From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
Forum of Ayatutu Professors from the Tiv extraction of Benue State have called for community approach which involves self help to enable the state tackle insecurity and contain the incessant attacks and killings in communities by armed herdsmen.
The forum stated this in a statement signed by the Chairman and Secretary, Board of Trustees and Council of Management of the Forum, Tor Iorapuu and Simon Irtwange, respectively at the end of their emergency meeting held in Makurdi on Saturday.
The statement said the Forum of AYATUTU Professors met and discussed the ongoing killings in Benue state by the marauding armed herdsmen and their sponsors which according to them, were for purposes of islamization, land grabbing, disruption of the economy, the culture and education of the people, mining of minerals.
They acknowledged that despite the efforts of the various tiers of government, they have failed in their responsibility of protecting lives and property of the Tiv people and Benue state citizens in general.
The Forum however, agreed that in the immediate, there was the need for community approach to security, self-help, saying ,”but it must be within the framework of careful post-conflict management of its complexities.”
They stated that there was need to mobilize and organize the people to defend their lives, land, and the future wellbeing of their children.
The Professors said, “We must defend against ambitious land grabbers working in cohort with some power-seeking, disoriented, ambitious but self-centered politicians and traditional rulers.”
The Forum also called for the expansion of the role of Benue State Bureau of Homeland Security to include: Farming Communities Protection and further recommends an annual levy of N1,000 for all taxable adults in Tiv land and Benue state in general for the funding of the activities of the renamed Bureau of Homeland Security and Farming Communities Protection.
The Forum encouraged the Tiv and Benue people to remain focused and united saying, “The era of the attitude of a community for myself is gone. The longer we journey on the road to unity, the more sense of belonging grows and deepens.This is the only way we can collectively challenge and fight this deliberate but unprovoked humiliation.
The Forum also encouraged the State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia and paramount traditional rulers to keep their focus on what they described as “uncomfortable cross,” and work together for lasting solution.
The Forum equally encouraged all the National and State Legislature of Benue to speak, act urgently and interrupt their comfort zones to deal with these “potential whispers of war.”
The Forum of Ayatutu Professors, which is not for-profit and non-political organization was incorporated on 28 February 2024, with the aims, “To advocate for the institution and sustenance of systems of accountable management of public resources to ensure effective, pro-poor service delivery by relevant sectors foster the spirit of unity and mutual co-existence among Tiv professors worldwide.”