Plateau 2019: Tarok Group faults endorsement of Useni

By Golok Nanmwa ,Jos

The purported endorsement of Sen. Jeremiah Useni by Tarok Elders Forum as the sole aspirant for Tarok extraction for the 2019 gubernatorial election in Plateau State has been described as an attempt to create disaffection among the Tarok gubernatorial aspirants and also place the Tarok on a collision course with the rest of other ethnic nationalities in Plateau State.

A Group in Plateau operating under the aegis of Tarok Political watch on Monday in a statement made available to newsmen in Jos and jointly signed by
Barrister Singa Edward Zhattau convener of the Group and
and Comrade Mantim Wuyep the Secretary reads that
“We have carefully analyzed the text of a press statement by a group of Tarok elders under the aegis of Tarok Elders Forum (TEF) captioned, “THE TAROK NATION ENDORSES SENATOR (DR) J. T USENI AS CONSENSUS ASPIRANT FOR THE 2019 GUBERNATORIAL RACE IN PLATEAU STATE”. As if that caption was not perplexing enough, part of the introductory paragraph of the press statement reads: “The leaders and elders have therefore engaged the various stakeholders and carried out broad consultation within and outside the Tarok nation especially with the wider Plateau family, with a view to settling down on and putting forward a single aspirant to the good people of Plateau State for consideration and support”.

While the said group of elders might have honestly thought that their statement could support the assumption of a politically monolithic Tarok nation, we are sorry to observe that the feedbacks trickling in from both within and without the Tarok nation do not support that view.

This statement, therefore, is a reflection of our collective will as a sensitive and responsive Tarok political watch group to redress the negative impression of the Tarok people that was wittingly or unwittingly created by the statement credited to the Tarok Elders Forum.

It is noteworthy that the statement released by those elders was simply a manifestation of their own political engrossment, and that could not have been a representation of the collective wish and aspirations of the Tarok people.

Furthermore, how could such a decision of endorsing some candidate of a certain political party accommodate the interest of other numerous illustrious Tarok sons and daughters who have been found worthy and accordingly appointed into influential national and state positions by President Buhari and Governor Simon Lalong?

It is indubitably true that the numerous aspirants of Tarok extraction have since picked up their nomination forms, and the fact that many more Tarok gubernatorial aspirants will join the fray is a matter of when and not if. The golden question beckons: Where is the consensus?

Much as we respect the enviable accomplishments of those elders in their respective fields of endeavour, we deem it fit to reprimand, without further delay, their action because of the obvious consequences that such may occasion upon the Taroh nation, one of which is the alienation of the Tarok race in the scheme of Plateau politics – a scenario we are determined to avert.
We are a selfless people and we have got the history to show for it.

It is well documented that Solomon Lar, on becoming the Governor of Plateau State in 1979, pruned the number of Permanent Secretaries of Tarok extraction from Four (4) to one (1) in a sheer display of selfless leadership.

With the view of improving our relationship; to restoring the acceptable level of trust; and to building on the previous level of direction on all issues of mutual interest, we wish to utilize this medium to reach out to and allay the fears of other ethnic nationalities on the Plateau concerning the press statement of the Tarok Elders Forum, while considering it crucially important that our political future as a people can only be fine tuned on strategic cooperation and partnership with the rest of the peoples of Plateau State.

We are of the firm belief that if the Tarok man were to become the Governor of Plateau State, whether in the near future or in the long term, such success could only be a fallout of intense and genuine negotiations, consultations and other forms of interaction with the rest of the people of Plateau State.

As young people of Tarok land, we would rather take the political risk by standing in unison with other ethnic nationalities, than to risk strategic partnership and collaboration with other ethnic nationalities by caving into the desire of a select few. “

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Plateau 2019: Tarok Group faults endorsement of Useni