By Concerned Mambilla people
Governor Darius’ many-pronged assault on the Mambilla people has sprung a new atrocity: the illegal renaming and declaration of the Mambilla Chiefdom as a “Mambilla emirate” ruled by “an emir”, as if it were one of those conquered and established by the Fulani Sokoto jihad of the 19th century.
For those conversant with the history of the Mambilla chiefdoms, this attempt to rewrite and alter the history of the Mambilla is a shocking new atrocity in the catalogue of Darius’ destabilization and destruction programme on the Plateau.
In his poorly crafted protocol, the ill-intentioned Governor declared Mambilla Chiefdom an “emirate” and the ruler “an emir” when addressing the Chief of Mambilla at the coronation/presentation of staff of office of the new Aku Uka of Wukari and Chairman, Taraba Council of Traditional Rulers, HM Manu Ishaku Adda Ali in Wukari today, 22 October 2022. For the avoidance of any confusion, our heroes past, our elders and fathers of the Mambilla Chiefdom rejected the title of “emir” and “emirate” in 2012 when suggested by Fulanis who wanted to create the false impression that the Mambilla Chiefdom was a product of Fulani jihad. It was NOT. An emir is a religious title of a Fulani jihad leader, taken from the Arabic “amir al muminin” (“leader of the moslem faithful”) who had captured the area under his rule from the original local rulers. His successors similarly bear the title. In Mambilla, no such Fulani jihad or religious war succeeded as the major invaders were either killed or defeated in the pitched battles. The German and British administrators have attested to this fact when they met only indigenous Mambilla rulers in the Mambilla area. Indeed, the British Colonial Anthropologist, C.K Meek asserted in 1931 that “the Mambila chiefs had nothing to do with the emirs of Adamawa” or their village head at Gashaka. Accordingly, from British to post-colonial times, all Governments have maintained the titles of the “Chief of Mambilla” and “Mambilla Chiefdom” to preserve the independent nature if the Mambilla chieftainates at the inception of colonial rule. Darius cannot impose a Fulani empire for us in 2022. This would be his political enmity and possibly ethnic persecution taken too far. We cannot and will not accept a broad daylight robbery intended by his Fulani lieutenants and close collaborators.
This Wukari blunder of Darius potentially sets a new crisis in Mambilla. The Mambilla Chiefdom has never been an emirate. The Mbl Chiefdom was not the outcome of Fulani jihad. The Fulani jihad never conquered nor set up any emirate in Mambilla. The foremost Fulani raider, Usuman Hamangabdo, was defeated and killed by the Mambilla forces in 1893 in the Battle of Kámattán under nominal German suzerainty, and no other after him made any attempt of comparable degree. His successor, Umaru, scampered out of Mambilla territory after his injury and defeat in the Battle of Nàgù Mbierí near Ndìk (Kabri) in 1901 under nominal German suzerainty. [Recall that Germany declared suzerainty over the former German Kamerun on 12 July 1884]. No Fulani emirate was established over Mambilla. The only Fulani district heads sent to Mbl were British public servants who were appointed and each dismissed at will. They were not traditional rulers. No emirate was created here, nor can it be smuggled in, foisted or imposed by any hostile governor in broad daylight.
In 2012, Governor Danbaba concluded after an altercation on the subject before him that the Chiefdom would remain “Mambilla Chiefdom” and the ruler “HM The Chief of Mambilla”. The Mambilla had demanded the restoration of the title of the “Tambon Mambilla”, just as Governor Barde restored the title of the “Ukwe Takum” in 1981. Some settlers wanted the use of emir and emirate. This was strictly resisted by the Mambilla. The State Government after a consideration adopted “Mambilla Chiefdom” and “Chief of Mambilla” as official designations. These were gazetted. Darius’ declaration of “Mambilla emirate” and “emir of Mambilla” do not exist in the Mambilla traditional system, are unknown to the Laws of Taraba State, and are therefore an illegality. He is only acting at the impulse of his uncanny allies and in tune with his avowed malevolence against the Mambilla People that has now become legendary.
We know that this has been done by Darius and connivance with Abubakar Bawa and Bello Yero in their unending malefaction against the Mambilla People. We are not unaware of the list of atrocious wickedness of this regime against the people of the Mambilla Plateau. Darius has worked hard to impose a settler community who have no claims to ancestral lands over the people and to displace the Mambilla people. T.Y Danjuma’s repeated outcry against foreign seizures of local lands is rather negated and the atrocities reinforced by Darius in the Mambilla case.
Only recently, he made frantic attempts to impose an illegal Chiefdom of Fulani jurisdiction known as “nguroje”. Not only that, Darius went ahead with his plan to break up the Kamkam Chiefdom in order to give part of it to the illegal Fulani chiefdom in nguroje. He also made attempts to sell the Mambilla Beverages Company to himself and some Fulani collaborators. As part of his ruthless selling spree and disposal of the State’s assets in the twilight of his administration, Darius sold the office and depot of Mambilla Beverages Ltd in Yola only recently.
He imposed a certain fulani-nominated Mbondua (Paramount Chief) on the people of a given Chiefdom in Mambilla, always working as decreed by his Cameroonian collaborator Bawa whose roots in a few decades back are traced to Didango village in the Fumban chiefdom in Cameroon. He also imposed multiples of village and district heads on several village areas and districts in Mambilla as decreed by the Didango Fulaniman. specifically to spite the Mambilla and, as severally stated by this collaborator, to have the Mambilla “fight and kill themselves”. He has also plotted the fulanization of the districts of Kabri Chiefdom where there are no Fulani villages at all. As we understand, Darius, Bawa and Yero have plans for the ultimate fulanization of the entire Mambilla chiefdoms and districts.
Except for the new chiefdoms of Kamkam, Mbamnga, Kuma and Kabri, Darius has refused to implement the recommendations of the various Panels and of the Justice Nuhu Adi Commission of 2017, which he set up himself, regarding the chieftaincy, land grabs and land redistribution in Mambilla. He has however created nguroje Chiefdom as demanded by the Cameroonian Fulani politician and which was never among the chiefdoms recommended by the Commission. He had only the interest of the Cameroonian Fulani politician to serve.
This unholy agenda was bolstered by Yero who has been the head of the Bureau for LG & Chieftaincy in Taraba State ever since the days of the turbulent UTC mishap eventually nullified by the Supreme Court.
So far, Darius has pursued the anti-Mambilla programme with the brutishness of the 19th century Fulani slave raiders and it is clear that he has been applauded and honoured by the Fulani for his role.
Co-signed by concerned People of Mambilla
1. Usmanu Jubon
2. Bakwuli Isa
3. John J. Giyarmu
4. Surmi paul
5. Muji Ndigijuh
