Tribal groups in Taraba seeks FG’S relocation of Federal Varsity, Wukari

The coalition of Hausa/ Fulani and the Tiv youths in Taraba on Saturday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately relocate the Federal University Wukari to any part of the state for smooth academic pursuit of Nigerian youths.

Aondona Katyo of the Tiv Youth Forum and Ahmed Buba of Hausa Fulani Coalition groups made the call at a news briefing in Jalingo.

While Katyo said the continuous existence of the institution in Wukari is inimical to educational pursuit of all peace loving people and unhealthy for academic and non-academic staff in general, Buba referred to the incidence of last Wednesday where some Tiv students of the university and a non-academic staff were abducted and killed in cold blood by the Jukun militias.

They also referred to continued blockage of Wukari Jalingo Federal High Way, fishing out Tiv commuters and slaughtering them like chicken as one of the major reconsiderations for the relocation of such an important institution out of the cruel locality.

According to the groups, the choice of Wukari was wrong in the first place going by the antecedent of continuous unrest and the barbaric behaviour of the Jukun youth in the area over the past years.

“In fact, the Jukun people, including their elite resident outside of Wukari, ensured that the first appointed Registrar, John Ansho, an indigene of Taraba State from Takum Local Government Area, but of Tiv extraction, was never allowed to resume office simply because he was of Tiv tribe”, they explained.

It will be recalled that Hausa/ Fulani workers in the same university had faced the same threats in 2014 during Hausa/jukun crisis. The situation caused the former University Registrar, Ibrahim Jalingo, a Fulani man, to desert his office completely and flee for his dear life.

The leaders added that “With some of these social molestations by Jukun people who believe that every living being in Wukari should or must survive at their mercy, the area doesn’t qualify to host any federal and state academic institution.

“We are therefore, calling on the President who is the Visitor to the university to urgently relocate the university to a peaceful location within the state”.