The Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria, the umbrella body of Kuteb people worldwide, has rejected the appointment of Barr. Sopiya Gboshi as the first-class chief of Takum by the Governor of Taraba State, Dr. Kefas Agbu. The Kutebs have vowed not to recognize the new Chief and will exhaust every legal means to recover their ancestral stool.
The appointment, which was announced on Tuesday, has generated a fresh crisis in the state, with the Kuteb tribe refusing to give recognition to the new Chief. The President General of Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria (KYN), Comrade Emma Ukwen, described the appointment as a “charade and gross act of injustice.”
The Kuteb kingmakers have dragged the State government before a Jalingo High court, challenging any attempt to appoint a Chamba tribe as Chief of Takum. The court, however, dismissed the suit on Tuesday evening, paving the way for the appointment of the new Chief.
The Kuteb people have vowed to continue their struggle for justice and fairness, and have called on their sons and daughters to remain calm and peaceful. The development has raised tensions in Takum, with a detachment of soldiers and police drafted to the streets to maintain peace.
The appointment of the new Chief of Takum has added to the already tense atmosphere in Taraba State, where ethnic and political tensions have been simmering for years.
The development has also raised questions about the role of the State government in the appointment of traditional rulers and the need for justice and fairness in the allocation of traditional stools.
The Kuteb people have a long history of ascendancy to the ancestral stool of Ukwe Takum, and have rejected any attempt to appoint a political Chief by the government.
The Stool of Ukwe Takum has remained vacant since the death of the last Ukwe Takum in 1996, following agitations by the Chamba tribe to also have a shot at the Stool.
The Kefas-led administration has sponsored a law at the State House of Assembly that has abolished the seat of Ukwe Takum and replaced it with the Chief of Takum, which will be rotational among the Three tribes of Chamba, Jukun, and Kuteb, an arrangement Kuteb stakeholders have refused to be a part of.
