By our Reporter
The Taraba socio – cultural and political group under the auspices of Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria (KYN) has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to Intervene on lingering Kuteb Tribe Kingship “Ukwe” Stool to lay to rest the 28 years agitation.
The call is contained in a letter to the President Tinubu and signed by the KYN President, Emmanuel Ukwen and made available to newsmen on Thursday.
The Kutebs are native of Takum in Taraba state with a population of about 500, 000 spread across Taraba and other parts of Nigeria, and they are governed by Ukwe (King) predated Sixteenth Century.
According to the letter, the Ukwe Stool dispute began by perceived powers in the state who deployed their mights and resources to bring non rulling families to ascend the throne after the death of Ukwe, Ali Ibrahim Kufang in 1996.
Ukwen, in a letter said that the persistent attempts by some powerful individuals to fraudulently changed the title of the Stool from Ukwe Takum to Chief of Takum and smuggled in two Chamba (non-Kuteb) families of Tikari and Dinyi among the ruling families brought about crisis.
“This is the fight that kept the Ukwe Stool vacant from 1996 to January, 2024; and is the crux of this SOS letter. Mr. President, sir, this is an evil aspiration that will never be accepted by any people on earth.
“The First Class Ukwe Takum Stool is the exclusive reserve of the Kuteb tribe, in the same way as the Gara Donga and Aku-Uka Wukari are to Chamba and Jukun tribes respectively. It’s our family inheritance, ” the letter read.
KYN said the Kuteb tribe had selected Prince Rimamnyany Habu Ahmadu as the new Ukwe Takum after carefully followed her Native Law and Custom to replace Ali Ibrahim Kufang who died since 1996.
“All the traditional rites related to the Stool have been completed successfully, and we await the Taraba State Government to give him the staff of office as is the practice since the adoption of Democratic system of government in Nigeria,” it said.
KYN said the latest development that necessitated the call on President Bola Tinubu for intervention was Governor Agbu Kefas’ announcement to dismantle the structure of the Ukwe Takum dynasty and erect an entirely new one.
It said that Governor had announced that he would create three Third Class Stools in Takum for Kuteb, Chamba and Jukun (Kpanzo), after which he shall appoint the first Class as the Chief of Takum, not Ukwe from any tribe.
The letter read in parts,” The tension is mounting in this region that has suffered much attacks including banditry activities, and many people especially strangers are deserting Takum for fear of what may happen if the Governor insists on executing his purported agenda of upturning the ancient Ukwe Takum traditional structure.
“It is these developments that have pushed the Kutebs out to seek helps from empathetic & kind-hearted leaders like you sir. If the Governor ventures to execute the above stated proposals, we as leaders of the Kuteb tribe cannot guarantee peace and safety of the land.
“It’s in the light of the foregoing that we appeal for your urgent intervention to prevent another phase of bloodshed in Takum and environs.
“We passionately request that you call the Governor’s attention to the dangers of his proposals regarding the Stool of Ukwe Takum.
“That you advise the Governor to accept the choice of Prince Rimamnyang Habu Ahmadu by the Kutebs as the new Ukwe Takum and give him the staff of office.
“That you advise the Governor that if for any reason he’s not willing to accept the choice of the people, he should focus on his tenure as Governor and not create damages to the ancient Ukwe Stool just as he will not wish that such be done to the structure of the cherished Aku-Uka dynasty of Wukari of which he is a subject or that he belongs,”.