24/01/2026
UNDERSTANDING TIV SUPER CLANS, INTERMEDIATE AREAS, AND THE MINDA MISCONCEPTION
.........MINDA is not, and has never been a Tiv Intermediate Area.
The Tiv people of Nigeria are the first known settlers within the Benue Valley. The valley stretches roughly east-west across the Middle Belt, beginning from the eastern highlands near the Cameroon border and extending westward to its confluence with the River Niger at Lokoja. Geographically, the Benue Valley lies within the Benue Trough, a long structural depression created by ancient tectonic movements. The valley covers large parts of Benue State and extends into neighboring states such as Taraba, Nasarawa, Kogi and Adamawa.
The Tiv people of Nigeria are historically classified into two super clans - IchĂ´ngo and Ipusu. Any explanation of Tiv political or traditional organisation that departs from this foundational reality is bound to misrepresent Tiv history. IchĂ´ngo, regarded in Tiv tradition as the elder lineage comprises Ihyarev, Masev, Nongov, Turan, Ikyurav and Ugondo, while Ipusu, the younger lineage comprises Sh*tire, Ukum, Tongov and Kyor (also known as Kparev). In addition to their strong presence in Benue State, Tiv people are indigenous to parts of Nasarawa, Taraba, Plateau, Cross River, Niger and Adamawa States, occupying much of the Benue Valley and ranking among the four largest ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.
Before the establishment of the Tor Tiv Stool in 1946, the Tiv had no centralised authority or paramount ruler. Tiv society was decentralised and organised around clans and kindreds, each governed by its elders, known as Orya, under a gerontocratic system where authority flowed naturally from age, lineage and moral standing. Leadership at that time was communal and consensual, and there was no indigenous concept of kingship or overarching traditional sovereignty. The introduction of the Tor Tiv Stool after the Second World War was therefore not a product of Tiv political evolution but a colonial administrative intervention, reflecting British preferences for centralised authority. Alongside this development came the reorganisation of Tiv administration through the Tiv Native Authority and the creation of administrative blocs and divisions strictly for convenience of colonial governance rather than for reflecting Tiv traditional structure.
Under this colonial arrangement, blocs such as Kwande, Ukum-Sh*tire, Jemgbah, Jechirah and IchĂ´ngo emerged, but these blocs were neither traditional institutions nor expressions of Tiv lineage logic. What later became Makurdi, Guma, Gwer East and Gwer West Local Government Areas was at the time administratively labelled as the IchĂ´ngo bloc. There was nothing historically labeled as MINDA. These labels were administrative inventions that ignored the complex interweaving of Tiv clans across territories.
The contradictions inherent in this system were clearly identified in 1969 by Wantaregh Paul Iorpuu Unongo in his famous open letter titled “Where Do We Go From Here?” addressed to the Tiv people of Benue-Plateau State. In that intervention, Unongo reminded the Tiv people that Tiv, the progenitor, had only two sons, Ichôngo and Ipusu, and that Tiv political philosophy is anchored on “ya na anngbian”, the principle of equity, fairness and justice. He criticised the classification of Ichôngo lineages such as Ugondo, Turan-Tiev and Ikyurav-Tiev under the Ukum-Sh*tire intermediary, noting that these clans were first-generation children of Tiv just like their counterparts - Ukum and Sh*tire. He also questioned the logic of isolating Ihyarev, Masev and Nongov as an Ichôngo intermediate area when other Ichôngo clans existed in Kwande and Ukum-Sh*tire intermediaries. For Unongo, these arrangements were selfish, historically inaccurate and morally indefensible.
To correct these distortions and misnomer, Unongo proposed the creation of six intermediate areas that would better reflect Tiv realities and ensure equitable representation of both super clans, with autonomous and mixed areas that acknowledged the inter-clan distribution of the Tiv people. Although this proposal resonated widely, its full implementation was frustrated by the political interests of some sections of the Tiv elite in the 1970s and early 1980s. Nonetheless, when divisional administration was abolished nationwide after Gen. Murtala Muhammed overthrew Gen. Yakubu Gowon's government in 1975, the spirit of Unongo’s proposal found expression in the creation of the first six Tiv local government areas in Tivland: Gwer, Makurdi, Gboko, Vandeikya, Katsina-Ala and Kwande. These local governments later evolved into what is today recognised as Tiv intermediate areas, namely Lobi, covering Makurdi and Guma; Gwer, covering Gwer East and Gwer West; Jemgbah, covering Gboko, Buruku and Tarka; Jechirah, covering Vandeikya and Konshisha; Sankera, covering Katsina-Ala, Ukum and Logo; and Kwande, covering Kwande and Ushongo.
Even though Unongo’s reforms were never perfectly implemented, the Tiv Traditional Council (presently Tiv Area Traditional Council), functioned for decades on the basis of six intermediate blocs, each headed by an "Uter". This structure operated under Tor Tiv II, HRH Gondu Aluor, and Tor Tiv III, HRH James Akperan Orshi Kur Baka, until the introduction of LG-level "Ter chiefdoms" by HRM Orchivirigh Torkula. The last six "Uter" before the introduction of the "Ter" Chiefdom at the LG level were: Chief Gom Gire (Kwande), Chief Lanve Malu (Sankera), Chief Akaahar Adi (Jemgbagh), Chief Jam Gbinde (Jechirah), Chief Ivokough Unongo (Ichôngo Yande Lobi), and Chief Gendaga Damna (Ichôngo Gwer). When HRM Orchivirigh Dr. Alfred Akawe Torkula, Tor Tiv IV, ascended the Tor Tiv throne in 1991, he introduced far-reaching reforms that restructured the Tiv traditional system, establishing graded chiefdom stools such as Uter and Mue Ter. He also formalised honourific chieftaincy titles and strengthened the institutional framework of the Tiv Area Traditional Council (TATC).
In 2012, the Tiv Area Traditional Council under HRM Orchivirigh Torkula, set up a committee chaired by Chief Unaha Kôkô, with Zaaki Abomtse Daniel (current Ter Tyoshin) as secretary, to address the long-debated misnomer in Tiv intermediaries. The Gabriel Torwua Suswam's administration mandated the office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, under Barr. Adum Ter Alex, to collaborate with the Tiv Traditional Area Council and the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, headed by Prince Solomon Wombo, to draft a Chieftaincy and Deposition Law. The AG’s office engaged Barr. Dan Ashiekaa SAN, “Tor Fan Atindi U Tiv,” as a consultant on this historic law. In 2014, the Benue Chieftaincy Appointment and Deposition Law was signed, establishing six Intermediate Areas and six First Class Chiefdoms in Tar Tiv: Lobi, Gwer, Jemgbagh, Jechirah, Sankera, and Kwande, putting an end to the long-debated Tiv Intermediate Areas.
On May 7, 2015, the Suswam administration announced the appointment of six First Class Chiefs across these Intermediate Areas, despite an earlier Benue State High Court order, presided over by the Chief Judge, Justice Iorhemen Hwande, restraining the State Government from making such appointments. Subsequently, the Tiv Area Traditional Council (TATC), through its Secretary, Chief Torsar Shinyi, announced the appointments of new First Class Chiefs: Chief Ambrose Iortyer (Tor Kwande), Chief David Afatyo Ajoko (Tor Jemgbagh), Chief Goddy Ikerave (Tor Gwer), Chief Moses Anagende (Tor Lobi), Chief Clement Uganden (Tor Jechirah), and Chief Terkula Suswam (Tor Sankera).
On June 4th, 2015, the newly sworn-in Governor, Chief Samuel Ortom, reversed these appointments, directing the TATC, through the Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Targema Takema, to revert to the status quo ante pending the court's determination of the matter. The Chieftaincy Law was amended in 2016 and duly signed by Gov. Ortom. Following the passing of Tor Tiv Torkula on November 22nd, 2015, the Tiv and Benue State Traditional Councils experienced shadow leadership until the government shifted attention to electing a new Tor Tiv. HRH Chief Ivokough Unongo, Ter Guma was acting as Tor Tiv during this shadow leadership.
On May 14, 2018, Gov. Ortom inaugurated six new First Class Chiefs across the six Intermediate Areas of Tar Tiv: HRH Chief Abu King Shuluwa (Tor Sankera); HRH Chief Julius Mandaki Aondona Adaga (Tor Gwer); HRH Chief Moses Mfave Anagende (Tor Lobi); HRH Chief David Afatyo Ajoko (Tor Jemgbagh); HRH Chief Ambrose Pine Iyortyer (Tor Kwande); and HRH Chief Clement Kparevfa Uganden (Tor Jechira).
Against this historical and legal background, it must be stated clearly and unequivocally that MINDA has never been, and is not a Tiv intermediate area or power bloc. MINDA is a sociocultural association and pressure group, comparable to organisations such as Sankera Development Association Association (SADA) Jemgbah Development Association (JEMDA), Jechirah Development Association (JEDA), or at best Jemgbah-Jechirah Development Association (Double J). MINDA has no traditional, constitutional or historical authority over the people of Lobi, Gwer or any part of Tivland, and it does not form part of the Tiv native or traditional administrative structure. Presenting MINDA as a bloc or intermediate area is therefore a serious distortion of Tiv history.
Correcting this misconception is the responsibility of Tiv Traditional Institutions, the Benue State Government and well-meaning Tiv sons and daughters, particularly politicians, researchers and academics, because recording MINDA as a traditional power bloc amounts to rewriting Tiv history inaccurately. The younger generation deserves to be taught the holistic history of the Tiv people, grounded in truth, balance and documented evolution, rather than a selective narrative shaped by convenience or contemporary political interests.
Samuel Allen Zenke is a researcher with interest in Tiv Origin and Expansion.
This is a "remixed" excerpt from his upcoming work.
NB: Pictures on display are those of the first-ever 1st Class Chiefs in Tivland inaugurated on the 14th of May, 2018. Three were of IchĂ´ngo, and the other three of Ipusu.
