Tiv-Jukun Crisis In Taraba State: Two Groups Of Fools -By Mr. Bulus Koji

I used to think a “fool ” is just an expression until in recent times, i have seen those groups of people called “fool”. They are the People of Southern Taraba state. Over here both the illiterate and literate behaved alike.

In my 11years of work across every length and breaths of the geographical area of southern part of Taraba state, i discovered that illiterates are mostly peasant farmers and petty traders in their various localities who hardly get assistance from the literates who control government institutions and often lives homes away from home, the illiterate here in southern Taraba are also the poorest of all the poor people in Taraba state. While the literates in southern Taraba state are the lords( you have the Orveses, Shors and Bachos) , they are the groups of fools who do everything possible to ensure that these illiterates fool remain downtroddenly poor till thy kingdom comes.

For instance some of these politicians in southern Taraba who hardly visit home or don’t even no the road to their villages not to talk of knowing how many number of LGAs that made up Taraba state are the ones properly financing the ongoing war by hiring fighters, inducing security personnel, buying weapons for the young children of the illiterate peasant farmers in southern Taraba state to fight and die making way for their children who will eventually continue from the political position they occupied after s/he must have retired or died.

The literates fool only empowered their children and those relatives of theirs either by supporting them educationally and getting good jobs far away and also ensure that those benefactors don’t come home, but none of these politicians or Educated elites recruits their children and relations to fight war in southern Taraba and yet their children and close relation living in cities are the one always bragging about their tribes being historical warriors and brave fighters.

Bravery for war fighting and miserable death is for the children of the downtrodden peasants farmers in southern Taraba state who hardly feed well talk less of getting quality education, but access to quality education and better economic life is for the children of the politicians and other enlightened.

The politicians and the Educational elites in southern Taraba also can’t afford scholarship for the children of the poor in southern Taraba but, do afford the huge amounts of money to expend on buying weapons to give to the children of the poor to fight and kill each other and pave way for their selfish political interests.

In all the places that had been ravaged by Tiv-Jukun crisis in southern Taraba, one hardly found potable water to drink, the locals drink majorly from streams, rivers and well water, not to mention good medical care facility.

The money used for so-called flying of helicopter to drop weapons for the ongoing Jukun-Tiv crisis war by politicians in southern Taraba is enough for building feeder roads, better Primary Health Centres, Standard schools, bridges, and cottages industry at least for Yam and Cassava flour production, but the politicians knows, that will improve the economic lives of their poor slaves and if that is done, they will eventually lose control of them.

What is good for the child of a poor illiterate person in southern Taraba is Motorcycle which in itself had become a problem to the rural dwellers. Those Motorcycles are used most often for robbery and terror activities. Both Tiv and Jukun militant groups in southern Taraba like the Boko-Haram and Bandits in other parts of the North moves on Motorcycles, hence its banned in most cities across the Northern part of the country, even in the state capital Jalingo, but for southern Taraba politicians, the interests of getting many youths to fighting for their political interests and ambitions, donation of Motorcycle to youth served as the greatest economic empowerment.

The killings in southern Taraba state only spared the lives of the literate fools and this is because they are the sponsors and lives very far away from their Villages, thus bothers not about the ongoing killings in southern Taraba, because none of their children or close relations are victims.

Many Clergymen in the rural communities here had been gruesomely murdered since this Tiv-Jukun crisis began in April 2019,, while others were noticed publicly, others were not properly announced, probably because ” all animals are equal but others are more equal”.

Very recently, a Pastor of one the predominantly Jukun Denominations(CRCN) was gunned down alongside with his wife, allegededly carried out by Tiv militias, leaving behind 8 children, on the burial ceremony of the late Pastor and his wife this week which was well attended and graced by a large crowd of 2 fools pretending to be sympathisers, the literate fools and their Representatives on whose interests is the crisis that claimed the life of the Pastor and his wife who have to farm to feed their children and not to depend solely on the poor church congregation’s resources, were making donations of 2million and below for the upkeep of the children of the deceased, while the illiterate fools were thankful for the various donations and interventions, saying ” ai wandda sun kashe pator da matansa sun ji kunya”, meaning the Killers of Pastor and his wife had suffered shame. For what? As a matter of fact, to these teaming sympathisers, those donations and social welfare interventions which some will end up being politics of lies from the literate fools are enough comfort to them for the gruesome murder of this Reverend gentleman and his wife, therefore let the war continues and let more lives be wasted, and let donations go on and on.

Nobody made bold or took courage to rebuked and condemned the evil of these politicians in the land during the funeral ceremony, not even any of the Reverend Pastors who were the guests in that occasion also was found to had muscled up courage to speak against the wickedness of these literate fools in their land, but how would they, when white envelops were shared to them as honorarium.

Kai!!! I have seen for the first time in life a people who are predominantly enemies of TRUTH. For a poor illiterate fool to say, the militants group that killed the Pastors and his wife will be ashamed, not for being stupid for killing their fellow poor rural dwellers in order to do the bidding of the foolish Politicians who care not for their lives but only for their votes and when s/he feels threatened to lose a seat of power will turn around to used the corrupt money to prosecute war among them by themselves (poor electorates) has only opened my to see those who are called fool forever in southern part of Taraba state.