The Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria (KYN), the umbrella body for the Kuteb ethnic nationality in Taraba state, has declared that the planned installation of one Alhaji Yaro Garba Maigyada, as “Makama of Takum,” scheduled for Saturday (July 22, 2023), is provocative and an invitation to crisis in the area.
In a statement on Friday in Jalingo, the state capital, the group called on the Taraba state governor, Agbu Kefas, to immediately suspend the planned installation in the interest of peace.
The statement signed by the President of KYN, Emmanuel Ukwen, said the proposed installation, negates the directive by the governor, suspending the appointment and coronation of district/village heads and traditional title holders in the state as contained in a circular dated 30th June, 2023 and marked GHJ/BLG&CA/S.260/T.
The statement noted that since the demise of the Ukwe Takum, Alhaji Ali Ibrahim Kufang II, in 1996, the stool has remained vacant following controversies over who should ascend the throne.
Ukwen lamented the numerous crises in Takum, stressing that they are attributable to the absence of a paramount ruler.
The statement reads: “We note with utmost dismay a recent invitation card on social media for the installation of one Alhaji Taro Garba Maigyada as ‘Makama of Takum’.
“This is coming despite the recent directive by the Taraba State Government suspending the appointments or coronation of district/village heads and all traditional title holders in the state.
“The proposed coronation, to say the least, is grossly provocative and an invitation to fuel further crisis in Takum.
“We must emphatically say Takum is not a free-for-all land where Takum traditional ruling houses will sit and watch while various unknown traditional titles are being dished out and conferred on people by unauthorized persons or group of persons.
The proposed title of ‘Makama’ is alien to Takum traditional institution. After all, Makama is a Hausa word meaning ‘person who selects/ recommends the next successor to the traditional stool’.
“This runs contrary to the norms, customs, and traditions of Takum Chiefdom.”
Ukwen maintained that “the planned installation is a ploy by the enemies of peace to disrupt the prevailing relative peace in Takum and its environs.
He called on Governor Kefas to urgently take proactive steps to halt the coronation of any person or group of persons as Makaman Takum or any similar such title.
The KYN also called on security agencies to take all the necessary measures to ensure that peace prevails in Takum and its environs.
