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Tag: Tiv

  • Unity feast in Tiv heartland

    Every year Gboko, the ancestral home of the Tiv in Benue State, hosts the ethnic group and others in an event that features a fish meal, beauty pageantry and peace talks. UJA EMMANUEL reports that the convener, Smith Akoom Takema, is helping to foster peace and unity in a historical town racked with restiveness

    Makurdi may well be the political capital of Benue State, but Gboko is the soul of the Tiv, the largest ethnic group in the state. The revered Tor Tiv, paramount ruler of the Tiv, lives and administers his people in Gboko. The once popular Benue Cement Company (BCC) now owned by business mogul Aliko Dangote, is in Gboko. Also, the BCC Lions Football Club, once in the top flight of Nigerian football, had its home in the heartland of the Tiv.

    The Tiv who are found not just in Benue State but in Taraba State as well as Cameroon, call Gboko home.

    But the town is also troubled by youth restiveness, a challenge which a Tiv, Smith Akooma Takema has been working hard to resolve since 2015. That year, Mr Takena gathered some people together, served them fish and told them there was an urgent need to get something befitting out of their ancestral homeland, not criminality and division, and the bad name it brought to the people.

    That was how the free fishing festival or FFF, as Takema called it, was born. The Tiv, their friends and admirers come together in Gboko every December, savour their delicacy, washed down with drinks, sit back and watch beauty pageants contest for the top prizes. But amid all of that, the message is sent out that the Tiv and their ancestral home need to weld together in peace and forge ahead.

    Ahead of another FFF this Yuletide, the convener Takema, told The Nation:

    “The FFF is an annual social  gathering aimed at promoting peace, love, unity and the spirit of togetherness.”

    Takema said that the yearly event is non-political and has no religious colouration. Nor is it an ethnic or tribal affair. It is an event for everyone who seeks peace and cohesion.

    “We are aiming at uniting the human race,” said Takema.

    He went down memory lane, saying the festival started in 2015 when he gathered a small group of friends and mooted the idea of giving Gboko people something different than restiveness which is common among the youths.

    “The festival is called free fish festival simply because all invited guests are served roasted fish,” Takema said.

    The convener is a fish farmer with a large fish pond. This may account for why he serves up generous fish meals to his annual December gathering.

    Each guest gets a full roasted fish free of charge, and served in the spirit of the famous Tiv hospitality.

    Beside eating free fish at the festival, a lot of side attractions take place on the event day  like musical presentation, cultural activities, oral performance and other forms of entertainment.

    There is also a beauty pageant  to select Miss FFF.

    Smith Takema said this year’s FFF will be the best in terms of organisation.

    The festival served  as a talent hunt for upcoming artists too. The event holds annually on December 29.

    It is the hospitality of the Tiv people, so when next you spend your Christmas in Gboko  visit Free Fish Festival.

  • Tiv council pegs traditional marriage expenses at N100,000

    The Tiv Area Traditional Council (TATC) in Benue State has pegged marriage expenses, including dowry and sundry issues, at N100,000. This currently varies depending on community or family.

    It banned festivities in the bride’s home during such marriages, noting that they are alien to the Tiv culture.

    This was contained in a communiqué after its meeting last Friday at the TATC Chambers, chaired by the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse.

    The communiqué reads: “The practice of holding festivities in the bride’s house, popularly known as traditional marriage, involving cutting of cake, dances, parties, should be discontinued as it is alien to the Tiv way of life. Celebration of a new wife is done by the Tiv people only in the husband’s house.

    “Love should be the primary issue between the families concerned in marriage discussion, not money. Therefore, total expenses on marriage, including dowry or bride price and all sundry issues, which at the moment varies from one community or family to another, should not exceed N100,000 in Tivland.”

    It added that the ceremony, where the bride price is to be paid, shall involve elders of the families concerned, stressing that the practice of inviting and bringing friends and well-wishers to the occasion is alien to Tiv tradition and should be abolished.

    The council maintained that any Tiv girl to be given out in marriage must be 18 years and above, saying a violation of these laws shall attract a boycott by traditional rulers and elders, and the denial of registration, including other sanctions.

    Ter Makurdi Chief Joseph Sule Abenga said the change would encourage men to marry ladies of their choice without stress and reduce elopement due to high bride price.

  • Body expresses fear over Army’s project in Tiv

    Body expresses fear over Army’s project in Tiv

    A Tiv group, Mzough U Tiv, has alleged that the military’s Operation Ayem Akpatuma in Benue State is a ploy to provide cover for herdsmen.

    Operation Ayem Akpatuma was launched in Guma Local Government Area on Tuesday.

    According to the group, the military’s ‘real’ intention can be found in a pamphlet it circulated on Tuesday.

    The pamphlet, which was issued by the Department of Civil Military Affairs, Army Headquarters, features a picture of a farmer and a herder discussing how to avoid conflict.

    The group’s  leader, Edward Ujege, who addressed reporters yesterday, said the pamphlet admitted that herdsmen were responsible for the killings in the state.

    Ujege said: “We wish to express our displeasure with Operation Ayem Akpatema.

    “Recall our initial apprehension about the real mission of troops deployed in Benue State. True to our prediction, the launch of the exercise on Tuesday confirmed our fears.

    “A pamphlet circulated by the Army has defined the real intention of the military in Benue. The pamphlet confirmed that the military has come to provide cover for armed Fulani herdsmen to take over our land.

    “Yet, without addressing issues of justice, reparation and compensation, they are compelling the people to accommodate perpetrators of the atrocities.

    “Moreover, there is no reference to the Open Grazing Prohibition and Establishment of Ranches Law 2017, which addresses the fundamental issues of making both farmers and herders coexist in peace.

    “The military is not only silent on the law, but has encouraged open grazing with its consequences. This silence points to the fact that they are not in its support and are not ready to ensure its enforcement.

    “The military has also assumed wrongly that Benue people are responsible for cattle rustling, which is not the case, as rustling can only be undertaken by professionals in cattle rearing.

    “The publication of the pamphlet in Tiv language gives the impression that the Tiv are the target of the exercise, whereas, herdsmen attacks cut across Benue State, which is multi-ethnic.

    “This profiling of the Tiv people is unacceptable. If the military is to be relevant in the state, it must assist in chasing away the invaders and restoring peace, which can only be possible through enforcement of the anti-open grazing law.”

  • Tiv community laments killings

    Leaders of the Tiv community in Nasarawa State have lamented the killing of Tiv people in Kadarko, Keana Local Government Area.

    They said the systematic and unending killing of indigenous Tiv people in Keana has led to the sacking of about 25 villages.

    Displaced persons, they said, were taking refuge in a primary School in Kadarko, under inhumane condition.

    Spokesperson of the concerned Indigenous Tiv people of Keana council, Dr. Benjamin Agbede, who spoke at a news conference, said the killings started on January 15.

    He blamed herdsmen for the January 15 attacks, which he said claimed 12 lives.

    According to him, military personnel deployed to restore peace have not been able to achieve much due to internal contradictions and sabotage.

    He added that the government’s actions remain suspicious because no concrete effort has been made to ensure that the people return to their ancestral homes.

    Agbede listed Azer, Tamen, Bature, Agbara, Peter Agbede, Nguchi, Igbacha, Shatse, Gidan Sule, Ngur, Nyam Adaga, Cha, Cheiyo, and Ahima, as villages in Keana that have been completely deserted.

     

  • Suspected herdsmen kill Tiv expectant mother in Ekiti

    Suspected herdsmen kill Tiv expectant mother in Ekiti

    The spate of killings by suspected herdsmen spread yesterday to Orin-Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

    A Tiv expectant mother was reportedly killed by those residents called “Bororo herdsmen” at the town’s farm settlement.

    Police Commissioner Abdullahi Chafe, who spoke on phone, said he was away from  on official assignment.

    An indigene of the town, who is a former Chairman of Ido/Osi Local Government Area, Prince Sanmi Olubummo, confirmed the incident in a telephone chat.

    He said another victim of the attack was receiving treatment at a hospital.

    Olubummo said policemen from Ido-Ekiti Divisional Headquarters visited the scene of the killing, saying the situation was calm.

    He said: “The incident happened inside the Orin Farm Settlement.

    “Nobody knows what led to the crisis in the early hours of Thursday but our people said the Bororo herdsmen killed the pregnant woman.”

    The latest killing is coming barely four days after a herdsman, Babuga Dengi, was killed by people suspected to be Tiv farmers at a location between Oke Ako and Irele communities in Ikole Local Government Area.

  • Tor Tiv to subjects: be united wherever you live

    The paramount ruler of the Tiv ethnic group – the Tor Tiv, His Royal Majesty, Prof. James Ortese Ayatse, has asked his people at home and in the Diaspora to be united wherever they are living. They should also co-exist peacefully with their neighbours. He said it is by doing so that the Tiv nation will make the desired progress.

    Ayatse, a former university vice chancellor, tasked his subjects when a delegation of the Tiv people of Taraba visited him in his palace in Gboko, Benue State, at the weekend. The team included Chief Orkuma Nev, Jerry Tyolanga, Kurason Kura, Samuel Tsuwa Ibi, Orbee Uchiv, James Nungwa, Teghtegh Shaakaa, Jacob Gbagede, Dooga Gbashi, David Mtuhwen, David Gbaa and the Tiv chiefs from eight local government areas of Taraba State. Present was also Dr. Yakubu Tor-Agbidye, who represented the Taraba Tiv in Abuja.

    Tiv people are found in appreciable numbers in Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Abuja and Niger, apart from Benue State where the bulk of their brothers live. But unlike other ethnic groups, they have [only] one paramount ruler who ascends the throne through a rotational arrangement.

    Ayatse who is the fifth Tor Tiv, after the death of Dr. Alfred Akawe Torkula, said his ascension to the throne was divinely ordained, as he has pledged to do “everything possible to reposition the Tiv nation on the path of progress.”

    “My agenda is to reposition the Tiv nation. Wherever I hear the cry of my children, I will go there and ask questions. But I can’t succeed if you (Tiv) are not united. Therefore, I urge you to remain united. If you are united, Nigeria will listen to us, but without unity we can’t do anything meaningful.

    “Some events in the past have placed the Tiv in many states outside of Benue, including Taraba, Nasarawa, Plateau, Niger, FCT and so many other locations within Nigeria and in the neighbouring Cameroon that nobody can say Tiv people are settlers in these areas.”

    Tor Tiv said he will soon visit the Jukun King (Aku Uka of Wukari) in Taraba and the Emir of Lafia in Nasarawa State, as well as the governors of these states to dialogue with them to ensure a peaceful environment for his subjects.

    President General of Tiv Cultural and Social Association in Taraba State, Chief Goodman Msughaondo Dahida, who led the delegation for the visit, pledged total loyalty and support of the Tiv people of Taraba to the Tor Tiv.

    He appealed to the Tor Tiv to build a strong relationship with the traditional rulers in the neighbouring states, especially the Aku Uka of Wukari and the Emir of Muri in Taraba.

    Dahida noted that enactment of the Anti-Open Grazing Law by Governors Samuel Ortom (Benue) and Darius Ishaku (Taraba) will put an end to the incessant attacks on Tiv farmers by herdsmen. He urged the governors to ensure full implementation of the law.

  • Tiv back true federalism

    The Tiv in Northcentral have supported restructuring of the country.

    They called for true federalism as a panacea for bringing out the true identity of the Tiv as great citizens to realise their potential.

    Rising from a two-day All Tiv Summit, organised by OnTiv Professional Association (OPA) in Abuja, in collaboration with Tiv Traditional Council, held in Gboko, the ancestral headquarters of the Tiv nation, the people were unanimous that “Nigeria should be

    restructured along the lines of true federalism where more powers are devolved to states.

    Coming against the backdrop of lamentation by the Tiv for adequate representation in the country because of their numerical strength, the summit provided an avenue for the people to discuss how to re-situate themselves.

    In a communique after the summit signed by Benjamin Nyior, chairman of OPA and Itiza Ukpi, chairman of Central Planning Committee, it frowned at lack of federal presence in Benue State, as well as few appointments of Tiv sons and daughters at the federal level, despite massively voting for All Progressives Congress (APC) at the general election.

    The Tiv urged the Federal Government to fulfil its promise to dredge River Benue, to forestall flood.

    They advised the government to include Benue among the states that are flood prone and deserving special intervention through ecological funds, to build water channels in Makurdi and its environs.

    The people decried build-up of political tension in Tiv land ahead of 2019 elections, saying “this portends danger. Our leaders must desist from activities capable of causing crises.”

    They enjoined the Tor Tiv to mete out sanctions to defaulters.

    The summit appealed to politicians in Tivland to desist from using youths as thugs to fight battles.

    It advocated the need to correct the leadership question.

    “There is need to constitute an elders’ committee that will choose its chairman, advise the Tor Tiv and ensure leaders in Tivland evolve naturally. Similarly, there is need for a compendium of professionals, who should be consulted on issues affecting Tivland.”

    The summit brought together Tiv sons and daughters from parts of the country to articulate challenges as a people and proffer solution that could set an agenda for Tor Tiv V, Prof. James Ayatse and the Tiv nation.

    It was declared open by Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom (represented by his Special Adviser on Rural Development, Adzer Abya). Tor Tiv V, accompanied by chiefs and other traditional rulers in Tivland, as well as prominent Tiv sons in the National Assembly, participated in the opening session, chaired by a former Military Governor of East Central State and Benue State, Brig.-Gen. John Atom Kpera (retd).

     

  • Taraba, Benue mend fences

    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.

     

  • Benue begins translation of science textbooks into indigenous language

    Benue begins translation of science textbooks into indigenous language

    The Benue State Universal Basic Education Board has started translating science textbooks into Tiv dialect for easy learning and sustenance of indigenous languages.

    The Executive Chairman of the board, Mr Philip Tachin, made this known on Wednesday while declaring open, a two-week teacher professional development workshop.

    The workshop had the theme: “Strengthening Mathematics and Science Education (SMASE)’’.

    Tachin said that the board was also exploring ways to translate the textbooks into Idoma and Igede dialects.

    He said that the aim was also to encourage more students in the state to read science courses.

    Tachin said that the workshop was in line with the state government’s education programmes.

    The executive chairman urged the participants to take advantage of the workshop to develop themselves.

    He expressed gratitude to the Federal Ministry of Education, National Teachers Institute and the Universal Basic Education Commission for making the workshop possible.

    The representative of the ministry, Mr Salisu Muhammad, said that 200 teachers would participate in the workshop while 1,000 others would take part at the zonal level.

    He commended Tachin for the translation initiative.

    The representative of National Teachers Institute, Mr Abubakar Ibrahim, also hailed the translation initiative.

    He called on teachers to place premium on the knowledge impartation.

    A mathematics teacher, Mr Bartholomew Atsar, and a elementary science teacher, Mrs Victoria Agbatse, promised to apply the knowledge they would acquire.

    They expressed gratitude to the relevant authorities for the training.

  • ‘To end crisis, Tiv, Fulani should intermarry’

    ‘To end crisis, Tiv, Fulani should intermarry’

    Neither tough talk nor troops nor grazing reserves have quelled clashes between Tiv and Fulani. But do not lose hope, says a cleric, intermarriage will do the trick. FANEN IHYONGO reports

    The crisis is so protracted, bloody and bitter that a solution must be found. Since the clashes are usually about grazing places and crop-farms, the authorities have tried to resolve it through grazing routes, but that has not scaled back the bitterness or the bloodbath. How about deploying troops to trouble spots? Even that failed over time. Both sides have also threatened each other, but that did not end the Tiv/Fulani crisis.

    There is one more idea, and it is as sure as night follows day, said a cleric, Sam Zuga, founder of the House of Joy International. Tiv and Fulani should intermarry, he said. In fact, he called the idea the final solution.

    Bishop Zuga is quite popular, ministering in his church’s branches in the United Kingdom, United States, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Togo, Tanzania and South Africa. So when he scheduled what he termed a mega crusade near Gboko, in the Tiv heartland, in his native Benue State, the large crowd that turned up was looking forward to his sermons, miracles and perhaps some healings. But besides the spiritual food they got, the gathering went home with a thought-provoking message, in the form of a drama, on how the Fulani/Tiv crisis would be finally resolved.

    Zuga’s panacea, coming days after over 100 Tiv persons were hacked to death by Fulani marauders in separate attacks, is for Tiv to reconcile with Fulani and marry them. He added that when the two ethnic groups inter-marry, the affinity of one family would not allow them unsheathe swords against one another.

    The Fulanis are mostly Muslims just like 99 percent Tivs are Christians. The difference in religion often hinders serious relationships, particularly wedlock, between members of the two ethnic groups. Now, Fulani militants have reportedly laid siege on over 10 local government areas of Benue State, including Logo, Katsina-Ala, Kwande, Ukum, Buruku, Guma and Gwer. Many Tiv communities in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba states have been sacked by Fulani militias, after killing a staggering number of Tiv farmers in several attacks. Some Fulanis have accused Tiv youths of rustling their cows while Tivs accused Fulani herdsmen of allowing their animals to feast on their crops. Fulanis value their cows much as Tivs value their farms as means of livelihood. Continuous bloody clashes between the two have become a source of worry to all Nigerians including the government. But whereas Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has proffered “ranching” as the solution to end hostilities, Bishop Zuga has said “marrying Fulanis will be a final bus stop to the crisis.”

    “At the peak of the crisis between Tiv farmers and Fulani herdsmen, where all government and individual efforts have failed, God has instructed me to come to the rescue of my people with a final solution to the crisis,” he said.

    He said God, in the past, used him to put an end to many intra-communal and inter-ethnic crises, including the Tiv/Jukun crisis.

    “It will surprise many of you to hear that God used me to cause an end to the Ipav/Ukan crisis, Kusuv/Ikyurav-Tiev communal crisis and the Tiv/Jukun crisis, in which many lives and property were destroyed.

    “I had sent my team to offer free medical services in the Jukun area and the Aku Uka was impressed. He requested to see me. When I arrived at his palace in Wukari, the paramount ruler of the Jukun Kingdom stood up and gave me a rousing reception. He confirmed to me that no Tiv man on this earth, except the Tor Tiv III the late Akperan Orshi, has ever been honoured in his palace like me.

    “Aku Uka then promised me that his subjects (Jukun) will drop arms against my people (Tiv). Since then, Jukun and Tiv have not fought again.”

    Taking his sermon from John 19:21, the bishop said the Tiv land needs the kind of peace Christ gave to his disciples after his resurrection. He traced the major cause of the crisis to what he called “the dishonest lifestyle of some traditional chiefs” who he accused of collecting monies from Fulani and allowing their animals to graze freely in Tiv farms without the knowledge of their subjects.

    He said: “The criminal activities of our youths, caused by either poverty or their youthful exuberances, affect nomadic activities of the herders, which in turn negatively affect our farmlands.”

    Zuga, who holds the chieftaincy title of the ‘Mallam Salleh of northern Muslims,’ appealed to his Tiv people to continue to tolerate and accommodate the Fulani speaking people. He described Fulani as longtime brothers of the Tiv, who had lived in the past harmoniously with Tiv and shared things in common with them. He asked Tiv people to love, trust and have faith in Fulani that all shall be well.

    “A Fulani herder is like a shepherd in the Bible who would do anything, including sacrificing his dear life, to protect his cows from any attack.

    “Our people produce carbohydrate while Fulani produce protein. We get beef and mutton in exchange of yam tubers or grains. We all benefit from the barter trade.

    “It will profit us more if we seek peace; don’t attack Fulani; don’t rustle or attack their cows. To Fulani elites: “Stop arming your youths to attack and kill Tiv; herdsmen don’t destroy Tiv farms; all of you should forgive and forget the unhappy past; remember that you all share ancestral origin.”

    The drama showcased a wedding between a Tiv man and a Fulani woman to signify love, peace and unity and family tie. The actor and actress were seen clad in the Tiv and Fulani cultural regalia.

    During the event, Bishop Zuga grouped Fulani herdsmen into “armed and free herdsmen.” He revealed that God has asked him to peacefully drive away the armed and aggressive ones who have ravaged Tiv land.

    Recalling how God instructed David to use the stick and five stones in providing a solution, Zuga presented to the congregation, a T-shirt, card, tag, sticker and World Wanders Water (WWW), as products God has giving him the ability to produce as a final solution to the activities of the armed Fulani herdsmen including other criminal activities so that his people will be liberated.

    Preaching from Joshua 14:15, he said: “Tiv land shall be free from Fulani attacks for seven years.