UNITY OF PURPOSE: SELF-SEARCHING QUESTIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TIV NATION

• A KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY MUTUK PRESIDENT, DR KOHOL SHADRACH IORNEM, ON 21ST SEPTEMBER 2019

I greet His Excellency, the Governor of Benue State, Governor Samuel Ortom, ably represented by Rev Peters Ichull; His Royal Majesty, Ochirvirigh, Professor James Ortese Ayatse, Our Tor and his wife, Dr Mrs Felicia Ayatse; The Honorable Minister, Senator George Akume, ably represented by his wife, Her Excellency, Mrs Regina Akume; The President General MUT, Wordwide – Chief Engr Edward Ujege; Our Guest Speakers: The VC of Benue State University – Prof Msugh Kembe, ably represented by Ms. Dooshima Dugguh, Professor David Iornem, the Chief Launcher of the Mzough Magazine; the Board of Trustees; my distinguished Executive Committee; distinguished ladies and gentlemen!

As we are celebrating today, let us remember that some of our members are grieving but have nevertheless, joined us here today. Our brother Igba Ujege and his wife, lost their little daughter some weeks ago. I would like us to observe a minute silence for little Miss Elora Mwuse Ujege, Late Chief Mrs Ujege and the victims of recent Benue links tragedy and other sons and daughters who have gone to be with the Lord. May the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercies of God rest in peace.

 

This Year’s Tiv Day theme, “Strength in Unity: The Future of The Tiv Nation” was deliberately chosen because the Tiv Nation is presently facing a trying time in Nigeria and disunity appears to have played a significant role.

I would like to take a quote from 1 Corinthians 12. 14 – 26

“Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.  And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?…If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.”

I would like to borrow concepts from his Royal Majesty’s presentation yesterday at the Business Meeting where he talked about “strength in unity”, whether it is of the people’s unity or of the enemy’s unity. Once there is unity, whether for a good cause or bad cause it is more likely to succeed.

I would like us to draw lessons from the Pensioners, who were united to ensure that their gratuities and pensions are paid timely. I understand the Governor is working tirelessly and we commend him for listening and taking appropriate actions.

However, looking critically, I have identified a few elements that have caused disunity among our people:

1. Favouritism

I have noticed many a times that people are more inclined to helping me when they discover I am from the same Local Government Area as them. When we meet with an Idoma person or a Yoruba person in a foreign land, we call ourleselves “my brother” or “my sister”. Why then do we, the Tiv people begin to ask for our local government origin when we meet a fellow Tiv brother or sister? We have allowed this LGA and zoning issue to cloud our thoughts. If a person occupying a leadership position is not fulfilling the Benue and Tiv agenda, then we must rise up against this person rather than saying “as long as the position remains in our zone/LGA, that is all that matters”. Particularly if our people are not reaping the dividends of good governance by virtue of the so-called “brothers/sisters” in a leadership position.  We should unite for a collective Tiv Agenda. The strength of our leaders is many times derived from our disunity, and they use this reality as a manipulative tactic to encourage division using religion, tribe and zoning.

2. Leadership Failure

A sustainable Tiv nation can be achieved via youth empowerment. Leadership and experience go hand in hand. We keep saying “the youths are the leaders of tomorrow”, yet no opportunity is accorded the young people to help them to learn, grow and succeed. The menace we face in our society today is only an end product of our inaction. Our youth must be at the centre of any sustainable development agenda. It is important to note that no matter how long a leader serves in a position, a time will come when he/she will have to take a bow. Therefore, it should worry any visionary leader that when there is a vacuum, an inexperienced leader might emerge when there is no succession plan in place – a plan that is enriched with a learning experience.

3. Inheriting Quarrels

When you have a misunderstanding with another Tiv brother or sister, let it be between both of you. Let us not allow our children, family members or friends to inherit our conflict. Let us be magnanimous to enable others to relate freely with those with whom we have quarrels. The idea of poisoning people’s mind against your perceived “enemy” destroys unity. Let the disagreement end with you and that person. I cannot emphasise this enough as this kind of situation has bred a long history of renewed hatred amongst our Tiv people.  We should learn to forgive. Many years ago, a man called Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times? ”Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times (Matthew 18. 21 – 23).

4. Loyalty to a Fault

Sometimes, we have people who are so loyal to us that they are unable to take constructive criticism. Criticism is not necessarily opposition. However, it provides the opportunity to grow because it keeps you on your toes. We should learn to accept criticism and more importantly, use it to improve ourselves or the process. As leaders, we should even make it a duty to have that one person who will always look at us in the face and tell when us that we are wrong.

UNITY OF PURPOSE IS KEY

The Tiv Nation is facing a trying time in Nigeria. Different tribes and groups have called for the immediate division of Nigeria into five republics namely the Arewa Islamic Republic, the       Biafra Republic, the Republic of Niger Delta (RONDEL), the Middle Belt Republic and the Oduduwa Republic. These aspirations might never happen, but what if they do? What has the Tiv nation put in place or who are we going to align with to ensure our existence and survival? The United Kingdom is possibly going to BREXIT – and preparations are already underway.

We need to begin to think of the future rather than sowing discord. However, more importantly, any leadership position, especially a new one that has been acquired or thrust upon us, requires that we ask self-searching questions.

1. Do we have an agenda for the Tiv Nation?
2. Having held many key positions at the national level in the past, what has been the impact of those positions on the Tiv nation today?
3. Who have we positioned at the centre to represent our interest?
4. How do we position ourselves in academia?
5. How do we position ourselves in business?
6. How do we position ourselves in sports and entertainment?
7. How do we position ourselves in agriculture?
8. How do we position and sustain ourselves in national politics?
9. How can we position ourselves in the world?

In my opinion, the Ayatutu Ka Se Foundation, initiated by the Tor Tiv, is a laudable one that should be supported by us all. It is intended to provide support and complement the efforts of the government and people of goodwill for the development of our Tiv nation.  More importantly, we [the Tiv in the UK] have many talents, experts and brains. We are willing to partner with the state government to address some the challenges we face however, the government must as a matter of urgency begin to engage with our talented sons in UK.

Our Achievements to date have been possible because of the unity of our members and exco.  

Some of our achievements to date since our election to office include:

1. Setting up a Constitutional Amendment Committee to bring matters up to date in line with recent UK legislation and in line with best practices. I am proud to say that the committee comprised members who are lawyers and elders who have ample knowledge about UK charity legislations. Each has worked tirelessly and with apt precision and finalised the amendments which we shall present to the General Assembly at a Special General Meeting for further changes/or adoption.
2. The Mzough Magazine is another notable achievement. The idea of the magazine is to have an avenue for capturing our knowledge and the events over the months preceding each issue. We also wanted to create an opportunity to help members to promote their businesses or activities across the broader community at a minimal fee. The Mzough Magazine will reflect a more dynamic and contemporary approach of talking in print and expanding online editions to share the significant accomplishments and impact of MUTUK to the Tiv Nation. We also initiated it as an alternative revenue stream MUTUK. We want to use this inaugural edition to raise funds to buy dialysis machines for NKST Hospital Mkar and General Hospital Makurdi.
3. While we are working on promoting unity among members in the UK, we are equally ensuring that the Tiv Nation is safe. We added our voice to caution the Federal Government on the consequences of the RUGA settlement without dialogue with the State Government (which has now been suspended by the Federal Government).
4. Because of some of the challenges we faced as an organisation and the interruptions in leadership, the society’s annual accounts for the Financial Conduct Authority was not up to date. However, I’m proud to announce that our financial statements are now current. With our accounts finally addressed with Financial Conduct Authority, we will be in a better position to approach donors for support towards our upcoming projects.
5. Improved Communication with wider community. We have created a database of members afresh and we are updating it regularly.
6. We also promised to rebrand MUTUK and give it that professional outlook. We have redesigned our stationary and created a state-of-the-art, responsive and user-friendly website to drive traffic. You can register via the website. Tiv sons and daughters visiting the United Kingdom can notify MUTUK Exco about their visit in case of emergencies. We also are proud to say that our response to queries has improved and is immediate (less than 5 hours). We can achieve this because we have made it a duty to work-as-we-go.
7. Our activities so far have given the community a greater sense of belonging and this is evidenced in the voluntary financial contributions and personal sacrifices towards the success of our projects.
8. Through MUTUK, we have been able to sponsor one of our own, the renowned young Tiv musician, Rapizo to travel to the UK to perform at this event. This is a unique opportunity for Rapizo to have an international exposure and to add value to his music and career.

OUR NEXT AGENDA

Notwithstanding our achievements, we cannot say that this leadership responsibility is not without challenges, but we are determined to make concerted efforts to create a more professional organisation that will serve the needs of the Tiv community in the UK and in Nigeria. As a result, we have created a calendar of events for the remainder of the year to help members plan their participation well in advance, and this will be shared on our social media and email communication to members. By way of a summary, we have outlined the following upcoming projects:

1. Teaching the Tiv Language. We want to maintain our language, culture and traditions. As a result, we will be commencing teaching the Tiv language every two months starting from November 2019. We are currently discussing with volunteers who will teach the Tiv language, dance and culture to our kids.
2. Organising Educational and Research Related Seminars. These seminars will be designed to help research students to develop their research proposals and offer them an opportunity to discuss their research with other academics.
3. Continuing with membership drive via outreach, publicity and promoting the benefits of joining MUTUK.
4. Homeland Contributions:
   1. Providing scholarship opportunities to outstanding Tiv students living in rural communities.
   2. Supporting with medical bills of Tiv sons and daughters with mitigating circumstances.
   3. Organising more business meetings/conferences (possibly in conjunction with MUT worldwide) for investors to come and contribute to the development of the Tiv Nation.
   4. Supporting the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the respective camps with food, clothing and other resources while pressurising the state and federal governments to relocate the IDPs to a safer and more conducive environment.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Our achievements have been possible because many people have played significant roles. Some have offered help, advice, and encouragement, while others actively contributed their time and resources. I cannot mention everyone by name as space will not allow me.

However, at this juncture, I would like to appreciate my Exco who have offered their absolute support to ensure that we achieve our goals. I remain indebted to you all.

I would like to recognise the family members of my Excos for their patience. This is because service to the community can be time-consuming, thereby denying them of quality time. It is on this note that I would like to appreciate my wife, Mrs Sadiksha Iornem and daughters, Jemima Iveren and Samantha Iwuese for being my support base.

I would like to thank the past presidents, the Board of Trustees and elders for the good work that they did to keep the association going despite the challenges. We are here today because of the roles you played. Thank you.

I want to appreciate the Constitution Review Committee Members, starting with the Chairman, Mr Joseph Yashi, the Secretary of the Committee, Mr Kevin Korgba, and the distinguished members, Barr. Eva Daboh Aondo, Dr Terzungwe Abu, Mr Martin Akiga, and Dr Tony Yange. In particular, I want to specially thank the Secretary of the Committee, Mr Kevin Korgba for the sleepless nights drafting minutes of the meetings while at the same time, working as the Editor-in-Chief. Your contribution is priceless.

I want to acknowledge the outstanding work of the editorial committee, starting with the Editor-in-Chief, Mr Kevin Korgba, the Creative Director, Mr Akaa Fele and the Associate Editors who, with me, included, Joy Kwaghken, Melvin Ijih and Princess Agbo (Jnr).

I want to appreciate the women [my mothers] who fed me whenever I visited their homes and all those who have supported me on this journey offering their services, prayers and wishes.

To the members, who without you, this organisation will not be in existence, I want to thank you. Your dues and other financial obligations, as well as your active roles, are the reason we can make a positive impact on our community and the Tiv Nation at large. May God bless you, abundantly.

I would like to particularly thank the following individuals for going the extra mile and putting in their time, money and effort to assist the Exco in making this occasion a success:

Barr. Lois Adura, Pastor Gabriel Ikyemtu, Rev. Joshua Jogo, Barr. Eva Daboh, Mr. David Bertie, Mr. & Mrs Joseph Yashi, Dr Terzungwe Abu, Dr Moses Yaor, Aondoakaa Fele, Tyo Beetseh, Martin Akiga, Mr. Desmond Ahura, Dr. Alexander Ijuh, Mr. Ternenge Tsendii, Ms Lilian Kave, Mr. Emmanuel Awarga, Dr Tony Yange and Mr. & Mrs. Steve Imande.

I would like to especially thank the President General of Mzough U Tiv Worldwide, Engr Edward Ujege, for his immeasurable contributions to MUTUK. He has continued to make personal sacrifices, including his money and time to ensure the sustainability of this organisation. We cannot forget his timely intervention at a time when MUTUK experienced some difficulties. The history of Mzough U Tiv UK will not be complete without the mention of the significant role he played in rebuilding this noble organisation.

I would like to thank His Royal Majesty, Professor James Ortese Ayatse and our mother, Her Royal Majesty, Dr Felicia Ayatse for the laudable project Ayatutu Ka Se Foundation which is expectedly, a solution to the many problems the Tiv Nation is facing.

I would like to appreciate the Executive Governor of Benue State, H.E. Dr Samuel Ortom and his wife, the First Lady, Dr Mrs Eunice Ortom for the support we have always received and we look forward to partnering with the State Government in critical areas that will benefit the Tiv Nation.

Finally, the only way we can achieve our full potential is if we come together as one, contributing our ideas, skills, resources, time for the common good of our Tiv Nation and thus, by default, our country.

We believe the only way we can achieve our full potential is if we come together as one, contributing our ideas, skills, resources, and time for the common good of our Tiv Nation before we can overcome any situation.