By AbdulAziz Gawat
I am from Plateau State and I love Plateau State with all my heart. I am a proud Plateau man, but let me say this bitter truth that many are afraid to say.
Why do we still have “Emir of Wase” and “Emir of Kanam” inside Plateau State in 2026? Plateau is Plateau, not Sokoto, not Bauchi, not Jigawa. We have our own identity.
Let us check history. Wase has indigenous tribes who are the original owners of the land – Basharawa, Jukun, Tarok, who have lived there for centuries. Kanam has Jarawa, Bogghom, Dugub, Badawa. Those people were here before the 1804 jihad came. They have their own language, their own culture, their own kingship system.
So why should their king today be called Emir? An Emir is an imported title from Sokoto Caliphate system. It does not represent our Plateau identity, it represents another people’s conquest history. It does not represent the Bogghom man or the Bashar man.
I am not saying we should fight anybody. I am saying government should correct this for unity.
In Kanam, let the ruler be called Long Kanam or Mishkaham Kanam or any name that comes from the land itself. In Wase, let him be called Long Wase or Ponzhi Wase or Rekna Bashar. Let the title come from the soil of Wase, not from a foreign palace.
Look at the rest of Plateau: We have Gbong Gwom Jos for Berom, Ngolong Ngas for Ngas, Mishkaham Mwaghavul for Mwaghavul, Ponzhi Tarok for Tarok, Saf Ron-Kulere. All beautiful Plateau names. Why should Wase and Kanam be different? Are they not Plateau too?
If we truly want One Plateau, One Heritage, let all our traditional rulers bear Plateau names. This will give our children pride. They will know their root. They will know this is Plateau State, Home of Peace and Tourism, with its own identity.
let us build our culture back.
