The paramount ruler of Taraba State in Northeast Nigeria, the Aku-Uka of Wukari, Dr. Ishaku Adda Ali, has decried that the former Kwararafa Confederacy has recently come under attack by bandits, affecting communities linked to the old Kwararafa Kingdom.
The monarch made the lamentation while speaking at the 2026 Kwararafa People’s Assembly in Abuja at the weekend, saying the violence has forced many people from their homes and turned thousands into refugees in their own country.
The monarch, who was the chief convener of the meeting, said the gathering aimed to bring together people connected to the Kwararafa heritage.
“Several communities across Benue, Kogi, Taraba, Southern Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, and Niger states had been affected by banditry, farmer-herder clashes, kidnapping, and repeated displacement.
“Farmers could no longer access their farms, while traders were also struggling to go to markets because of the insecurity.
“There are the children who can no longer go to school. There are elders whose ancestral homes have been reduced to ashes. We do not come here to accuse, but to say we need help.
“And we come here to say that the help must be real, it must be sustained, and it must reach the communities that are suffering, not stop at the level of communiques and conferences,”Aku UK’s said.
Dr. Ali also expressed regret that the people who once formed the Kwararafa Confederacy had become divided along political, religious, and ethnic lines.
“If the Jukun, and the Idoma, Igala, Ebira, Alago, Nupe, Tarok, Angas, Eggon, Mighill, Ohafia, Bekwara, Yala, Gamai, Kare-Kare, among others, could build a common political house in the 15th century, what excuse do we have in the 21st century?” he asked.
In a remark, a core convener, Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas, explained that his role in the gathering was not an official responsibility of the Taraba State Government.
“For the avoidance of doubt, my role as a core-convener is not an official responsibility of the Taraba State government. This assembly is not Taraba state government programme and it is not intended to advance any personal, political, or sectional agenda,” he said.
Kefas said the gathering was an opportunity for people who share the Kwararafa heritage to renew their common vision and discuss ways to contribute to Nigeria’s development.
The Ohimegye of Opanda-Umaisha Kingdom, HRH Alhaji Usman Abdullahi, said the Ebira people of Nasarawa State were also descendants of the Kwararafa Empire.
He called on members of the different ethnic groups connected to Kwararafa to continue identifying with their shared heritage wherever they live.
The traditional ruler thanked the Aku-Uka for organising the meeting and expressed hope that its deliberations would lead to a communiqué and further engagements.
Veteran journalist and recipient of A.B.C Yola, Reporter of the Year Award (1997), Hassan Umar Shallpella, works with WAP as a Regional Correspondence. He was trained at Institute of Mass Communication and Technology Jos and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Training School Lagos.He was a News desk Editor and a Correspondent at the Punch newspaper and till 2019, was the Deputy Editor ofThe Scope newspaper.
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