Shitile is a Tiv world that connotes so much meaning. It has a generic meaning that may mean different thing to different people. The literal meaning of the phrase; Shi-tile in Tiv means stop, or hold it, or wait a while or a pause. It also means cool dawn or calm dawn.
But Shitile is the second son in the linage of the Tiv cosmons. Tiv had two sons; Ichongo and Ipusu. Shitile is the first son of Ipusu. Other sons of Ipusu include Kparev, Tongov and Ukum. Shitile, Tongov and Ukum settled in one geo-political zone called Sankera and they are predominantly farmers.
Sankera people have enjoyed relative peace over decades before the return of democratic rule in 1999. even though human beings are bound to have conflicts, the people of Shitile who share boundary with neighboring states like Taraba, Nasarawa and Cross-River states used to experience little communal conflicts between them and other ethnic groups they share boundary with them. Such tribes include: the Jukums, Kutebs and the Fulanis. These conflicts which were largely caused due to disagreement over pieces of land were usually managed and controlled. It was quite persistent but could always be resolved and would not be allowed to escalate or last long.
When democracy returned in 1999, it was peaceful, orderly and descent. Elections were conducted under a peaceful atmosphere; the masses were allowed to vote people of their choice to represent them at all the tiers of government. There was nothing like the use of thugs or political brigandage. There were no political godfathers who could see elections as a matter of do or die.
Four years after the 1999 general elections, people who were elected by free and fair electoral process decided to abandon the electorates. The masses told them they would no longer vote for them. As a result, the so called leaders decided to recruit innocent young men and purchased arms to help them perpetuate themselves into offices. The best available option for them was to arm the youth with guns to snatch ballot boxes using the guns on people they could influence them with money. They used the people’s common wealth to intimidate, beat, cheat and rig themselves back to offices they once were elected by the masses.
These youth who were given arms and ammunition did not know their left and right. They were given peanuts to kill those who stood on their way of re-election. At the end of it all, these politicians could not retrieve the guns in the hands of youth they did not have control over them. What followed was criminality and robbery. As longer as arms were in their hands, they continued to rob unsuspecting members of the public using guns given to them by these politicians. That marked the beginning of insecurity in Sankera axis.
Today, things have fallen apart and the center cannot hold. There is massive killing of innocent souls while properties worth billions of naira are destroyed on daily basis. Business activities are no more going on in most parts of the area while farming which is the main stay of the people economy is getting extinct.
It is in realization of this ugly situation that Shitile Sons home and abroad as well as traditional rulers are deeply worried over this ugly trend. Prominent sons and daughters of shitile extraction have been killed by these youths. The situation has spread to other parts of Sankera including Ukum, Tongov and Ikurav-Tiev communities. Prominent personalities like the late Honourable Atoza Ihindan, Iormanger Mouna, Lumunga Zegeiguve, and recently the late Terkula Suswam Tingir have fallen victims of these gruesome killings. The number of traditional rulers tht have been killed among others are countless.
Worried by this ugly development that seems to have defied solution, traditional ruler of Shitile extraction including elected leaders and other prominent sons and daughters of Shitile on Saturday, 3rd March, 2021 at the New Castle event center in Makurdi came together to find a lasting solution to the protracted crisis that has bedeviled the Shitile nation.
Speaking at the peace meeting, the chairman of Shitile traditional council, Chief John Kuji who is the District Head of Mbayongo said they decided to arrange the meeting on an Easter Day, which is the day Jesus rose from death to cry unto God to help take away the insecurity in the area. He charged prominent sons of the area most especially the political class to consider the interest of the masses and a lasting solution to the persistent killings in the land.
According to him, it is no more time for blame game as everybody share in the blame for the ugly situation in the area and that what is needed is to cry with the Almighty God for mercy so that God will heal the land. He commended elected leaders, opinion leaders and traditional leaders for harkening to their call and accepting to put their party differences aside to ensure that lasting peace is achieved in the area.
At the meeting, group leaders took their turn to offer one solution or the other that could lead to the end of the killings. Master Ephraim Terlumun, who is the President of Shitile youth Publicity Forum decried the persistent killings in the area and said they were already planning for a mass demonstration starting from Katsina-Ala to Gboko to draw the attention of the government and the leadership of the Tiv traditional council over the sustained massacre of innocent souls in the area.
Similarly, John Akaazua, who spoke for civil servants of Shitile extraction regretted the prolonged closure of schools in the area and pleaded with politicians to call the youth to order for peace to reign. Dr. Joseph Fanafa and Mrs. Ayam Degarr, wife of late Thomas Degarr decried the incessant killing of young children and women noted that if not checked, there will be no young people in Shitile as the community is heading for extinction.
Other traditional rulers such as Chief Shimagande Ordorough, the District Head of Michihe, Zaki Hemen Ikyanyon, Kindred Head of Utenge lamented the incessant killings of chiefs in the area, said most of them have been displaced and are taking refuge in places that are quite inconveniencing to them. Similarly, Mrs. Ayam Degarr, wife of the late Thomas Deggar and Mrs. Architect Igba in their lamentations called on leaders in the area to as a matter of urgency hold meetings with the Youth to find out what exactly are their problems. A veteran Physician Dr. Sokpo called on security agencies who mount road blocks to check the vehicles as most of them carry drugs and weapons. He suggested that confidence building measures be put in place involving youth and also called on the government to introduce skills acquisition programmes to engage the youth to be productive and self-reliant.
The Chairman of Katsina-Ala local government Council, Honourable Orya Atera was the person that gave an opening that could lead to the best possible solution for the resolution of the crisis. He identified lack of thrust and the betrayal of the youth by the leaders including him.
According to the chairman, when the government of Benue state called for the second wave of the amnesty programme for the criminals, most of the youth under the leadership of late Terwase Akwaza alias Ghana turned out in their numbers to embrace the programme only for them to be arrested by the soldiers who gruesomely murdered Ghana among other youth numbering over fifty.
Mr. Atera blamed the high level insecurity in Shitile on lack of thrust and the death of Ghana that has aggravated the ceaseless killings that is going on in Shitile land. He pleaded with members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) who earn the confidence of those youth to approach them for peace as PDP leaders including the governor and Senator Gabriel Suswam are all willing to make peace for the overall interest of the local government and Sankera in general.
Moved by the honesty in the speech of the local government chairman, the member of the Benue State House of Assembly representing Katsina-Ala East (Shitile) state constituency, Honorable Jonathan Agbidye agreed with the submission of Mr. Orya Atera and told the gathering that he will look for a way to reach out to the aggrieved youth to broker a truce for peace to reign in Shitile land.
Mr. Agbidye who won elections on the ticket of the APC called for unity and trust explained that he was instrumental to the first peace move that led to the death of Terwase Akwaza told the meeting that he is not deterred by the insincerity of the PDP controlled government in Benue state. He maintained that due to honesty exhibited by the local government chairman, he too must be honest and genuine in the peace initiatives.
The meeting which ended up with a communiqué resolved that all shitile sons and daughters should all go home with the peace message to ensure that lasting solution is achieved.
And it came to pass that on Friday march 9, 2021, the entire Shitile people embarked on the journey to Tor-Donga, the headquarters of the people where the peace meeting was to take place. To the surprise of many doubting Tomases, all the traditional rulers, elected representatives from local to state levels, opinion leaders and the youths came out from their hideouts in their thousands to embrace the peace meeting.
The elites who felt they have offended their brothers went on their kneels pleading with the militia youth to lay dawn their arms and embrace peace. The youth who were also genuine in their dicussions told the people that they too needed peace. They however gave conditions that government should do for them before lasting peace is finally restored.
Some of the conditions listed by them include the return of the body of their slain brother Terwase Akwaza alias Gana for burial. Secondly, they also requested that some of their brothers that were arrested along side with Ghana be released even if they were killed, their bodies br returned home for burial.
Other demands of the militia youth was for government to provide them with incentives that could help them engage meaningfully into businesses and farming so that they will nolonger go back to crimes. They also demanded for government to train some of their members in skills that would make them self reliant to keep life going.
To be precise, the youth sent a catalogue of demands that were quite friendly for the government to implement and embrace for peace to reign. The representative of the governor at the meeting, Ambassador Chive Kaave, a former commissioner for justice and former Nigerias Ambassador to Mexico commended youth for accepting the peace initiatives and the entire Shitile people for finally embracing peace.
Barr. Chive promised to convey all their demands to the governor whom he said was willing to receive them and to study all their requests with a view to implementing those that were possible. He promised them that all their demands shall be tabled before the governor for consideration and implementation.
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