ICRC support to rebuild 860 houses. Over 40,000 displaced persons in camps in Borno State, North-East Nigeria, live in 120 family tents built by the ICRC. In Borno, the ICRC improved access to health services for 310 people through the construction and rehabilitation of health care facilities.”
The most pathetic aspects of the conflicts are cases where a father or mother could not locate their children after escaping from fire. While running for his life, a father would find himself in Jos but does not know the whereabouts of his wife and children. Some children who found themselves in one camp in Jos were restless because they did not know the whereabouts of their parents. Some who found themselves in Cameroon had no contact with other members of their immediate families.
But the ICRC says it has come to the rescue of many in this regard, working with the NRCS and other Red Cross societies in the Lake Chad region to locate and where possible reunite families. With the use of Red Cross messages and free phone calls, “separated family members have been able to get back in touch with their displaced relatives. About 4,590 new tracing requests were opened by persons looking for relatives with the ICRC or the NRCS. For instance, a victim named Falmata was overcome with emotion when she was reunited with her grandson, her only surviving relative, after two years of separation.
“No fewer than 180 Red Cross messages containing family news were exchanged among separated family members; 730 free phone calls were made available by the Red Cross to persons searching for their family members. Over 47,770 people in the North-East and the Middle Belt received essential household items such as cooking pots and water containers, as well as clothes, hygiene products, and sleeping and shelter materials, while 76,460 people received agricultural inputs including seeds, fertilizers, machinery and tools to start farming or to increase their farming production through donations in-kind and vouchers, and more than a dozen villages like Egba in Agatu LGA Benue State, devastated by several years of communal violence, receiving assistance to rebuild homes and livelihoods.
“About 26,150 people including widows received cash and basic training on small businesses to help them start a sustainable livelihood. In addition, 17, 620 persons received repeated multi-purpose cash assistance. Over 100 sensitization sessions to raise awareness of mental health issues stemming from conflict and violence were organised with a total of 5,060 community members and 14 health staff in attendance.
“Almost 5,510 displaced persons benefitted from ICRC’s mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) programme. 260 victims of violence received group counselling support while 60 hospitalised wounded patients benefited from individual counselling support. In all, 1,030 group and 90 individual MPHSS sessions were conducted. Around 6,000 casualties were treated and evacuated by the NRCS emergency first aid teams, while 660 community first aid responders in 15 states covered by the ICRC-supported first aid programme were trained.
“The high number of the displaced in the North-East put a strain on basic resources, such as water and sanitation installations. The ICRC creates or upgrades water points and sanitation facilities in the camps for the displaced and affected host communities. We also build tents and emergency shelters. To promote hygiene in the camps, the ICRC works with the NRCS and displaced persons on cleaning the environment. In areas where returns are possible, the ICRC has stepped up its work to repair or construct water systems benefitting both host communities and returnees.
We have built over 6,700 emergency shelters to house the displaced across North-East Nigeria.”
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Major Gen, 7 others killed as Benue community boils
No fewer that eight persons, including one Major General Lawrence Ugbo have been reportedly killed and several others injured in Ugboju community, Otukpo LGA of Benue State.The Nation gathered that the incident which broke out Wednesday morning has rendered many persons homeless.
A resident, Peter Ogaba told The Nation that fighting broke out in the community after some boys from Ugboju allegedly attacked a group of persons loyal to a former Chairman of Otukpo.It was gathered that the former council boss was in the village with his loyalists when another group believed to be his rival launched an attack on them, injuring many persons.
In a reprisal attack, the politician went back and teamed up with his boys who reportedly stormed the community, killing anybody on sight.
They reportedly killed a retired Major General Lawrence Ugbo and burnt his corpse.
The State Police Public Relations officer, Moses Yamu, said he was in a meeting and promised promised to call back but did not at press time .
The Chairman of Otukpo LG, Hon. George Alli confirmed the incident and said security operatives have been mobilized to the troubled area .
“Yes, I am there as we speak to take victims to the hospital. Several persons, including Maj Gen Lawrence Ugbo were killed and his body burnt to ashes. The clash has nothing to do with politics, it was a land tussle that caused the incident,” Alli said.
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Lobi Stars, Nasarawa United clash in charity match
Nigeria Premier League clubs Lobi Stars of Makurdi and Nasarawa United will play a charity match to raise funds for flood victims in Benue on Wednesday.
Lobi Stars Vice Chairman, Mike Idoko told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Makurdi that the match was to support the state government and other donors supporting those displaced by flood in the state.
“The gate fee is N100, and its an opportunity to contribute to improving the situation of the IDPs through the premier league clubs,” the official said.
Idoko called on well meaning individuals across the country to turn out in their large numbers and support the good cause.
He said Lobi Stars FC enjoys tremendous support from Makurdi fans, stressing that the charity match is also to thank the fans for their support.
Lobi and Nasarawa finished in the top ten of the just concluded Nigeria Professional Football League, with Lobi Stars Anthony Okpotu emerging top scorer for the season.
NAN reports that the match would be played at the Aper Aku Stadium, Makurdi.
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Taraba, Benue mend fences
Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku and his Benue counterpart Samuel Ortom have initiated border delineation moves to end bloody clashes between the closely tied states, FANEN IHYONGO writes
It was nature’s design that the Tiv and Jukun settled in the trough of Taraba and Benue states. Their ancestors, who were hunter-gatherers and farmers, migrated from different places and quartered there. In Benue, you will find indigenous Jukuns in Abinse, near the state capital Makurdi. In southern Taraba, there are indigenous Tiv people in appreciable numbers in Takum, Donga, Wukari and Ibi local government areas living with the Jukun. In Takum, there are also indigenous Kuteb people. These tribes have intermarried. Governor Darius Ishaku, a Jukun, is married to a Tiv woman from Benue State. Jukun and Tiv ethnic groups are peace lovers known for their sincerity and hospitality, but at the slightest provocation, they prove they are no weaklings.
Taraba, known as ‘Nature’s Gift,’ and Benue, with its enviable epithet ‘Food Basket,’ have agricultural potentials to feed the nation. But protracted communal skirmishes have hampered development among these tribes and the two states. The fattest yams in Nigeria are produced in southern Taraba and eastern part of Benue. But the fertile land, with its lush vegetation, rather than a blessing, has become something of a curse, always tearing the people apart. For instance, in 2001, the Tiv and Jukun at the border clashed in a fierce war that snowballed into Taraba versus Benue crisis. Many Tivs and Jukuns were killed while homes and pricey properties were destroyed. There have been many clashes, but the ghost of the 2001 crisis has always come around.
Since the return of calm in late 2002, although pockets of violence among Jukun, Kuteb and Tiv still exist, governors of Taraba and Benue have always tried to sustain the relative peace for harmonious co-existence at the border. This is because peace is the fundamental ingredient for sustainable development.
Last week, the peace initiative by Governors Ishaku (Taraba) and Samuel Ortom (Benue) culminated in a boundary adjustment conference in Ugba, Logo Local Government Area, Benue State. The meeting, in the form of a town hall meeting, came after a tour of all the border towns of Taraba and Benue, from Jootar to Jandeikyura, Kente, Arufu and Akwana.
Governor Ishaku and his team, including his deputy Haruna Manu, the Jukun king and Aku Uka His Royal Highness Dr. Shakarau Angyu Masaibi welcomed his counterpart at Jootar, a Tiv village translated to mean ‘border territory.’ There, the governors demonstrated love for one another by shaking hands and hugging themselves. Governor Ortom’s team also included his deputy Benson Abounu and Tiv’s paramount ruler His Royal Highness Prof. James Ortese Ayatse. From Jootar, the leaders drove through Wukari with stopovers at the border settlements. The peace and security and boundary adjustment meeting finally took place at the Youth Centre in Logo.
The opinion leaders, who addressed a massive gathering, agreed to demarcate their boundary as a panacea to the lingering skirmishes between the people of the two states. They urged the people to embrace peace and cohabit as brothers, irrespective of tribal and religious differences.
Ortom said the technical committee headed by the deputy governors of Taraba and Benue will work with the state and national boundary commission as well as traditional rulers to come up with a transparent and acceptable demarcation. He said he and Ishaku, who were ministers in the last administration, have many things in common such that they would avoid whatever that is capable of compromising peace, unity and progress in their states.
“He and I came to power by sheer divinity,” he noted.
He added, saying that just as Ishaku appointed some Tiv people in Taraba in his cabinet, Ortom also appointed Jukuns in Benue. He expressed optimism that the appointments were a sure way of cementing their relationship.
“What the Tiv in Taraba need to do is to respect constituted authorities,” he advised.
Governor Ishaku said, “The demarcation of the boundary is for administrative convenience, which if completed, the exercise will help to end the clashes between Tiv and Jukun brothers. He pointed out that base on an agreement earlier reached, all the Tiv People in Taraba were automatically indigenous to the State with same applying to all Jukuns in Benue. “God designed that Ortom and I should be governors at this time, for the good of our people,” he said.
“Let us not take tribe or religion to be the aim of life, but let love lead us. After this resolution, if you are a Tiv and you find yourself in Taraba, I will be in total care of what concerns you. And if you are a Jukun who ends up on the side of Benue, my brother Governor (Ortom) will henceforth take care of all that concerns you,” Ishaku said.
The Tor Tiv Prof. Ayatse called on Tiv people in Taraba and elsewhere to be law abiding citizens. He pledged that the Tiv Area Traditional Council will support the two governors to succeed in their determination to achieve peace in their States.
The Aku Uka Shakarau Angyu alluded briefly that Tiv and Jukun share one ancestral origin and are therefore, of one lineage. “There is no need whatsoever for us to be at war with one another,” he said. Aku Uka commended Ortom and Ishaku for the peace initiative.
The joint meeting between the two States, coming after another one earlier this year at Anyiase and Kashimbilla, ended successfully with a communique signed by Ortom and Ishaku. It was agreed that the deputy governors of Taraba and Benue should immediately hold a meeting of the technical committee with the National Boundaries Commission and work out modalities of carrying out a demarcation exercise that every affected person will accept in good faith.
The communique urged communities of the two States to respect constituted authorities where they find themselves as a result of the demarcation. The Governors are to ensure the safety and protection of all the citizens who fall within their respective jurisdiction. The federal government, like the States, was urged to provide critical infrastructure, especially to rehabilitate the Kwatan Sule-Wukari Road to ease movement of people, goods and services.
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Shock, deaths stalk victims of Benue flood
After surviving a prolonged deadly attack unleashed on them by blood-thirsty herdsmen last year, the people of Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State, who are mostly farmers, last weekend suffered another devastating blow in the hands of nature following the destruction of their farms and houses by flood. INNOCENT DURU, who spoke with some of the victims, reports that some of them have begun to suffer shock and dying as a result of the incident.
IT was double tragedy for many families in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State last weekend after the calamitous flood incident that ravaged many farmlands and submerged many houses. The rampaging flood left thousands of the natives homeless and destroyed farm produce that were almost ready for harvesting.
But that was not all. The Nation gathered that some of the victims have begun to suffer shock and dying as a result of the incident, which came shortly after the people lost their beloved ones and valuables to the terror unleashed on them by herdsmen.
One of such families that suffered double tragedy over the weekend was the Ochohepos from Aila area of the local government. The breadwinner of the family, according to the daughter, suffered shock, collapsed and died after seeing all he laboured for destroyed by the flood.
The deceased’s daughter, who gave her name as Mary, told The Nation that our father was devastated last year after his house was burnt down by the herdsmen and had his state of mind compounded last weekend by the flood incident which robbed him of his basic means of livelihood.
Her words: “My dad collapsed and died last week after the incident. He died of shock. We took him to the hospital and did all we could, but he didn’t survive. He lost his house last year and lost all he laboured for this year. This made the shock too difficult for him to bear and that resulted in his death. The flood affected our farms badly.
“Our house was burnt down during the herdsmen-farmers crisis. After the herdsmen burnt our house, we camped in Ugboko in Apa Local Government. We later returned to Aila. I also totally became hopeless after the flood destroyed our farm. Now, we are homeless and foodless, let me put it that way.”
Speaking in emotion laden voice, Mary hinted: “We are supposed to harvest the produce later in the year but there is a variety of rice we are supposed to harvest this month. They are all gone. My late father had about eight hectares; my mother has about four hectares and I have three hectares. What to eat now is a huge problem. If we are able to get equipment to help us enlarge our farm produce, we would be happy.”
Pa Christian, a 75-year-old, also lost his life after the incident. One of his son’s, Oloche, said: “I lost my father on Tuesday. He was sick and when we took him to the hospital, he couldn’t make it. The flood affected many places here. I lost a lot. We lost a lot of things during the herdsmen attack and now flood came again and brought down our houses.
“We have buried my late father in our house that was affected by the flood. We couldn’t bury him in the Catholic cemetery because the place is flooded. This is why we managed to bury him in the house. We need a lot of assistance. We don’t have a place to live. We are staying with somebody. Going back to our house depends on God.”
A victim who hails from Abugbe, Emmanuel Adagedo, described the flood incident as terrible, regretting that he has lost everything he toiled for since the beginning of the year.
Reliving his experience, one of the victims, Alhaji Odho, who hails from Abugbe, said the flood incident was so severe that most of them have found it difficult to cope. “Our buildings were built with burnt bricks and therefore were not so badly affected by the flood but our farms were wiped off. I lost everything that I planted on the farm. My rice farm is about 10 hectares. Yam is about three hectares. We were planning to harvest the rice between December and January but with the situation of things now, I don’t think we can get anything from the farm anymore. Everything is lost. It is the survival of the fittest for most of us now as we depend only on God for help. I have been relying on people to take care of my family and as things stand now, there is no hope for the coming planting season.”
Odho feared that the affected communities would experience food scarcity because of the huge loss they suffered. “There would certainly be food shortage in this area next year. Even as I speak to you now, there is nothing on the ground. If I can get someone to give me a loan to start all over again, I would be very happy. We would so much appreciate if the government could be of help to us. There is no IDP camp here.”
Another victim, Emmanuel Adegedo said: “The rain has been falling regularly except for the past two days. The flood destroyed the FADAMA farms. There is no hope of getting farm produce this year, most especially in the swampy area where we planted rice. The farm is expansive and our primary occupation is farming.
“I was in my house when the flood was coming. The community shares boundary with River Benue. We are by the river bank. Because of our experience in 2012, we quickly ran away when we saw the flood coming. We started evacuating the little children much earlier.
“The flood didn’t pull down my house but it occupied the whole place; so we had to run away. I have moved my family to Gboko while I am in Oturpko. They are out of school no but immediately this challenge goes off, they would be returning to school.”
He hinted that many of his colleagues have been finding it difficult to feed after the incident. “We have been managing the little we have on us but many people are finding it difficult to feed their families because their homes were massively destroyed. Many people didn’t take proactive steps when the signs were coming. They sat down thinking it would not happen. I saw it coming and started preparing much earlier for it. With the rate the rain is falling, we don’t know when we would be returning to our homes.
“I have decided not to go to IDP camp because of the way people are treated there. If there is any outbreak, it would be a problem. I don’t feel comfortable. Ahead of the next planting season, we would go to the communities that were not affected by the flood to get seedlings to plant but we are still looking up to the government for assistance.”
Rueing his loss, a victim, Gideon Ogbole, said he has been relying on his relations to provide for his family. “I was at home when the flood started late in the evening on Saturday. It didn’t get to my house but it destroyed all that I had planted on my six–hectare farm. I felt so bad when I saw the damage because I have nothing left.
“We are only managing to feed from some relatives who were not affected. I go to their farms to work for them and at the end, they give me the little they can afford to feed my family. That is how we have been managing to survive. There is no surplus money anywhere to take care of the family. I am supposed to harvest the produce in two or three months’ time. I lost everything.”
Ogbole despondently added: “I don’t have the means of starting all over again. I need help to do this. But if help doesn’t come, I have to look round to source for money to start all over again. This is the only alternative. I will be happy if the government can help me to start all over again. There is no IDP camp in our area. We were told that they were planning to open one but that one of the facilitators died and they had taken his corpse home.”
In a telephone chat with The Nation, the monarch of the embattled communities, HRH, Cletus Kukunu, tersely said: “The rain started last week and fell for about one week. The flood came overnight and swept many things away. It carried away animals, properties and damaged houses.”
Efforts to get him speak further proved unsuccessful as he said he was in a meeting. He promised to return the call but he didn’t. Even when our correspondent called him much later, he maintained that he was still in a meeting.
In another telephone chat with our correspondent, the Executive Director of Global Care for Kids Foundation, one of the non-governmental organisations providing relief materials for the victims, Linda Orokpo Ochagla, said: “We have been giving relief materials including cooked food to the children and women. I appeal to people that want to help. They contribute and I also do use my personal money too to buy things. Aside from us, there are many non-governmental organisations coming to help the victims. Bengonet, an NGO, is in charge of sharing the relief materials together with NEMA. Tuface was also around to give relief materials to the people.
“Some people normally complain that food doesn’t get to them. So, whenever we take things there, I always stand there and see them share the items before I leave. I do this to make sure that the items get to everybody.”
She added: “The flood destroyed a lot of things. As we speak, some people still have their cars inside the flood. They are waiting for the flood to subside before they can take the vehicles away. The problem here is that it has kept raining. Until the rain subsides, I don’t think there is anything they can do. But the government has started working on the water ways to prevent flood in the area.
“The children cannot go to school. We are soliciting for volunteers who can be teaching the children for this period until they are able to go back to their houses. So far, we have got some people that have agreed.”
To avert a re-occurrence of the incident, Ochagla said: “The government needs to make sure the water ways are functioning. They need to demolish some structures built on wrong places. There is a place where they built a market and that is a wrong place for such. They need to shift the market to the right place so that the water ways can be free.
“They need to clean the gutters because many of them are blocked with dirt. The level of hygiene in the IDP camp is okay but if they don’t leave the camp on time, there could be issues but for now there is no outbreak yet.”
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Flood: Tor Tiv Lauds FG’s prompt intervention
Prof. James Ayatse, the Tor Tiv and Chairman, Benue Council of Chiefs, has commended the Federal Government for its prompt intervention toward tackling the flood sweeping through the state.
Ayatse made the commendation on Wednesday in Makurdi, when the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, visited him during his (Osinbajo) assessment tour of flooded areas in Makurdi.
The monarch said that government’s quick response in providing relief materials had cushioned the hardship faced by victims of the disaster.
“The gesture showed a clear demonstration of the President’s love for the people of the state,” he said.
He, however, appealed to the Federal Government to award the contract for the construction of Makurdi-Gboko, Makurdi-Otukpo roads, and declared the two roads as “deplorable death traps”.
Ayatse said that Benue was an agrarian state and therefore needed good roads to transport food produce to other parts of the country.
He appealed to governments at all levels to make the payment of workers’ salaries a priority, and urged the Federal Government to assist Benue to defray its backlog of salaries.
The monarch assured government of the support of traditional institution in the implementation of policies.
Earlier, Osinbajo had assured the traditional ruler that the government was determined to find a lasting solution to flooding in the state.
The Vice President, who admitted that paucity of funds was a major setback of the administration, however, assured that efforts would be made to find ways of tackling some of the issues raised by the Tor Tiv.