It’s barely three months now since the settlements around Takum, Ussa and Yangtu, a region believed to be the Ancestral land of the Kutebs have been under consistent attacks under the guise of Farmers and Herders conflicts resulting to the intermittent loss of lives and property with virtually little or no commensurate concerns and efforts by the Authorities of the state to stem the tide of violence and killings perpetuated among the inhabitants of the Area. The deliberate and unexplained silence on the part of the Architect Darius led government and the prominent sons of the state of international repute like General T.Y. Danjuma has apparently created suspicion of an action interpreted as conspiracy of silence.
More disturbing is that this crime against humanity has not received national attention nor given the desired publicity by the Media, a development that suggests high level conspiracy and the existence of powerful forces operating behind the scene, There are towering startling revelations emanating from confessions by some of the captives of War hired as Mercenaries to annihilate the Kutebs. Some of the revelations are quite disturbing as they clearly explain the reasons for the planned genocide: It is not farfetched from glaring struggle for land deprivation and occupation. This accounts for the reason why a new King of the Kutebs could not be installed since the death of the last one in 1996. The scramble for the traditional throne of the Kutebs in Takum and the cravings to claim ownership of Takum by a non Kuteb ethnic nationality against all decency and historical facts and existence has been responsible for the present plight and predicament of the Kuteb race who are the genuine owners of Takum and the throne according to history despite attempts to manipulate and distort history.
The last King of the Kutebs in Takum Ukwe Ali Ibrahim of blessed memory was quoted as saying before his death to his Kinsmen that “time is coming when I am far gone, strangers who have no business with our throne will struggle to take over our heritage. It will not be easy but you have to stand firm to resist them. It will certainly not be easy but you will certainly overcome.”
The prophecy of the late King seems to have come to fulfillment since 1997 to date after his demise. Since the death of the last king, the Kutebs have not only been denied their right to the throne but have suffered many conspiracy theories, one of which is the sustained attacks to disposess them of their land and right to the traditional throne of Takum which has remained vacant since the exit of the last King in 1996.
A retired top government official of Kuteb extraction who spoke to the pioneer on the condition of anonymity said,” the struggle and open conspiracy against my people is as old as the existence of Nigeria. We have seen this conspiracy since the Benue- Plateau era under Police Commissioner J.D. Gomwalk, Abacha regime, since the creation of Taraba and now under Darius. The complete silence and inaction of the present administration implies complicity. What is happening to Kutebs silently under the present administration is enough to attract global attention but everybody is silent including the Media.
“The continued interpretation of our circumstances as a mere conflict between the Herders and farmers was a deliberate ploy to alter public perception of the reality of the planned genocide against our people. We have dozens of evidences to prove this conspiracy. Some of the confessions of the captives are quite revealing… The responses of the security operatives during such attacks are quite disturbing and disappointing.”
The latest attacks according to our findings is the current sustained attacks on Kuteb settlements like Jinuwa-Gida, Kwambai and Kwesati for the period of one week where no fewer than seventeen people have been reported dead with about several households displaced when the Fulani Bandits invaded and burnt down houses and property belonging to the natives.
One of the youths keeping vigil to defend Kwambai from external aggression who preferred anonymity told the Pioneer that their settlements have been under attack for the past one week by the Fulani Bandits and narrated further: “We learnt that the Bandits have been given a timeline of two weeks within which to complete their assignment of wiping us out from our ancestral land but we don’t know how that is possible.
“As I am talking to you now, we can see them from their position across the hill. I can’t tell you how they got to that position of the hill. They must have been dropped by a Helicopter as usual. The Military has also been drafted to the Area but they are watching from a distance. They cannot go after them and they cannot allow us to do so. We expect them to chase after them but they are not going after them. I strongly suspect they are plotting to burndown the Kwesati Market, one of the largest local Markets in the Area.”
He alleged that sometimes during encounter with the Bandits, their Youths are mistakenly shot by the uniformed personnel arguing that “there is no sense firing a citizen who is obviously defending himself from the Bandits when they cannot willingly go after them.”
When the comment of the police commissioner of the state was sought on the matter, the image maker of the Taraba state police command, DSP Usman Abdullahi told our Correspondent that the state command has not received any report on the number of casualties of the insecurity from the Divisional Police Officer of the Area even though he was present at the security meeting held that fateful morning.
He promised to consult with the DPO of Takum local government on the situation on ground and get back to this Reporter at his earliest convenience.
PIONEER NEWS 