Takum Chieftaincy Tussle: Watch Your Utterances, Jukun Elder Replies Chamba Elites
By Chuwang Dungs, Jalingo
A Jukun elder from Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State, Abraham Tsokwa, has warned the elites of the Chamba tribe from Taraba and Adamawa states, to watch their utterances on the controversial Takum chieftaincy issue.
Mr Tsokwa was reacting to the alleged utterances by some Chamba elites that the Chambas having two first class traditional stools in Taraba are gradually taken over the Kwararafa Chiefdom from the Jukuns who are having only one first class ruler in the State.
It was alleged that they made the comments, which was recorded, in Ganye, Adamawa State, during a meeting with the Chamba youth Association some few weeks ago.
Elder Tsokwa, who spoke with a group of journalists in Jalingo, on Sunday expressed dissatisfaction with the measures adopted by Governor Kefas in the name of “resolving the Takum Traditional Tussle.”
Tsokwa said history shows that the Chambas migrated from Adamawa and the Cameroon Republic to Taraba and were never part of the Kwararada kingdom.
He blamed Governor Kefas for dancing to the dictates of TY Danjuma, (a Chamba man) to distort the traditional history of Takum Chiefdom, without consulting the Jukun elders of Takum.
He applauded the immediate past governor Darius Ishaku, for resisting every pressure and threat from the retired Chamba army general to temper with the traditional history of the Takum people.
“Ishaku, knowing the implication of toying with history, acted wisely by not subjecting himself to pressure from TY Danjuma, after consulting with elders and considering the historical background surrounding the chieftaincy in Takum,” he said.
According to him the traditional stool of Takum, is an exclusive right of the Kutebs which they have been occupying since immemorial. “That is why the title is Ukwe Takum in Kutebs native language.”
He blamed Kefas for playing to the gallery by subjugating the interest of the Jukun and transferring them to the Chambas who are already occupying a first class seat in Donga, third class seat in Chanchanji, Kashimbila , Suntai Daji and Kungana in Bali.
He expressed bitterness that the Chambas who have an insignificant population in the state, are occupying this vantage of traditional institutions against the Jukuns with just the Aku Uks as a first class chief.
He warned the Chamba people, particularly those within the elders brackets, to exercise restraints in their utterances so as not to create avoidable tension in the state.
“As we await the outcome of the matter at the Appeal court in Yola, I appealed to everyone to restrain from making unguarded utterances bearing in mind the histories of inter ethnic crisis in the locality which no one benefitted.” Tsokwa said.
Recall Kefas, few months on assuming office tinkered with the age-old Ukwe Takum chieftaincy institution as he installed a Chamba man as a first class chief with third class chief from the Jukun and Kuteb tribe under a rotational arrangement.
The aggrieved tribe are the Kutebs who did not buy into the purported “resolution of the Chieftaincy Tussle” of their respected and predictable mode of succession to the stool of the Ukwe Takum.
When Kefas failed to see reason, the Kutebs went to court and the matter is before the Appeal court.
Our reporter reliably gathered that the governor recently directed a 3 man delegation consisting of a high court judge, a prominent traditional ruler and a renown private legal practitioner to influence the appeal number CA/YL/188/2024 filed by the Kutebs people pending before the court.
There are also allegation that some Kuteb youths have been recruited and placed on a N250,000 each as monthly allowances for them to feed the government with any information from the camp of the Kuteb on issues pertaining the struggle to reclaim the Ukwe stool.
