12/08/2024
TIV PEOPLE ARE NOT NORTHERNERS
This misconception was created on purpose by the British government who conspired with the Northern Elites when Tiv people and many other minorities tribes in THE MIDDLE BELT gang up against the Europeans during slavery.
The Europeans could not step foot in what is known as THE MIDDLE BELT or CENTRAL NIGERIA which is forcefully tagged as NORTH CENTRAL against the will of the people who occupied the area.
The Tiv people arrived in present Cameroon and Nigeria in the year 800 and settled on both sides of IFI I KARAGBE (River Benue) which stretched from Garoua in present day Northern Cameroon to Lokoja in present day Kogi State of Nigeria.
Between 800 - 1500, the Tiv people had marked their territory and became friends with other small tribes who migrated to the region.
1500 - 1800 was a difficult period because of slavery which resulted in many other small tribes moving in within the region because of how the Tiv people and their neighboring tribes came together to fight against slavery, thereby creating a safe haven for other small tribes who were vulnerable in other parts of the country.
The People of THE MIDDLE BELT fought slavery together and also stood together against the Jihadist Fulanis who conquered the Hausas in the North. The Jihad ended in THE MIDDLE BELT when leaders of the Jihad movement attempted to invade the region.
After the fall of Lagos, Northern Caliphate and the Benin Kingdom into the hands of the British, the colonialists proceeded to Amalgamate Nigeria in 1914 without conquering the largest part which is the CENTRAL AREA.
Between 1900 - 1960, the people of THE MIDDLE BELT also known as CENTRAL NIGERIA resisted the colonial rule fiercely. All the Tribes within the region stood together and fought as one like they did in the past against slavery and Jihad. Because of this reason, the colonial masters avoided the people of the region and excluded them from major activities. Northerners and southerners were used as interpreters, messengers and administrators while the Europeans brought machine guns to punish those who continue to resist.
After Nigeria gained her round table independence in 1960, the battle to capture THE MIDDLE BELT also known as CENTRAL NIGERIA began.
While ruling Nigeria indirectly, the British feared that if properly acknowledged as an independent region like the EAST, NIGER-DELTA and the rest, the people of THE MIDDLE BELT would take advantage and disrupt Nigeria.
The Northerners won the bid because of how much control they had ever the Southerners through Islamic leadership, thereby laying claims over THE MIDDLE BELT which is CENTRAL NIGERIA.
The colonialists had done everything possible between 1800 - 1960 in other to cause problems among the minority tribes within the region who came together and fought with one voice. This resulted in the divisions and hate amongst the tribes who already share so much in common.
HOWEVER, THE PEOPLE OF THE MIDDLE BELT CONTINUE TO FIGHT AGAINST BEING TAGGED AS NORTHERNERS.
We want the so-called North Central to be acknowledged appropriately as THE MIDDLE BELT.
Incidentally, THE MIDDLE BELT is responsible for 70% of the food consumed in Nigeria. The same region is the second highest with purchasing power with a total population of over 50 million people, making it the second most populated region.
THE MIDDLE BELT is also the biggest region geographically, cutting across many states such as Plateau, Taraba, Kogi, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Niger, Benue, Kwara, FCT, Southern Bauchi and Southern Kaduna.
In the year 1967, barely seven years after Nigeria gained her round table independence, the part of THE MIDDLE BELT which later became GONGOLA STATE (Adamawa & Taraba) in 1976 was forcefully added into the North East, while the Benue-Plateau state, also created in 1967 was later broken into Benue and Plateau, with the two states later divided into many states.
THE MIDDLE BELT or CENTRAL NIGERIA was never part of Northern Caliphate, it was never captured by the Jihadist who formed the Sokoto Caliphate as capital of the North and should never be called THE NORTH CENTRAL.
we are people of THE MIDDLE BELT or CENTRAL NIGERIA
✍🏿✍🏿 Ka mo Tivzualumun 👑👑
THE BATTLE OF KARAGBE is coming with the full history...
