The Kutep Peace Movement (KPM), an umbrella body of the Kutep ethnic group in Takum local government area of Taraba State, has finally accepted the rotation of the First Class chieftaincy stool of Takum as prescribed by the State government.
KPM, however, said its acceptance of the rotational arrangement was subject to fulfilment of certain conditions in the interest of peace and justice.
Coordinator of the group, Chief Danladi Rimande, who made their position known while briefing journalists on Sunday in Takum, decried the use of violence in settling the aged-long chieftancy dispute in the area.
“Though the Ukwe Takum stool has been vacant for decades, but the recent renewed commitment of the Taraba State Government under the administration of Dr. Agbu Kefas to install the First Class traditional ruler of our area.
“It is pertinent to note that crises is never the best option to settling disputes and that is why we Kuteb people indigenously from Takum Local Government have come together under a new umbrella called Kuteb Peace Movement to declare our readiness to dialogue afresh with the government and stakeholders in Taraba over the Takum chieftaincy issue.
“The position of the government is a painful pill that should be considered in the interest of peace. We are calling on the Kuteb Nation to retreat back home.
“We are not ready for another war. Blood have spilled, hundreds of lives have been lost to what a peaceful talk can resolve.
“The Kutebs particularly those living in Takum are not fighting the government or anybody, however the government must continue to assure us of their sincerity and inclusion in the affairs of Takum both political and traditional,” he said.
The KPM coordinator said that the Movement has consulted with elders and critical stakeholders of Kutep extraction who agreed to adopt any option other than violence.
“We have consulted with our elders and stakeholders who are peacefully living in Takum and have commenced a process to review our position on the government’s proposal. Thus, we present the following conditions to the government:
“The Kutebs living in Takum must be protected in their ancestral lands because we are aborigines of the area.
“There must be preservation of Kuteb cultural heritage and the present Ukwe Takum palace must be handed over to the Kuteb Nation because of it being a center of Kuteb history and traditions as many of our ancestors were laid to rest in the palace.
“Kuteb festivals and traditional rituals will be allowed in Takum within the ambits of the law. Kutebs in civil service, political public offices must not be victimized, suppressed or intimidated.
“There should be fair political sharing of public offices in Takum Local Government,” Rimande added.
He appealed to the state government to expedite action towards the return of the displaced Kuteps of Ussa, who had been displaced by bandits, back to their ancestral homes.
“We the Kutebs call on the Taraba State Government to focus on how our people can to return to our lands and settlements currently occupied by bandits.
“Places like Fawen, Bassang, Kpashi, Muji 1 and 2, Tati, Kpashimbe, Gamgum, among others.
“We want to call on our war thirsty leaders and stakeholders who are mainly in Abuja and Jalingo to let us embrace peace and dialogue.
“What peace and dialogue cannot resolve; war cannot achieve it,” he noted.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the Taraba State House of Assembly has enacted the Takum Chieftaincy Act on the rotation of the First Class Traditional Stool of Takum within Chamba, Kutep and Kpanzon ethnic groups of the State.
