The struggle snowballed to major crisis which we now term as the Tiv riots between 1960 and 1964. This was at the time that AlhajiAliyuMuhammed the Waziri Jamaa, who later became Secretary to the government of the federation, was sent by Sir Ahmadu Bello as administrator of Tiv land. The Nigerian Army was forced to quell those riots. Senior military officers including Major Adewale Ademoyega, Major Christain Anuforo, Lt Col. Yakubu Pam and Major Timothy Onwuatuegwu took part in quelling the riots. These officers who were of the 3rd battalion of the Nigerian Army had just returned from Tanzania after quelling an internal problem in that country. They later became victims or key players in January 15 1966 coup. Eventually one of them from the Middle B/elt, General Yakubu Gowon came into power in July 1966 and a few months later in 1967 split the country into 12 states.
General Gowon invited Chief Tarka into his cabinet as Minister for Communication, only to be succeeded by Brigadier General Murtala Ramat Mohammed (1938- 76) but was forced out later as a result of allegations of corruption made by one of his kinsmen, Chief Godwin Daboh Adzuana (1942–2012). The Tiv riot and the independence of the middle belt played a key role later in the creation of more states in 1967. The calculation then was that the creation of states would free the middle belt from the conquest agenda of the Fulanis. My friendship with Tarka (1932-1980) is a friendship that I valued and cherished till today. He was a charismatic leader. He was a true leader of the Tiv people. I was introduced to him by Alhaji Uba Ahmed sometimes in 1977 and since then our friendship grew and lasted till he died in a London hospital on March 30 1980. I was at the hospital with Senator Uba Ahmed when he died and we accompanied his corpse back to Nigeria in a Nigerian Air force Hercules plane courtesy of President Shehu Shagari. I was also at his funeral service in his hometown. Between 1977 till his death, his general complaint was the plight of his people, the Tiv people. He kept referring to the Tiv riots between 1961 and 1964 and how his people were massacred.
Chief Tarka was a persuasive talker not used to exaggeration. At his Ikoyi residence near the present Ikoyi marriage registry, his house was always full of people. To ensure privacy he took me upstairs where he would narrate tragic stories of the Tiv riots. He explained to me then that the Tivs were not the aggressors. ‘How can we be on our land’ he told me several times. At the age of twenty-four, he became a leader and he died at the age of 48. The mystery about his political life was that in 1978, he aligned with the National Party of Nigeria, a party composed largely of those he fought against in the last 20 years of his life. One would have expected that he would align with the Unity Party of Nigeria led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo who opened the door of opportunities to many tribes in the present Middle belt or aligned with the NIGERIAN PEOPLE’S PARTY of Chief Solomon DaushepLar, Chief Paul WantareghUnongo, George Baba Hoomkwap, GarbaMatta, John Wash Pam, Abubakar Ibrahim, Muhammadu Musa and others.
In the 1979 Benue East Senatorial election, after joining the NPN, he scored 122,622 to Mr. J.V. Vembeh of the NPP, who scored 15,180 and J.V. Yaji of the UPN who had 5,747. His son Simeon was also elected on the platform of NPN, Gboko constituency in the Federal House of Representatives. With his influence, all the NPN candidates in Benue state including Chief Andrew Abogede, Mr. Suemo Chia, Chief AmehEbute and Colonel AdahAhmadu Ali won their Senatorial elections.When he joined the NPN, he was denied the Presidential nomination of the party in 1978, the Senate Presidency in 1979 and the Senate leadership also in 1979. He was only rewarded with the Chairmanship of Senate committee on Finance and Appropriation before flying to London in 1980 for a medical checkup during which he died.
At the Senate although he was an NPN Senator, he was more at home in company of notable UPN, NPP AND GNPP Senators including Senators Abraham Aderibigbe Adesanya, Mahmud Waziri, Patrick Emeka Echeruo, Kayode Ogunleye, Idrissa Kadi, Buka Sanda, Joseph Ansa, KunleOyero, Jonathan Olawole Akinremi Odebiyi, Cornelius Adebayo, Stephen Adebanji Akintoye and of course his friend, Senator Jaja Wachukwu (Aba). He enjoyed his Senate days until his health could not cope and had to fly out to London with his friend, Senator Uba Ahmed.(Bauchi North East). On December 8 1996, General Sani Abacha created Tarka local government out of Gboko Local Government to honour the memory of Chief Tarka. The local government today is one of the 23 local governments in Benue State.
The Tiv/Fulani crisis has been on for too long. The older generation passed this crisis to the present generation unresolved and it is getting worse. The present generation must not perpetuate the crisis and punish the incoming generation without resolving it. Many blood have been spilled and innocent ones for that matter. Many families have been displaced. Many homes have been destroyed. And for many, they face a bleak future because of this crisis. And for what and why. It should and must end.
Teniola, a former director at the Presidency, lives in Lagos.
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