It is on record that, Hon. Prince Shiban Y. Tikari administered Takum Local Government as Acting and later Executive Chairman for two consecutive tenures. During these periods, he served the people of Takum well to the best of his ability. One can hardly fathom the reason why the Kutebs, particularly the ones from neighboring Ussa LGA keep displaying ardent hatred for Hon. Tikari. Almost all through his tenure in office as Chairman of Takum LGC, all kinds of allegations and accusations were leveled by the Kuteb people against the honourable gentleman.
We are not surprised by the serial and continuous Kuteb accusations against Shiban because we know that all these are done because of his Chamba ethnicity. This is an inherent attribute of the typical Kuteb person towards Chamba people for reasons best known to them. Kuteb hatred for the Chamba man and everything that has to do with the Chamba people in Takum is pathological and glaringly demonic. The Kuteb man out of some complex links Chamba with everything negative in Taraba South. For example, the Fulani herders accused them of stealing and killing their animals; yet they blame Chamba for the crisis that occurred between them and their Fulani accusers. They go as far as saying that Chamba were the people that hired Fulani to go and attack them in their settlements. What a people!
But as God would have it, the Chamba race keeps moving on smoothly in all human endeavours without minding their existence. Those whose hearts are filled with hatred are left laden with their burden of hate for the Chamba people.
Takum started experiencing troubles when the late Chief of Takum, Alhaji Ali Ibrahim, designed a systematic recruitment of the hill Kutebs of Ussa LGA to occupy Takum township and to be involved in the political and social affairs of the town. Since their influx into Takum, the town lost its peace, with all the troubles and crises instigated, sponsored and executed by them. It therefore behoves on the Kuteb of Takum (Likam, Akenten and Achumam) to choose to free themselves from the clutches of these hill dwellers from Ussa LGA, who during crises times usually flee out of the town to their hills and villages leaving them to suffer losses of lives and property. It is hoped that the sooner the Akente and Likam do that the better for them.
One particular disgruntled Kuteb man and instigator, Rikwense Muri, and his co-travellers over time have been accusing Hon. Tikari of the kidnap and murder of late Hon. Barr. Hosea Ibi (may his soul rest in perfect peace). Recall the late Barr. Hosea Ibi was a Member, State House of Assembly representing the good people of Takum I Constituency. He was kidnapped from his residence at the Mammy-Market area of Takum Army Barracks in Takum LGA of Taraba State on the night of 30th December, 2017.
Following the kidnap of Hon Ibi, the then administration of DDI engaged one of the victim's colleague in State House of Assembly to negotiate the ransom for his colleague's freedom from the kidnappers. Hon Shiban Y. Tikari who was then serving as Executive Chairman of Takum LGA and hence, Chief Security Officer of the LGA, naturally came out to play a prominent role during the negotiations as it is required of his office. One then wonders how some mischievous Kuteb people; particularly the hills dwellers led by Muri Rikwense in their natural senses would accuse Hon. Shiban of having a hand in the kidnap and murder of late Hon. Barr. Hosea Ibi. Yet they did not give any reason why they think Hon Shiban who was Executive Chairman would want Hon Hosea who was a member House of Assembly dead.
It was reported that prior to his kidnap Hon Hosea’s residence on that fateful day was surrounded by his Kuteb kinsmen. But ever since he was kidnapped and killed, none of his neighbours was called upon for questioning, at least, not to the best of public knowledge. None of his relations or aides were ever arrested and interrogated. On the contrary, misguided hearsays and all sorts of propaganda by disgruntled Rikwense & co kept pointing accusing finger on Hon. Shiban. The offence of Hon. Shiban was primarily because he is Chamba and perhaps because of his participation in the negotiation which is statutorily required of him as Executive Chairman as Hosea was a serving legislator from Takum LGA. If Hon Shiban had not showed any concern by participating actively in the effort to free Hon Hosea from the hands of the kidnappers, the same Kuteb people would have been the first to accuse him of levity over the issue because Hosea was Kuteb.
The Other Side of the Coin
Some things happened in Takum that could have possibly led to the suspicion of complicity in the death of late Hon. Hosea Ibi. Recall during the 2015 general elections, the Kuteb of Takum rejected late Hon. Hosea Ibi at the polls. This singular act prompted him to reject the evil biddings of the Kuteb against the good people of Takum I Constituency. For this reason, the Kuteb people hated the late Hon. Ibi and discarded him as part of them. Late Hon. Barr. Hosea Ibi made it clear that he was not going to do anything against the will of the Chamba and Jukun who contributed immensely to his success at the poll. This singular commitment didn't go down well with his local constituency, the Kuteb. This could have possibly prompted the miscreants among them to plan to unseat him.
There was also a report of an argument between Hon Hosea and one Kuteb leader over whether Mammy Market belong to Takum LGA or Yangtu. Hon Hosea insited that the Mammy Market was part of Takum LGA and not Yangtu. It was reported that this Kuteb elder was pissed off by Hosea’s stubborn stance on the issue.
The Accusation of The Chamba Complicity
On the allegation from the disgruntled Rikwense & co that Shiban and the Chamba race sponsored the bandits terrorizing Kuteb villages in Ussa and Takum LGAs, it is a known fact that during the administration of Hon Shiban as Executive Chairman of Takum LGA, security meetings that involved both himself and his Ussa counterpart were regularly held. In one of such meetings, Hon. Shiban presented a recorded conversation he had with an informant (Fulani ) on phone to enable the security team to extract some intelligent information to help them track the movement of the bandits. Hon. Shiban shared the recorded phone conversations with the security agents and his counterpart the Executive Chairman of Ussa LGA Hon. RimamsIkwe Karma. Instead of Hon. Karma to utilise the information and mobilize security agents in his Council area to track down the attacking Fulani around Kwesati axis as the direction of their movement, he chose to share this recorded conversation with the public, alleging that Hon. S. Y. Tikari was caught giving the bandit direction on how to attack the hill dwellers. The Kuteb as usual resorted to sharing the voice note among themselves and on various social media platforms accusing Hon. Shiban and the Chamba people as those sponsoring and facilitating the movement of the bandits to kill them.
The positive role Hon. Shiban played during the Kuteb/Fulani crisis in Takum and Ussa LGAs to bring it to an end deserves commendation and not the other way round. Shiban almost got killed at Muji ll, a Kuteb village along Takum-Manya road during the first clashes between Fulani and Kuteb in 2017. He risked his life to mobilize forces to contain the attackers. Sadly, those he stood for later accused him of using some Chamba youths, disguised in Fulani wears to remove and cart away the roofing sheets of their abandoned houses. Yet the Kutebs were not able to apprehend one of such disguised looters as exhibit.
Prior to the clash between Kuteb and the Fulani, there always were reports of the rustling/raiding and killings of Fulani cattle by the Kutebs and subsequent retaliation on the part of the Fulanis who were reported to have been killing the Kuteb people. For all these, the Kuteb accuse the Chamba of being the sponsor or facilitator of the Fulanis reprisals. Incidentally, the Kutebs always boast on social media of being warriors, only to turn around crying woes, displaying weaknesses and shifting and casting blames on the Chamba which they have long been using as object of image laundering over their predicament. A real warrior blames no one of his predicament or cry foul on social media.
What the Kuteb people fail to understand is that, the more they keep accusing Hon. Shiban and by extension the Chamba of their troubles without looking inwards, the more their woes would continue to multiply. God has already placed the Chamba people to live with them as neighbours, they should fashion out better ways to enjoy their livelihood than taking panadol on Hon. Prince Shiban Y. Tikari and the Chamba race to have peace.
Sawariga Dauda, a public analyst for Peace Unity and Good Governance (PUGG).
Pen ✍️ down from Takum LGA of Taraba State, Nigeria.
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