Chiangi Avese, Makurdi
Benue-born United Kingdom (UK)-based scholar and humanitarian, Prof. Kohol Iornem, has said the unity, cultural heritage and common brotherhood of the Tiv people is a panacea towards safeguarding the welfare and protection of their land and people.
Prof. Iornem disclosed this while delivering a paper at the African Society of Cambridge University in UK.
He spoke on the theme: “Ayatutu Ka Uno: A Decade of Interconnectedness and Growth” and how Africa can benchmark the Ayatutu model to aid growth and development while focusing on the sub-themes “Education, Development and Community”.
Prof. Iornem who identified leadership failure, elitist conspiracy, cultural extinction, corruption and greed as the bane for growth and development of Tiv Nation, called on the Tiv scholars, the elite, traditional and political leaders to work harmoniously in the overall interest of the people.
According to him, “a divided Tiv Nation cannot tackle the common enemy, the killer herders, who are ravaging and taking over the ancestral lands of the Tiv farmers. The Tiv nation need to return to the Ayatutu spirit of brotherhood to be able to take back control of their land and resources”.
He further stated that the situation where helpless Tiv farmers and their families were littered all over the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps having fled their ancestral homes because of killer herdsmen, was antithetical to the Tiv culture and heritage.
Prof. Kohol Iornem who is the immediate past President, Mzough U Tiv in the United Kingdom (MUTUK) was also honoured with the Award of Excellence by the African Society of Cambridge University in recognition of his exceptional contribution as a Keynote Speaker at the Cambridge Africa Conference 2024, also called on the Tiv people at home and in the diaspora to embrace the Ayatutu spirit of one for all, all for one, especially in the face of danger.
He is the Founder of the Mzehemen u Tiv Foundation as well as the Menroi Foundation both organisations work to create socio-eonomic opportunities for the less privilege in rural communities
