The crisis between the Jukun and Tiv in Taraba State has claimed many lives, displaced thousands with properties worth millions destroyed. In this interview with NZOR ERNEST, an opinion leader from Taraba State , Chief John Mamman speaks on the factors fuelling the crisis and government efforts to mitigate it.

Recently, there was a call by an association, Tiv Taraba People’s Association on the federal government to set up an independent committee to look into the lingering crisis between the Jukun and the Tiv communities in parts of Taraba State, citing cases of bias by the state government. What do you make of the call?

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I think, first of all, such an association is unknown even to the Tiv in Taraba State. And for a person who attained the status of a permanent secretary as David Orbee claimed, he should have known that the federal government has no power to set up any commission of inquiry in any state.

If there are disputes between two states, perhaps with the agreement of the two states involved, the commission can be set up under the auspices of the federal government. But the federal government has its area of competence. And the state government has its area of competence.


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The federal government is not above the state government. At best , the federal government can be described as first among equals in the states of the federation. So we expect the person who has attained the status of a permanent secretary, which David claimed he had, to have known that the federal government cannot or has no power to set commission of inquiry to investigate any case that is within the jurisdiction of the state government. So I think he should know better and he should advise whoever he is leading not to expose their ignorance to the public.

Has the Taraba State government received the support of the Tiv community in the state towards resolving this crisis?

Efforts are  being made to resolve the faceoff. David Orbee claimed the government nominated Jukun who are to represent the Tiv. It is unfortunate; I think and believe that what David is angry about is that he is not part of the committee.
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The committee members were nominated by Tiv people themselves. We have Tiv in Takum, we have Tiv in Dunga and we have Tiv in Wukari. They are natural leaders, they are the ones the people said they should represent them. The government doesn’t nominate anybody. But people like David cannot be part of Tiv mission. People that talk war don’t negotiate peace. So I think he is just angry and disappointed that he is not part of the team.



Who are the faceless people fueling the crisis between Tiv and Jukun in Taraba State?



We know them, they have persistently tried to incite the Tiv people against their Jukun neighbours despite efforts put by the two state governors- that of Taraba and Benue- to find lasting solutions to the lingering crisis.

Of course,  crises exist and solution must be found to them. You don’t find solution by forcing it down  the throat of people. You allow people to come together, seat down and negotiate peace. Not people who lost election and are so bitter; such people cannot negotiate peace.



It is also alleged that the Tiv community had their council wards and polling units scrapped without due process. What is your take on this?

I think its unfortunate again. People who have attained certain status should be guided when making utterances that affects their people. You know that nobody has the right, except INEC, of eliminating a constituency, council ward and so on. So it is not only the Tiv that lost some of the wards, other ethnic groups also lost their wards. But if what Orbee is saying is correct; if the Jukun people scrapped the wards or polling units, did they scrap the people? They could go to the nearest polling unit to register and cast their votes. It is unfortunate they keep on hammering on this. We are brothers, we don’t need crisis, we need peace.

Most of the Tivs that are in Wukari have been taken over by so called convention policies by the then last military administration that were taken to Katsina-Ala. Those communities were part of Wukari. They refused to tell the people the truth that those communities were part of Wukari but now have been taken to Katsina-Ala in Benue.





How true is the issue of Tiv traditional stool that dates back to 1922 not being upgraded in Taraba?

Every Tiv man knows that they don’t have chieftaincy institution. The first title of Tor Tiv was created in 1946 in present day Benue state. So how could Tiv chiefdom exist in Wukari in 1922? The only chiefs that were appointed in Wukari were drum chiefs. They were appointed and sent back to their villages. They didn’t have area to govern in Wukari.

So to come and tell the world that Tiv have chieftaincy institution dating back to 1922 is laughable. So he should know that the first Tor Tiv was appointed 1946.





Can you tell us some of the efforts governor Darius Ishaku has made to ensure that this crisis comes to an end?

In fact, when governor Darius came in 2015, the first thing he did as his major assignment was to rehabilitate the Tiv who were displaced during the Tiv/Fulani crisis in 2014. In the process he even sacked more than ten district heads that tampered with the land belonging to the Tiv people. How can he suddenly turn against the Tiv people?





Secondly, when he came he made sure appointments were given to them. As of now he has not appointed any commissioner. But in the last administration, the commissioner from his own local government was a Tiv person. So what can he do any further?

In Taraba State they have a permanent secretary; the clerk of the State Assembly is a Tiv person. If he didn’t like them why would he continue appointing them? So I think when people are frustrated they try to drag the name of the governor Darius into issues that he is clearly not involved in.



His peace efforts have been so numerous. Himself and his counterpart in Benue and their deputies have met more than fourteen times to try to resolve the issue between the Tiv and the Jukun and other communities. So for somebody to sit back and say the governor is part of it ,is totally wrong. And I want to add that , to even say they have been denied elective and appointive political positions is wrong.

David Orbee contested for the House of Assembly and lost. It is this bitterness that is making him to come out and make such wild and unfounded allegations.

During the last election, Tiv contested for the House of Assembly, House of Representative and the Senate in Wukari district. So how can you prevent somebody from contesting election in Nigeria if not INEC. They all contested and lost. And instead of conceding defeat honourably, they are acting as if everything depended on them winning election. If they were so popular, this is not the first election he contested. This may be third or fourth election he contested and lost.



So the issue of generalising that the Tiv people were not allowed to contest is wrong. And the issue of appointments; it is the prerogative of the chief executives. It is for what you have done for him, it is for those that contributed towards his success that will make him give you an appointment or make you whatever he wants. He won’t just give appointment because you are a Tiv. He doesn’t give appointments based on that. But Tiv have been equally represented.

In terms of indigenisation which he always hit on, I want to cite the case of Takum, in the last three years the current chairman issued 153 certificates of indigenship to Tiv people. Tiv and Jukun are not the only tribes in Takum; we have about 7 or 8 other tribes. If Tiv alone got all these then the other tribes, how many did they get? In terms of employment, the governor, out of the 3000 recruited teachers,  the Tiv people got about 400. So what do they want? This is the question we keep asking ourselves.

Now finally, I would want to appeal to the Tiv people to seat down as a nation and  as a people to carryout self examination; to ask themselves critical questions and try to find out the solution. Why is it that same Tiv are at war with almost everybody? In Nasarawa they war against their neighbours, in Taraba, they are fighting the Jukuns, in Cross River State, they are fighting the Ogoja people and if they are not fighting their neighbours they fight themselves.