Group Visits Etsu Lokoja, Demands Recognition Of Stool

By; ADAMA JOHN, Lokoja.

The quest for the recognition of the traditional stool of Etsu Lokoja gathers momentum in Lokoja over the weekend as a group paid the traditional ruler Emmanuel Dauda Shelika a solidarity visit.

Led by the National Treasurer of Bassa-Nge National Development Association, Mr. Waniko Raphael, the association opined that the struggle for recognition of the stool is not without undue opposition but optimistic that when truth eventually prevails, recognising the venerated stool of a people will become a thing of the past.

The dual mission to the palace of
Etsu Lokoja was to intimate the traditional Ruler as their own of the upcoming National conference of the Bassa-Nge tribe slated for the 30th of this month and to drive home development for their own people.

Although as expected of a caring traditional ruler, the president expressed the expected and fatherly reception accorded them at the palace.

He said that the group was astonished by the reception accorded them by the palace and their acceptance by the elders in council as they anticipate a resounding success in the event.

The leader expressed their assumed understanding of the custodian of culture in Lokoja, stressing that his presence at the event in a fortnight time in Lokoja as the Etsu Lokoja is most desirable.

To Raphael, “light is destined to triumph over darkness, adding that the Bassa-Nge people have come thus far and are resilient”

Driving home his point, he said, ” I want to say, one thing I know about life is that truth will definitely find its way out because Bassa-Nge People are resilient and are not giving up the struggle, believing that one day the government will see reason with them”

The dichotomy between the state and the palace is a governmental issue and “we are soliciting a dialogue between the two extremes so as to arrive at a compromise.

“When that is done, the government will see reasons with us and reverse her position” he said.

In his brief remarks, the embattled Etsu Lokoja, Emmanuel Dauda Shelika thanked the group for recognising their own, adding that the Bassa-Nge people that the stool stands for are not competing with any other tribe over the stool but a recognition of a people of the same culture in their own right.