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Many perceive the sweeping adjustments to age-old Tiv customs instituted by the Tor Tiv, James Iorzua Ayatse, as a historic change for the traditional system.

The declarations occurred at the Ijir Tamen, the highest assembly of the Tiv Nation, led by the paramount ruler and attended by traditional leaders, elders, and Tiv representatives from both Nigeria and abroad.

The council states that the measures aim to promote unity, discipline, financial responsibility, and gender fairness among Tiv people worldwide.

One of the resolutions that carries considerable weight pertains to burial rites.

The assembly mandated that all funeral activities should be finished within three days and limited to immediate family members.

Due to what the council deemed an unnecessary financial burden, lavish ceremonies and extended celebrations were strongly discouraged, and burial anniversaries and remembrance events were completely prohibited.

According to the new directives, married women are no longer required to make financial contributions toward burial expenses in their husbands’ families, unless they choose to help voluntarily.

Tiv women have now been granted full inheritance rights in a significant change.

The decision includes provisions for legal support and court enforcement, which many see as a progressive advance in bolstering women’s status within Tiv customary law.

In order to counteract extravagant expenditures for wedding festivities, the Tor Tiv established a ceiling of N100,000 for items associated with marriage.

Additionally, the council banned the cutting of cakes at customary weddings and did away with the “kwase kuhan” celebrations that used to take place at the father-in-law’s residence.

The assembly equally proclaimed a zero-tolerance stance against domestic violence, emphasizing that the prohibition is applicable to all individuals, regardless of gender.

However, the monarch reaffirmed that the traditional kingship institution in Tiv land remains exclusively male, ruling out any possibility of women ascending the royal stool.

He emphasized that the revised cultural codes are mandatory for Tiv sons and daughters, regardless of their location, thus extending the influence and authority of the Tiv traditional institution beyond geographical boundaries.

The council, in an effort to foster order and discipline, imposed a ban on the drinking of ogogoro (local gin) across the Tiv Kingdom.

Additionally, the Tor Tiv disclosed intentions to create Tiv Television, aimed at safeguarding and promoting Tiv heritage on a worldwide scale.

Before it expands into full broadcast television, the initiative will begin operations on Facebook.

Moreover, the assembly approved the establishment of a women-focused financial initiative called BAM, aimed at providing loans and enhancing economic empowerment among Tiv women.

Even though the session included discussions of security challenges in Tiv land, specific resolutions addressing those challenges were not disclosed.

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