Ikima emerges As New Ter Kwande

Mr Hilary Ityosula Ikima, former Sole Administrator and  seasoned Permanent Secretary has emerged as the new Ter Kwande to replace James Ityowua Adzape who died last year. Ikima defeated Tyoor Usar, Tivlumun Ako, Mr Amokaha Adikpo and Dr EC Ayangeor to clinch the Ter Kwande stool in a tough contested battle on 29th February, 2012 at the Kwande Local Government Secretariat.

Manz Denga Sets to unite all Tiv People in Lagos

By Iorliam'Amo Shija

Mr Manasseh Denga has promised to unite all Tiv people living in Lagos in one umbrella body .Mr Denga made this known on Tuesday, 28^th February, 2012 at Edge Waters, Victoria Island, when Mr. Mfedoo Ichull and other friends hosted him to a dinner.

Speaking earlier, Mr Patrick Abe had raised an alarm that, though there were so many Tiv people of all works in Lagos, they had chosen to congregate in factions.  Consequently of which progress and development among Tiv in Lagos was being retarded.  

Other speakers at the event also spoke in the same vein.

Responding, Mr Denga noted that he was honoured for the dinner. He revealed that in the past, they made sure that Tiv people in Lagos were gathering regularly. That moreso, when a Tivman or woman was promoted or appointed in a strategic position, they made sure that they held a reception to celebrate them.

He therefore said even though he was out of the country at the moment, he would make sure that he comes around specifically for the sake of the unification of   all the factional groups in Lagos into one big Tiv group.

The dinner was well attended by friends and associates of Manz Denga and Mfedoo Ichull from Lagos ,Portharcourt and Abuja.

SAOBA Makurdi Holds branch Meeting

25th February, 2012, St Andrews  Adikpo, Old boys association (SAOBA) Makurdi Branch held there monthly meeting at St Joseph Parish, Akpehe, Markurdi, Benue state. Among the issues that received top priority at the the meeting were SAOBA National convention billed to hold at Adikpo on 10th March 2012. KSN was on ground and brings you these pix.

Hon. SG Kwaghbulah and Victor Hembah dance with Anger dancers recently

ASH WEDNESDAY AT ST MONICAS ADIKPO

R

The Ijor Mbakur dancer and a Judge at Adikpo

IRRIGATION WORK IN MBAWER RECENTLY

A local Guitar man at a Tse Ikpato Buruku Bar

ange dancers from Shangev

But what can Manz Denga do for Kwande?

By Iorliam'Amo Shija

Mr Manasseh Denga, popularly known Manz Denga has a name and personality that go far ahead of him. More to it, his good will and generosity do not respect any stringent rules of “I don’t know him so I can’t give him any thing” or “where is he from? Iam not from his village so he can’t get anything”. When moved by his beliefs, I think, this Denga does his goodwill. He does it selflessly too. He is not a man who puts superfluous excuses as deterrents, whatsoever, when he wishes to do good.

Iam not a flatterer so when I write so highly of Denga, I should not be mistaken or taken out of proportion. Iam just talking from my “personal encounter” with Manz Denga and re-expressing what others, who like me, have witnessed or directly benefited of his charity. People who have met him and appreciative enough to say it; I am being their mouth piece.

Like most of other important people I have known in my life, I came  to “know” Manz through my friend, Tersoo Akula. This is as recent as 2006. At that time, Akula, I and others,  were  planning for a Kwande Youth Summit tagged “where do we go from here”- remember this was just a year after the Kwande Crisis which had crippled us, instil fear in our minds and made us to disregard our unity and common wealth: that period  was,  and will ever remain, a dark age in the history of Kwande. It called for novel ways of reconstituting our society and many people had responded to the call. Manz Denga was one of those who responded to the call. Our own aspect of intervention was bankrolled by Denga from far away Uganda or Kenya.

But it is not until recently when I joined Ate-U-Tiv and Ate online Yahoogroups, online platforms which Manz Denga is also a member that I realized as a fact, what a son Kwande has in Manz Denga. He is not only a Banker cum administrative colossus, but a well respected man whose take on issues translate into an instant authority. He is one of the few that no Tiv man in any part of the world can accuse of jealousy or any of such petty accusations that bedevil most Tiv men of Manz’s standing.

So when I heard that he would be honoured or a reception was going to be organised in his honour by friends, I thought it necessary to write this piece. I thought the piece crucial for two reasons and wanted to achieve at least one significant thing with it. What are the two crucial reasons for the discourse? Firstly, Manz Denga seldom visits the village. So I wanted to make the most of this visit, to use it  to pass across to him a message that he might have missed due to so many years of being away from home. Secondly, I wanted to tell him that he is appreciative by people. I wanted him to know that he is sincerely praised and prayed for by all men of goodwill. I wanted him to also know that he is a role model. One which a whole generation of Kwande youths, Tiv youths were looking at. I wanted him to know that he has over the years, successfully positioned himself as a face of hope for all Kwande youths. And he would have to work consciously of that calling.

Those were the two reasons that motivated me to write this piece, but what did I want to achieve? I wanted to invite Denga to a reasoning pool.A river where I would not be afraid to ask him a question. I wanted him to ponder over the question that I asked as he left the pool. The question that is likely to becloud his highly achievements; at home and abroad-I was surprised to ask him the question, because I thought, someone would question my essence, but Manz’s simplicity  made me asked him the question, “Manz Denga, you are a banker of international repute, but why is it that Adikpo, does not have a bank whatsoever?”

In the end, that is but what Manz Denga must do for Kwande.