Tiv/Jukun crisis: Gov. Ishaku and his kinsmen

The Jukun Development Association led by Chief Benjamin Bako has knocked and dropped the curtain on Gov. Darius Ishaku for failing to act as the chief security officer despite the security vote in his custody. In a statement, it said “February 2019 was the last time Jukun people saw Governor Ishaku despite unprecedented killings, kidnappings […]

The Jukun Development Association led by Chief Benjamin Bako has knocked and dropped the curtain on Gov. Darius Ishaku for failing to act as the chief security officer despite the security vote in his custody.

In a statement, it said “February 2019 was the last time Jukun people saw Governor Ishaku despite unprecedented killings, kidnappings and destruction of properties still ongoing in the Southern part of the state which is his homeland.”

Bako Benjamin further said, “This is because he has been unable to provide security for the people despite almost N11bn security vote from the federal government and borrowing of additional N86bn since assuming office five years ago.”

There has been a long-standing communal conflict between Tiv/Jukun in Southern Taraba where hundreds of people have been killed and properties destroyed.

But the Taraba State government led by Governor Darius has consistently claimed to have taken several measures to bring peace to communities in the area. Such claims did not yield positive results with the recent development with the Tiv and Jukun currently bearing arms against each other.

In a similar vein, another communal clash has broken out between Shomo and Jole in Lau Local Government Area of Taraba North. This and many other crises amongst tribal groups in Taraba State have exposed the executive recklessness of Gov. Darius Ishaku since 2015.

However, with this wake up call coming from his kinsmen under the Jukun Development Association, it is now left to be seen as to what new measures would the governor take to nip the problem in the bud, along other persistent security threats in Taraba.

It is very unfortunate that many governors in Nigeria do not effectively utilise the security vote in providing logistics and allowances to security apparatus in their domain for the protection of lives and property.

Put simply, unless Gov. Darius chose to become a patron of crisis, this is the right time for him to prove to the people of Taraba that he is indeed a rescue captain and ready to prevent the ship from sinking.

Amb. Jen Jibrin is a public affairs analyst  [email protected]