Callistus Agwaza, Jalingo
Kuteb elders in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State has kicked against plans by the state governor, Kefas Ogbu, to rob the Kuteb ethnic nationality of the Ukwe traditional stool in Takum.
The Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria (KYN), an umbrella body of the Kuteb ethnic nationality, recently made similar allegations against the governor at a press conference in Jalingo.
They alleged that the governor was planning to install former Defence Minister, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), a Chamba man as the Ukwe Takum, vowing that such injustice against the Kuteb nation would be resisted.
At a press conference in Jalingo on Thursday, the Kuteb elders also accused the governor of plans to dismantle the ancestral stool of Ukwe Takum to create three third class tribal Chiefs.
Spokesperson of the group, Joshua Rimamsikwe who addressed the press conference, said any attempt to temper with the Ukwe Traditional stool in Takum, “is not only an invitation to crisis but an agenda to wipe out the Kuteb race from the surface of the earth.”
Joshua Rimamsikwe further cautioned the governor against any attempt to down grade the first class status of the Ukwe Takum in order to promote that of the Chamba tribe or any other tribe under the guise of introducing a rotational system for a stool that has been occupied by the Kuteb since time immemorial.
The Kuteb elders noted that, “The governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, is only implementing the age long agenda of his godfather, General T. Y Danjuma (rtd) whose plan has been to rob the Kuteb tribe of the stool of Ukwe Takum and transfer same to the Chamba, Danjuna’s tribe who have never occupied the stool since its creation in 1914.
“Before Governor Kefas should make the seat of Ukwe Takum rotational among Chamba, Kuteb and Kpanzon, he should first start with the seat of Aku Uka of Wukari and rotate the stool between, Wapang, Tiv and Hausas being the dominant tribes in Wukari.
“I want to place on record that before the creation of Taraba state in 1991, there existed three main traditional institutions in what is today known as Southern Taraba. “These include, Aku Aku of Wukari first class headed by a Wapang as paramount ruler, Gara Donga, in Donga, Second Class headed by a Chamba as paramount ruler while there is Ukwe Takum also second class headed by a Kuteb tribe as paramount ruler, before the stools of Ukwe Takum and Gara Donga were elevated to first class by former Governor Jolly Nyame administration in 2005, so why is it only the stool of Ukwe Takum that should be made rotational amongst major tribes in Takum?”
Rimamsikwe said, “Despite the looming tension in Takum over the 28 years disputed stool of Ukwe Takum, the State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas appears to be bent on going ahead with plans to install a none Kuteb tribe to take over the stool of Ukwe Takum and damned whatever the consequences might be”.
The elders said Agbu had earlier “informed the king makers of the Ukwe Takum ruling houses of Likam and Akenten at a meeting of his intention to appoint three third class chiefs in Takum, one each for the three tribes of Kuteb, Kpanzon and Chamba.
“He also plans to maintain a first class king, which will be rotated between the same three tribes.”
According to the elders, two ruling houses opposed the governor’s decision which they said was alien to the traditional stool that had been occupied by the Kuteb tribe since 1914.
The elders said besides the meeting with the kingmakers and Kuteb elders, the governor also held another meeting with Kuteb youths at the Government House, Jalingo on February 4, 2024, where he equally briefed them of his plan to dismantle the stool of the Ukwe Takum.
The governor was alleged to have insisted that he will go ahead to implement the plans, saying any aggrieve person can go to court.
Kefas was said to warned that any attempt by Kuteb youths to ferment trouble in the area would be met with decisive military action.
The elders maintained that, “The stool of Ukwe Takum is the First Class Chief of Kuteb people and has been their exclusive preserve. “The Three dominant tribes of Kpnazo (Jukun), Chamba and Kuteb in Southern Taraba, occupy the stools of Aku Uka, Gara Donga and Ukwe Takum respectively and that has been the seamless arrangement over the years.
“However, upon the death of the last Ukwe Takum nearly decades ago, there has been succession issues that led to the death of several persons and have left the stool vacant.”
The Kuteb elders said, ” Successive governments in the state, mostly chose to keep mute about the embattled throne.
“The agitations to install a Chamba person to the throne became heightened when a Jukun man Darius Ishaku emerged as the state Governor in 2015.
“Despite all his efforts, the Kuteb Yatso, the umbrella body of the Kuteb people stood firm to resist all the attempts…
“Eventually, Ishaku could not succeed. According to the Kuteb Yatso, the problem is with the former Minister of Defence General T. Y. Danjuma, a Chamba man from Takum, who feels that someone from a different tribe should not be his king, considering his enormous achievements in Nigeria, development he brought to the area and his accomplishments in society.
“Consequently, Governor Kefas, who is the General’s political godson is determined to grant his principal his lifelong wish at any cost, even if it means inciting crisis in the area…”
