 |
2019: ENDORSEMENT OF USENI BY TAROK
ELDERS IS FRAUDULENT AND MAKES CARICATURE OF TAROK NATION, SAYS TAROK YOUTH
VANGUARD.
By Joseph A. Adudu
September 06, 2018
A
group known as Tarok Youth Political Vanguard has said that it will not be cajoled into accepting the endorsement of Senator Jeremiah Timbut Useni (one of the gubernatorial aspirants) by the Tarok Elders Forum as the sole aspirant of
Tarok extraction for the 2019 gubernatorial election in Plateau State because it was
fraudulent and self serving contraption aimed at subverting the wishes and
aspirations of the majority in an effort to massage the ego of one of their own.
A
statement signed by Innocent Tali and Manchang Nimnan, Chairman and Secretary
of the group respectively and a copy made available to African Drum stated that it would only welcome a genuine consensus
where a credible Tarok aspirant would be chosen from among the plethora of
Tarok aspirants that earns and enjoys the support of his co-aspirants and the
entirety of the Plateau voting population for the 2019 gubernatorial election.
The
group made it categorically clear that it was not directly or indirectly
associated with any of the Tarok aspirants, neither was it fronting for any
particular aspirant but that its main aim was to canvas for a level playing
ground where every eligible contestant would be allowed to exercised his
franchise.
The
youth group added that its position was predicated on the fact that the
candidate being touted as the endorsed aspirant of the elders offends the
spirit and letter of the Not Too Young to Run Campaign being championed in
Nigeria that led to the promulgation of an Act to that effect.
The
statement further stated that the position of the elders not only portrayed the
Tarok nation as lacking the requisite human resources to turn around the
fortune of the state by presenting a man who should be enjoying his retirement
after a meritorious national service, but was also meant to served their selfish
interests. It added that the decision was tantamount to telling the world that
the army of eligible Tarok sons and daughters vying for the governorship cannot
be trusted with leadership, a decision the group considered treacherous.
According
to the statement, “If we keep mute to this brazen injustice and outright mortgage
of our future by those who have already built empires for their tenth
generations, we shall forever remain in their whimsical servitude. The chain of
this generational supremacy must be cut now."
Tarok
Youth Vanguard said that elders’ bias was made manifest by their outright
rejection of the report of the 13-man consensus committee that favoured a
different aspirant different from the one they presented stressing that the
committee was in the best position to arrive at a more liberal consensus
aspirant, because of its composition which encompasses ALL interests in Tarok
land. It further noted that coming up with a different committee comprising of
only the elders to review the report of a larger committee can only breed
suspicion and ill feelings among the aspirants.
Consequently,
the group said that it fully aligned with the position of the Langtang North
and South PDP to the effect that any Tarok son and daughter aspiring for the
governorship of Plateau State under the party should go ahead and obtain their
expression of Interest and nomination forms and continued in their campaign
adding that their fate can only be decided by the party at the primary
elections.
“As
we end this press release, we make bold to say, without mincing words, that the
hallmark of eldership is speaking the truth and standing by it at all times;
but where elders chose to act in a manner inconsistent with their social
standing, they are likely to lose their respect in the eyes of the younger
generation, and the society in general”. Stated the group.
Recall that not too long ago, the Tarok Elders’
Forum issued a statement signed by Selchan Miner and Danjuma Rimdan Chairman
and Secretary of the forum respectively, announcing the purported
endorsement of Useni claiming that he represented the interests of all stakeholders
in the affairs of Tarok land and called on all other ethnic nationalities in
the state to support Useni’s aspiration.
Post a Comment