The plan by Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku of Taraba State to rotate the kingship stool of Ukwe Takum among the Kuteb, Chamba, and Kpanzon ethnic groups is creating tension in the state.
Various groups have been mounting pressure on the governor to let sleeping dogs lie by dropping his plans to rotate the stool which the Kuteb nation believed is inalienably theirs.
The Southern Taraba Youths Coalition for Peace (STYCOP) on Thursday expressed dismay over the plan. Led by its founder and President, Ambassador Rikwense Muri, the group is insisting that the Ukwe stool belongs to the Kuteb and not any other tribe.
Citing the historical background of the stool, the group advised the governor and those hatching the rotational plan to discard the scheme and give peace a chance in the state.
The group who further argued that no attempt has ever been made to dabble into the affairs of other chiefdoms and emirates within the state wondered why that of Ukwe should suddenly be different.
Citing the 1963 gazette by the Northern Nigeria Regional Government which “officially reserve the stool for the Kuteb ruling families of Likam and Akente” the group felt sad that “while we do all within our power to support the preservation of their culture they are doing everything possible to destroy and bastardize ours.”
Going ahead with the plan, according to STYCOP will amount to “an unnecessary controversy and distortion of history.”
Recalled that the governor had earlier said that his administration had concluded an arrangement to send an executive bill to the Taraba State House of Assembly to make the first-class Ukwe stool in Takum rotational between Chamba, Kuteb, and Kpanzon.
With the rotation purportedly to start with the Chamba, the governor has solicited the support of stakeholders from the area stressing that “we need your support in the interest of peace, inclusiveness, and development.”
Other aggrieved groups in the state who also bared their minds to Daily Post, vowed to frustrate the move.
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