Bassa Kwomu celebrate 1yrs of the creation of Turukun Chiefdom, with 1yrs anniversary speech by Dr. David Wodi

OFFICE OF HRH, DR. DAVID WODI TUKURA I, THE AGUMA BASSA, TURUNKU CHIEFDOM, TOTO LGA, NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA.

Thursday,
May 28th, 2020.

#ONE_YEAR_ANNIVERSARY_SPEECH_BY_HRH

  1. I would like to give glory to the Lord God Almighty for making it possible for us to witness the First Anniversary of the Actualization of Turunku Chiefdom* and also the First Anniversary of my reign as *Aguma Dr. David Wodi Tukura the First, Aguma of Bassa, Nasarawa State, Nigeria.
  2. While we celebrate with all Nigerians the 1st of October of every year as the year of Independence, we, the Bassa of Nasarawa State also celebrate the 28th of May because of its deep historical significance.
  3. When the British effectively began Colonial Rule in what was called Nasarawa Province sometime around 1910, they encountered a widely spread ethnic group called the BASSA whose geographical span ranged from the area covering Kotangora down to the banks of the Benue River. The Bassa were so widespread in this area that the region between Gwagwalada, Agatu, Idoma, Tiv and Makurdi was simply called BASSA PROVINCE before 1914.
  4. The administrative problem that the British faced regarding the Bassa was their apparent borderless spread over a wide geographical territory. The British policy of Indirect Rule required administrative units which could be governed through autocratic and authoritarian channels. Managing the largely republican and widespread Bassa was a huge administrative challenge for the British. Lacking the manpower and resources and being ignorant of the pre-history of the region, the British simply took the easy way out. They unilaterally lumped the Bassa into incongruous administrative units headed by hostile neighbours whose imperial pretensions had been successfully repelled by the Bassa in post-colonial times. The Bassa reacted to these thoughtless agglomerations in vigorous acts of rebellion, the most significant being the Bassa Revolt of 1914 at Igwa Pati and the Ujasa Wozhe Rebellion at Konton-Karfe in September 1914*. British military patrols crushed both rebellions with punitive efficiency. Bassa villages including Adumata and Kangbo were visited by the British forces and burnt down.
  5. When Nigeria got her independence in October 1st, 1960, the Bassa were still locked in a vice grip of the unfair colonial administrative arrangements made by the British in 1914. The most ominous indicator of this institutional powerlessness was the absence of a centralized politico-cultural unit that could be called a BASSA CHIEFDOM. My fellow Bassas, as we all know, chiefdoms are very important for the survival of a Nation.
  6. Why are Chiefdoms important? Chiefdoms are important because the heads of these Chiefdoms, whom we address as their “Royal Hghnesses” are the historical markers and emblems of national identity. *Without them communities are shapeless and amorphous and are liable to becoming lost in the jungle of ethnic identities. Without them, ethno-cultural extinction becomes a material possibility. It is not surprising therefore, that in one hundred and nine (109) years of the history of modern government in Nigeria, a strategic objective of the neighbours and rivals of the Bassa has been ensuring the huge numerical strength of the Bassa People is never consolidated in the form of a Chiefdom. They prefer the Bassa to be grouped in petty and politically ineffectual estates, with hundreds of unrecognized “agumas” That was why it took over two decades (1998-2019) for Turunku Chiefdom to be Actualized despite years of persistent agitations and at least Six (6) Administrative Reports urging the Government to give the Bassas their due rights.
  7. When the Government of Alhaji Tanko Almakura l took the bull by the horns and actualized Turunku Chiefdom on the 28th of May 2019, we accepted his action as Divine Intervention. Those among us who argued otherwise were simply ignorant of the historical antecedents of Bassa. Driven by irrational and primitive urges, some also opposed Alhaji Tanko Almakura’s remedial actions because they were simply blind to the existential threats facing the Bassa ethnic nationality in Nigeria in general and Nasarawa State in particular.
  8. When the former Governor of Nasarawa, Alhaji Tanko Almakura, who courageously actualized Turunku Chiefdom was informed that some individuals had gone to court challenging the epoch making event, he frowned at the development and said, “Whoever took this matter to Court is oblivious of the true picture of the entire situation and doesn’t mean good for the Bassa People.” He spoke bearing in mind the formidable administrative obstacles he had to surmount to make the Actualization possible. Alhaji Tanko Almakura took the decision to actualize Turunku Chiefdom at a time almost all prominent Bassa politicians were active members of the Opposition, including some who had appended their signatures asking for his removal as Executive Governor of Nasarawa State. It was at a time the Bassa ethnic group had only one appointed Councillor in the Toto Local Government Management Committee (TMC). It was at a time no single Bassa was a Member of the State Executive Council. It was at a time no single Bassa was a Member of the State Council of Chiefs. No single Bassa was serving either as Permanent Secretary; Special Adviser or Special Assistant. Inspite of these mind-boggling hurdles, Alhaji Tanko Almakura was convinced the Actualization of Turunku Chiefdom was a divine injunction captured by a statement he made, that “to refuse to actualize Turunku Chiefdom is a sin.” Fellow Bassas, how could we reject such Divine Intervention? May God bless Alhaji Tanko Almakura and his descendants!
  9. We celebrate this day because it was on the 28th of May that the Hand of God stamped the identity of the Bassa People on the geo-ethnic map of Nasarawa State.
  10. It was on the 28th of May that the blood sacrifices of Bassa heroes who fell on the battlefield from Ujasa Wozhe in 1914 to the Genocide of 1997/1998 was finally recognized as the Bassa took their rightful place in the State Council of Chiefs of the Nation and People of Nasarawa State.
  11. To have been irresponsive to the Divine Intervention of 28th May 2019 actualizing Turunku Chiefdom would not only be an act of rascally irresponsibility, but it would have been to take a stand tantamount to committing geo-ethnic suicide. The Bassa People had waited for over forty years for Government to recognize their indigeneity and identity. And for most of us, forty years through over ten Military and Civilians Regimes was long enough.
  12. My dear Bassa People, the Actualization of Turunku Chiefdom is just a first step. The work ahead of us is enormous. The fact remains that we are Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). We all want to go back home to Bassaland. While efforts were being made to get us back, our land was being overrun by Bandits and Kidnappers who moved into the houses and homes we had to abandon because of genocidal attacks on our people before the 2019 General Elections. While we long to be back on our farms and in our villages and long to drink the sweet waters of our springs and streams, Bandits and Kidnappers are wrecking barbaric sufferings on our neighbours. The situation at home is very pathetic and heart-rending. Almost on a daily basis, the neighbours we left behind are joining us in Exile as Internally Displaced Persons. This is a very sad development. It is therefore with great reluctance that I say we just have to wait a little longer until the security and law enforcement agencies can stabilize the situation.
  13. Our desire to return home has not been helped by the COVID-19 Pandemic and the attendant Shutdown/Lockdown measures put in place to mitigate the situation. The EXODUS back home would require the congregation and massing of people that is presently against the rules of Social Distancing. Again, it is with great reluctance that I have to say our Return back to Bassa is being delayed. I however, firmly believe that these obstacles are all temporary. They will soon pass.
  14. While we wait to Return back Home to Bassa, we must not stop developing ourselves. The Actualization of Turunku Chiefdom is an invitation to the hardwork of self development. It is not the end of the road. It is only the beginning. The engine of development is people. Human Capital Development (HCD) must remain top priority. So, I am glad to announce the establishment of the Turunku Chiefdom Human Capital Development Trust (TC-HCDT) simply called TURUNKU TRUST (TT). The purpose is to syndicate assistance for Bassa young men and women below the age of 35 years to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and courses in Law; Medicine, the Social Sciences and the Humanities in any public university.
  15. Apart from the political marginalisation of our people, pervasive poverty remains our major challenge especially after suffering two major population displacements. Nobody will come to develop us. We MUST develop ourselves. To address the problem of poverty among our people, I am glad to also announce that steps are being taken to establish a TURUNKU CHIEFDOM MICRO FINANCE BANK. The purpose is to create an institution through which we can galvanise our resources to pursue self-financed development projects.
  16. A house divided cannot stand.* We must find ways to put aside the petty differences that dissipate our energies. We must harmonise our creative reserves into the critical mass that would move the Bassa Nation forward.
  17. I would like to end this Maiden Speech by thanking His Excellency Engr A.A. Sule who has continued to give the Bassa People a listening ear. He has been very responsive to our longing to return back to our homeland and has been hindered only by the security issues mentioned in the main text of this Speech. We believe that as the situation normalizes, His Excellency would partner with us in our bid to return home to Bassa.
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Thank you very much and Happy Anniversary! God bless you all!

HRH Dr. David Wodi Tukura I,
Aguma of Bassa,
28th May 2020.

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