_Rikwense Muri_
When brothers take up arms against each other, no political authority or influential personality can do anything until the two brothers understand their stupidity and decide to seek dialogue and find solution. Then these people called governement or influential persons can help to support the peace process.
At the beginning of every fight, the two brothers will boast of their strength because of the soft targets and vulnerable areas they can overpower and feel good. But in the midst of the fight they both will come to realize that they are all vulnerable to each other because of their neighbourhood. You can never fight your neighbour and win, even if he has nothing and is nobody. God in His wisdom put it as one of the greatest commandments the love of neighbourhood, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” Uncontrolled, persistent hatred for one’s neighbour is self destruction, especially when that neighbour is your brother and long time comrade in the community. You cannot win a war against your neighbour, you can only beat him today and the fight will continue tomorrow until your stupidity is exposed to yourselves then you will both see the dialogue table more attractive than the battlefield. If you doubt me, please go and ask the people of Ife and Modakeke in Osun state, Omuleri and Oguleri in Anambra state, Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda, Catholic and protestants in Northern Ireland, Kuteb and Chamba in Taraba state. The best that can happen is the destruction of your communities and the realization of your stupidity at the end of the day. Even the children of Israelites as God children could not win all their battles against their neighbours, infact, they later lost their land to Babylon and were scattered around the globes as slaves by their enemies. Infact the state of Israel today, is just less than 10% of the Jews around the would. When you fail to keep the commandment of loving your neighbour, you should be pitied because your future is not admirable. Most time the weaker and marginalized neighbour wins the battle because he has little to loose in the fight. But all the time, they will both be losers because of the effect of violence.
I saw it happened in Takum, my Kuteb kinsmen failed to see the importance of loving a neighbour as one’s self. We were once great neighbours with each other until civilization, education and politics came in. Like a joke we felt entitled to everything because of our population size and our intimidating warriors. We chat war songs and never see our neighbour as partners in progress. Even when the Law and Gazette setting up Takum Chiefdom ensured Kuteb, Chamba, Hausa and Kpanzon leave together as brothers in the Chiefdom as kingmaker and traditional council cabinet members, we didn’t feel safe in this arrangement as feeling of superiority and entitlement overwhelmed us. The political landscape that should allow all became restricted because of our population. Kuteb will be chairman and vice chairman of Takum with 70% councillors and cabinet members. Our neighbours were not happy with what was happening we didn’t care because with our population, who can dare us?
An opportunity came for our neighbours and they maximized it to the core and to the extreme against us. The Federal military government watched, the state military government watched, Gen T.Y watched, the soldiers in our barracks watched, infact all those we depended on, watched as we fought ourselves, until the beautiful and economically viable Takum city was reduced to an IDP camp. GSS, MGSS, GCSS, General Hospital, Ande Hospital, Kwe Kashibu School, Naty School, Water project, Electricity project, Bank, Airstrip, Ukwe Palace etc. Everything good in Takum was destroyed. Both sides lost but the strongest brother in the fight, the Kuteb, received the greatest blows and lose. We lost both the political power and traditional power. At the moment we are not even interested in the political power which was initially our right alone, now all we want is our traditional stool to save our culture and tradition. Something we would have done earlier and would have prosper peacefully with our neighbours like Lagos state, we failed, but now we have learned it in a bitter way. Today our Takum city is one of the most dangerous place to visit simply because of lack of love, unity and dialogue among neighbours for progress. When things are finally settled, we have learn our lesson in Takum on the impossible of peaceful coexistence and love for the neighbourhood.
It is painful whenever I remember Takum and the futility of fighting with one’s neighbours. Anyone flexing muscle with his neighbour on the warfront is on a mission of self destruction. If we must flex muscles, it must be on the negotiation table of dialogue for progress.
Tiv and Jukun have fought before and then no government agency helped until we finally helped ourselves, we should not expect a different thing to happen this time around. If we don’t make efforts to luv together as brothers and neighbours, we will perish as fools and strangers will inherit our land.
I thank God that efforts are now on for both Jukun and Tiv to look away from what government and influential personalities will do, to what we must all do. All those we have been looking up to and blaming because of the positions they occupy should be seen as supporters in the process. We as the common Tiv and Jukun are the only problem and the only solution we seek and now that we have realized that we are on track in restoring peace.
Note that the militias especially the mercenaries who feed fat in this crisis will not like this move. Efforts will be made to distract us and make us feel incapable of resolving this conflict but history has proved that we are on tract as every efforts are going on in different places to see that peace, justice and calm is restored. All we want from our government is support and commitment for rebuilding of of affected communities as soon as possible and ensuring that criminals masquerading as tribal militias are deal with. We sincerity and commitment to the force of good, evil will be defeated and overcome.
Rikwense Muri
