By Peter Duru, Makurdi 

The Benue State Government has formally handed over the iconic Joseph Saawuan Tarka Complex to the Benue State University, BSU, Makurdi. 

The State’s Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Mike Inalegwu, Thursday, handed over the complex to the management team of the BSU led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Joe Iorapuu. 

Mr. Inalegwu said the ceding of the complex to the institution was premised on an earlier resolution of the Benue State Executive Council. 

“We are doing this today based on the resolution and directive of the Benue State Executive Council which will obviously add value to our state,” he said. 

Taking possession of the complex, the Vice Chancellor of BSU, Prof. Joe Iorapuu commended Governor Samuel Ortom for the bold initiative. 

According to him, “this is what is obtainable globally. So what the Governor of Benue State has done is not new; especially with Tarka Foundation because this Foundation was established for a purpose and the name Tarka alone is an institution. 

“And this Foundation was established to protect and ensure the sustainability of that name in terms of history, in terms of research, in terms of knowledge base for the Middle Belt, the minorities and the disadvantaged in this country at large. 

“Although this place was handed over to BSU in 1992 but the then Vice Chancellor didn’t take it over maybe because the University was just starting. So what has happened today is history repeating itself. And I want to believe that everyone would prefer that a facility like this should belong to an institution.” 

On what the University would use the complex for, Prof. Iorapuu said, “we are looking at this as a place for Centre for Middle Belt and Minority Rights Studies. This place will be our own Arewa House. 

“So by the time we stock our information here you would not need to go to Kaduna Arewa House to get information; people will come around to dig information for research including Journalists.”