During my final year at the university, I traversed the lenth and breath of Benue state since my project then was based on the hydrogeology of Agila in Ado LGA of the state. Because of the success of the project, I was supported by unicef to investigate and a give a report on why boreholes sank by unercif were failing in most communities there. So with BERWASA, I went as far as Abande, Gertoka, kastsi na ala, Oturkpo, Gboko, Makurdi etc. Cultuarally, I discovered that the Tiv's and Idomas do not have a lot in common. The tivs are obviously the major ethnic group in Benue and they dominate everything there. The idomas on the other hand, have more cultural affiliations to Igbos who happen to be there neighbours bordering south. Iiving in Makurdi is cheap and the people are easy going. If a tiv man likes you, he would n't mind sharing his wife with you. I enjoyed some of their delicacies back then like Pande with egusi soup served with bush meat under their traditional hut. I also discovered that most men in Benue love any thing that has to do with force be it police, army, warder etc in virtually all the villages I went to, majority of the men who had any thing to with work in government were either police or army. In the cause of my research, I went to the state university (BSU) , federal university of agric, the local airstrip and river basin development authority where I gathered materials and one thing I discovered is that people here are layed back and very friendly. The most beautiful girls in Benue are the Agatu girls , but if you wan jogodo, better hang out with tiv girls. They bring it, if you know with I mean. Indeed Benue is the food basket of the nation.

I passed through Benue first in 1991 on route to Kaduna. Then it did look like there was more northern influence on the town. I passed through again in 2010 from a trip to Taraba and there was a very visible christian-like influence on the state. These judgments were made from what I could glimpse and the places I saw.
Downtown Markurdi had an undeniable Ibo presence. I ate at a local restaurant at High Level. I also noted that taxis were very cheap. What is it with Lagos taxis BTW?

Interesting thread here. Dont have too much time to contribute, but as born (but not bred) Benue (Tiv) man i can say DRANOEL is quite correct in his analysis.

Also posters should kindly ignore the silly trolls here trying so hard to derail the thred. we are definately not at the 'receiving end' of anything.

I would add however that we do have a substantial hausa population here. Places like Katsina Ala, Northbank in Makurdi, zaki biam have large hausa communites living peacefully with the native TIVS.

Always be like this[img]http://2.s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=E6E6E5/txt=E6E6E5/border=E6E6E5/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]
[img]http://s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=E6E6E5/txt=E6E6E5/border=E6E6E5/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]

This @chosen04 chick is sooo dull & foolish.

Middle Belt Warriors!

some people still think that for that fact u are from the north,u must b hausa or even a muslim,FYI NORTH, SOUTH, EAST N WEST ARE JUST GEOGRAPHICAL FRONT, BACK, LEFT N RIGHT.even in the U.S ther is NORTH, and in the Arabian penisula we also have SOUTH.that doesnt make the NORTHERN AMERICA HAUSAS OR MUSLIMS,and as well SOUTHERN ARABIAN CHRISTIANS,IBO,YORUBA OR IJAW.PEACE

I did my nysc camping in wukari, taraba state. Redeployd tho. Wukari shares borders with benue so they hv alot in common like majority of them r christain. They r nice people too. I remember my platoon comandant tellin us excitin n cool stories about Gembu in TR. Apart frm constant cold weather, rich politicians go there to chill.. That's one of the places I hope to go to when I become bloody rich.

no one wants to b associated with the north

I have the privilege to have been travelling around Northern Nigeria and the middle belt for the past seven years

The poster's observation is not only accurate for Benue State

but also applies to Plateau State, Taraba State, Southern Kaduna, Nassarawa and Kogi State.

This ppl are closer in culture and way of life to the average southerner than they are to the 'predominant' hausa/fulani tribes in the north.

Benue people are northern because of the long time cultural affinity that has existed between the north central and the core north.When it comes to protecting the interesting of the north,you will see all of them coming together to form an alliance but when boko haram strikes,you will see them discriminating themselves.A tiv or idoma is more likely to understand hausa language and their way of life than yoruba,ijaw or ibo culture.The people of north central nigeria should better wake up and live with their destiny.Always north,forever a north.Btw,why do benue women like meat,small stout and intimacy so much ? I'm talking from experience ni o.

I've never been to benue but i learnt that the siuthern part(Idoma) have a lot of affinity with Igbos. Some communities there even speak Igbo despite the fact that they're not Igbos. This is owed to the fact that they share a border with Nsukka part of Enugu state. I even heard there's a market that shared by both states.

The way Nigeria classifies things might as well be absurd and retarted. Can someone take a look at the map of Nigeria and tell me how Benue ended up being called anything relating to north. Are we that dumb that even something as simple as interpreting a geographical map is also a chore?

It would take someone from Ebonyi State or Cross River State two hours by road to get to the capital of Benue State, Makurdi while it would take their northern brothers from Sokoto and Borno States 12 hours to get to the same capital. So please where is the connection between Benue and the North? Or has the word north been ascribed a completely new meaning?

Really absurd.

afam4eva: I've never been to benue but i learnt that the siuthern part(Idoma) have a lot of affinity with Igbos. Some communities there even speak Igbo despite the fact that they're not Igbos. This is owed to the fact that they share a border with Nsukka part of Enugu state. I even heard there's a market that shared by both states.

Yeah The Idoma people & enugu people on the boarders of both states are more like families. They relate well,have some things in common & I'm guessing even those markets included. In otukpo,for instance (a local government area in benue which belongs to the Idomas,they even share radio stations with enugu state. In some other cases which are rare tho,but occur occasionally you see names that are common to both Idoma & Igbo people.

billyG: Majority of our generations,dont travel,some spent almost their entire life time in only their locality, travelling to other part of the country shld be part of our educational curriculum,even the NYSC shld be reform their is need to move youth corps around the north,south,east,west of nigeria b4 their service year ends.
why shld people be misform about the culture,people,tradition,ways of life of another nigerians and look at them as if they are aliens from outer space?why shld southerner ever mistake benue to be an (hausa)northern state.

God Bless you for this post.....we really need to know ourselves more in Nigeria,we need to travel as much as we can......God Bless Nigeria.

What most people dont know about Tiv people is that it is almost a taboo for a Tiv man to be a muslim, your family will treat you like an outcast. Tiv people migrated from Central Africa to Nigeria, and do not have any cultural similarity with other northerners. I know because am a Tiv man from Gboko.

What most people dont know about Tiv people is that it is almost a taboo for a Tiv man to be a muslim, your family will treat you like an outcast. Tiv people migrated from Central Africa to Nigeria, and do not have any cultural similarity with other northerners. I know because am a Tiv man from Gboko.

What most people dont know about Tiv people is that it is almost a taboo for a Tiv man to be a muslim, your family will treat you like an outcast. Tiv people migrated from Central Africa to Nigeria, and do not have any cultural similarity with other northerners. I know because am a Tiv man from Gboko.

Nezan: What most people dont know about Tiv people is that it is almost a taboo for a Tiv man to be a muslim, your family will treat you like an outcast. Tiv people migrated from Central Africa to Nigeria, and do not have any cultural similarity with other northerners. I know because am a Tiv man from Gboko.

the tiv were the last group to migrate to present day nigeria and as such don't really have any cultural affirnity to any group! i think the british realised this fact and didnt know where to place them thats why before amalgamation a part of tiv land was under northern protectorate while the other under southern protectorate. even more difficult for the british was the fact the tivs had no king or chief hence the placing of tivs Under the authority of the neighbouring jukun king.

Nice observation from the poster, I am Idoma and my village shares boundary with Nsukka.Benue has got nothin similar with the north both culturally and religiously. We are more naturally inclined to the south than north though I would rathere be called a middle belter than be classified as north or south.

movers82: Nice observation from the poster, I am Idoma and my village shares boundary with Nsukka.Benue has got nothin similar with the north both culturally and religiously. We are more naturally inclined to the south than north though I would rathere be called a middle belter than be classified as north or south.

You have said it all.

chosen04:
And what is the essence of your tales by moonlight?

Can you guys give people a break. Here is someone telling you about his identity (of which you are positively ignorant), yet you feel it is best to shut him up.

Its not that you even contribute anything that doesn't reek of hatred and shallowmindedness anyway.
. . .But am still gonna marry you sha.

Benue women are the sweetest. I am talking from experience

warripekin: If a tiv man likes you, he would n't mind sharing his wife with you.

Do you have proof of any man that has visited a Tiv man; slept with the Tiv man's wife and lived to tell about it?

blackcat1:

Do you have proof of any man that has visited a Tiv man; slept with the Tiv man's wife and lived to tell about it?

good question

movers82: Nice observation from the poster, I am Idoma and my village shares boundary with Nsukka.Benue has got nothin similar with the north both culturally and religiously. We are more naturally inclined to the south than north though I would rathere be called a middle belter than be classified as north or south.

i read some more on benue and i notice that politically idomas tend to be pro establisment pro northern whereas the tivs seem to always lean towards anti establishment and are progressives i.e the tivs through umbc in the 60's and 70's aligned with the action group just like now most tivs are action congress (a party considered a yoruba progressive party)

chosen04: whats the essence of this thread? To tell us that those fools who joined their northern cohort to twist justice in niGERia now looks like ''US'' now that they are at the receiving end? . . . . . . .


I can now understand why JESUS had to WEEP!

pls don't d bible into dis. d only thing u can say & i ll agree is that every Nigerian is at d receivin end for been being bundled-up wit these malos.

Tiv of Benue and Fulani inter-ethnic deadly brouhaha

http://www.google.com/search?q=tiv+and+fulani&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#hl=en&sugexp=llsin&gs_nf=1&pq=tiv%20and%20fulani&cp=19&gs_id=2s&xhr=t&q=tiv%20of%20Benue%20state%20and%20fulani&pf=p&client=firefox-a&hs=2mS&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&sclient=psy-ab&oq=tiv+of+Benue+state+and+fulani&aq=&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=ce7868657b5cb0e2&biw=1366&bih=608

Benue is one of the states that will implode should Nigeria divide. There is ABSOLUTELY no love lost between the Tiv (land grabbers and local oppressors) and the Idoma people.

Please ask the Senate president (an Idoma) to describe the TIV for you.

nanos: Benue is one of the states that will implode should Nigeria divide. There is ABSOLUTELY no love lost between the Tiv (land grabbers and local oppressors) and the Idoma people.

Please ask the Senate president (an Idoma) to describe the TIV for you.

Throw more light on the above please.