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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday at the State House, Abuja told Plateau State stakeholders to return home with open minds to seek peace and bring a permanent end to recurring crises in the state.
To this end, the President challenged leaders, led by the State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, to review previous Government White Papers on security crises and come up with workable resolutions for Government’s consideration.
Speaker after speaker at the meeting, including youth, identified the key issues of indigeneity, religion, ethnicity and farmer-herder clashes that have fueled past conflicts, and vowed to work hard to ensure that peace prevails in the state.
The meeting attended by a 32-person delegation was the fulfillment of President Tinubu’s promise to meet Plateau stakeholders for in-depth discussions on the recurring violence and killings in the state. President Tinubu called the meeting during his visit to the state following the violence in Angwa Rukuba, Jos North Local Government Area on March 29.
Members of the delegation included Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, National President of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former governors: Senator Simon Lalong, Senator Jonah Jang, Chief Joshua Dariye and Sir Fidelis Tapgun, HRM Mohammed Haruna, the Emir of Wase, HRM Da John Putmang Hirse, Reverend Dr. Dunka Gomwalk, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
Other delegates included Rear Admiral Samuel Atukum (Rtd), former military governor; Rt Hon Naanlong Gapyil Daniel, Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly; Dame Pauline Tallen, former deputy governor and minister; Air Marshal JD Wuyep (Rtd), former Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
During the interactive session, which lasted about three hours, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Mohammed Dorro, announced that President Tinubu has approved $2 billion in humanitarian aid for the victims of the March 29 attack in Angwa Rukuban, Jos.
President Tinubu said leaders at every level must commit to seeking peace and live in mutual tolerance.
“No protocols, no obstacles, we are here to express our opinion and find a permanent solution to a recurring conflict and chaos. I have listened to the leaders. Everyone here seeks peace. How do we chart our path to that peace?
“Let us first accept one resolution: tolerance for every inhabitant. If people are recruited to provoke anger, conflict and murder, it is you, the leaders, who should examine yourselves first,” the President said.
He stressed the need for leaders to sustain a concerted effort to achieve lasting peace in the state, as Plateau State was known for peace and its openness towards other tribes across the nation.
“We all need to find a way to welcome each other. We need to stop the situation where people are recruited to instigate tribal conflicts and murders. I’m happy to have listened to the young people.
“As leaders, you must go home, call a leadership meeting among yourselves, take the gazette, review the previous recommendations and agree to implement the White Paper. Bring to my attention any thorny issues that may arise and propose a workable resolution,” President Tinubu told the delegation.
According to him, “to stop creating orphans, widows and widowers, lasting peace in the State is necessary”, assuring the delegation that his administration is committed to the infrastructural development of the State. He also called on the state government to identify and name agents provocateurs so that they can face the full wrath of the law.
President Tinubu urged the governor to tap into the pool of enlightened leaders at his disposal in all spheres of life to promote harmony in the state.
The President further enjoined the governor to make justice, equity, tolerance and integration of other ethnic groups an integral part of his administration’s efforts towards lasting peace, stressing that everyone in the State must have a sense of belonging and participate in peace-building efforts.
In his remarks, Governor Mutfwang thanked President Tinubu for his continued efforts to find a lasting solution to the recurring security and violence challenges in the state. He assured the commitment of the elderly to support the initiatives.
He added that it was the first time that all the former governors of the State were in the same room for such a meeting, assuring the President of their determination to chart a new path towards peace in the State.
“Our coming here today shows that there is a renewed spirit on the plateau; that we want to be together. We are determined more than ever to fill all our gaps, ensure that we overcome all religious and ethnic divisions and build a state that we can all be proud of, because we are one of the critical states in this country that contributes immensely to the economy. And a lot has been lost over the decades that we want to recover. We want to thank you for your leadership that has generated this new spirit of unity.
“Having gathered this momentum, we want to assure you, by the grace of God, that we will build on it to tell a better story in the years to come. One of the things we are determined to aggressively look at is how to turn conflict into profit by ensuring that, under your leadership, we bring our people out of the shackles of poverty,” the governor further promised.
“By the grace of God, we know that you are with us and we want to assure you that we are with you too. In your journey to save Nigeria, we are in this together. Thank you for having us.”
In his remarks, Gbong Gwon Jos, HRM Da Jacob Gyang Buba, commended President Tinubu for his focused leadership and efforts to restore peace in Plateau State. He asked the President to send more troops to the state and install CCTV cameras, as he had promised. The royal father expressed his belief that the creation of the state police would go a long way in addressing insecurity in the country.
He also commended President Tinubu for appointing competent sons and daughters of the state, such as the National Chairman of the APC and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, to support the administration in managing the affairs of the country, and called for more places to be provided for the indigenous people of Plateau State.
He recalled that in the past, the football club, Mighty Jets of Jos, founded by the late Alhaji Isyaku Ibrahim, brought the state to national prominence, had players from virtually every part of the country who remained in Jos, even after the civil war.
He called for the President’s intervention for the return of IDPs to their ancestral homes, especially with the onset of the rainy season. He particularly commended the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for visiting the state twice with relief materials following the unfortunate security incidents.
Several members of the delegation insisted on the need for leaders to engage in the peace process, saying that without sincerity of purpose, lasting peace would be an illusion for the state.
Representatives of Christian and Muslim youth expressed to President Tinubu their willingness to work together for peace in the state and to support the governor.
Former Vice President and current member of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, emphasized the application of the rule of law to hold criminals accountable for their crimes, stressing that drug abuse plays a major role in insecurity in the state.
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