One cannot be heartless to celebrate the killings disfiguring Plateau State. But that cannot be a reason to bury the truth. I may sound offensive to the guilty ones, while to some fair minded I may sound objective in my analysis. Whichever way, I remain committed to objectivity from my understanding of the situation disfiguring Plateau State which was from a long time plan.
Till this moment throughout my sojourn on planet earth, I never came across a set of people that hate to be developed by others like those so called indigenes of Plateau State languishing in abject poverty, frustrated, confused but deceived by their so called tribal, religious and community leaders to believing fiction, while those so called leaders are swimming in opulence and the state burns.
In political times, if you desire their votes, tell the indigenes what they want to hear. Tell them you will flush out Muslims in their midst. Tell them you will support the killings of Fulani, and their votes are for you without doubt!
“I am a son of the soil, you are a settler” this is what usually comes out from the mouths of the natives of Plateau State when discussing with tagged settlers, particularly Hausa/Fulani Muslims not to Igbos, Itsekiris, Ijaws, Uhorbos, Ikwerres, Efiks, Anangs, Yorubas etc but those whose great grand, grandparents labored through tin ore and columbite mining activities, arts/crafts, animals husbandry and trading to build the state when the so called indigenous natives were in caves until the arrival of White Missionaries to smoke and ‘forced’ Christianity on them for ‘salvation’.
But to the same Plateau natives, those minority tribes in Manchok, Zangon Kataf, Kagoro, Kafanchan, Gonin Gora etc of neighboring Kaduna State or Sayawa and Jhar natives from Bogoro in Bauchi State are not settlers on the Plateau but brothers. In fact, those ‘brothers’ enjoyed better respect and recognition from some of the past governments than the so called settlers despite their economic contributions to the sustenance of the state overtime.
Jos North hosting Plateau State capital is no more in the news as those hoodlums and their blood thirsty sponsors who severally unleashed mayhem on the once beautiful and peaceful tin city hiding under the guise of land grabbing, ethnicity and religion, were forced to retrieve back after the exit of their demi-god and his remnants from power.
Until the likes of one self-appointed prophet who is a replica of Paul Gunen Gindiri, Isa El-Buba who migrated from Gwoza hill in Borno to Jos preaching hate and violence on the Plateau are cleared from the scene, peace may continue to elude the troubled Plateau. The likes of El-Buba working with ignorant tribal folks, believe they have the monopoly of violence to frustrate the Hausa/Fulani Muslims out of Plateau. That mirage of ethno-religious cleansing can only be feasible after the return of Prophet Yisa (Jesus) to mother earth.
That El-Buba and like minds should better wake up from their day dream and embrace the reality to have their peace if they so cherish. But to flush out the Hausa/Fulani Muslims from Plateau State, is an impossible task to undertake. Take my words to the Bank!
They attempted bouncing back few years back but the commendable efforts for return of peace put-in-place by former Governor Simon Bako Lalong discouraged and shattered their plans. That is now part of history as fragile peace has returned to Jos city.
To those of us that have an inkling of what actually ignited the crisis from the beginning with some Muslims tagged as settlers while some addressed as Indigenous Muslims, we are not surprise that another round of the killings has erupted in Plateau State. It was Joshua Dariye who introduced the Indigenous Muslim Theory targeted at frustrating Muslims.
We all know the primary intention of the crisis that will remain an illusion till eternity because it can never be realized, and no matter the strategy applied by any of the warring factions and whosoever presides over the state government cannot achieve the hidden evil intention.
Fortunately, most of those who planned the execution of the cleansing are no more as they died frustrated and disappointed bigots and left the ugly situation their people are battling to execute today.
Those dead war mongers were pretenders who misinterpreted the words of God in the Holy Bible. They erroneously believed that Christianity is all about dressing gorgeously on the Sabbath Day and rushing to the Church to sing, clap and dance or reading the Holy Bible as worshipping God. Christianity is more than their imaginations.
The religion of Islam recognizes and respects Christianity. It recognizes and respects real Christians not the violent type masquerading on the Plateau. What Plateau has, are mostly Pagans and Atheist forcefully converted to Christianity overnight. Their religious behaviors and understanding of Christianity are at variance with the teachings and actions of Jesus Christ. That is the bitter truth!
If one may eventually ask, who has the capacity and courage to stop the ongoing killings on the Plateau? Who are those fanning the embers of hatred between Muslims and Christians and for what reason? Who started what looked like an ethnic cleansing exercise on the Plateau and discriminating theories? Who fired the first shot against the other? Were those responsible for past acts of murders, arrested and prosecuted or were set free by the powers that be? Does Plateau State need peace or is comfortable with the security challenges it faces? Is the State Government ready to do the needful no matter whose ox may be gored for ever lasting peace? These are few questions that continue to beg for answers.
The ongoing grisly and despicable killings in Mangu, Barikin Ladi, Bokkos and Riyom added to the massacre of over 500 Berom natives in Dogo Nahauwa a suburb of Jos on Sunday, March 7, 2010, the massacre of several innocent Hausa/Fulani in Kuru and Yelwan Shendam and those along the federal highway that passes through Berom communities, the gruesome murder of Gen. Alkali at Dura-Du by suspected Berom terrorists, and the murder of 23 innocent commuters at Rukuba road in Jos by suspected Irigwe militia group and the killing of 25 innocent souls at Zangam Yelwa. Then the recent massacre of over 155 innocent souls on December 23, 2023 in 23 villages and communities with over 122 houses razed down in Barikin Ladi and Bokkos local government areas are few references for this discourse.
We are not talking of the attempted ethnic cleansing that took place in the various local governments in the state under the watch of Jonah Jang by suspected tribal terrorists allegedly supported by governments of the past.
The crisis rocking the foundation of unity and cohesion in Plateau state seems to have reached a point of catastrophe and beyond immediate solution. The state is paying dearly in all fronts. One wonders how the state turned into such lawlessness that evil now holds sway with impunity. Definitely, there had been an absence of sincere government in place all along.
Plateau State crisis dates back to the administration of Joshua Chibi Dariye (1999-2007) the ‘proud’ recipient of the medal of pardoned criminal. Insecurity was one of the recurring ugly decimals that marked and de-branded that administration at all fronts.
Jonah Jang administration that came on board after the exit of Dariye, was even worse as it appeared to have enjoyed the spate of killings.
So the All Progressives Congress (APC) after birth, latched on Jang’s lapses and weaknesses for a better peaceful state.
The blood thirsty monster that turned our nation state into the killing fields of the African Continent courtesy of several factors including; terrorism, ethno-religious sentiment, the restless rage of armed robbery, banditry and kidnapping for ransom has not relented. Instead it has bared its fangs worse than ever before in our history.
At the slightest strike, accusing fingers point to members of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN). But, the association has consistently denied any complicity in the attacks, warning that they should not always be linked to all attacks in the state, there are bitter lessons to learn from the series of killings over the years. The ones that have engulfed Plateau State since 2001 paint a parlous portrait of a country where citizens’ lives mean little or nothing to those who swore by their Holy Books to protect and defend lives and property without fear or favor.
For how long are we going to tolerate the crass absurdity of unmitigated murders in our country? Indeed, my continued outrage at the recurring bestial blood -letting on the Plateau since 2001 is predicated on the apparent impotence on the part of both the federal and state governments through the security agencies to rein in the monster of the orgy of violence.
As events have proved not much has been achieved by those on the corridors of power to stem the tide of the bloodbath on the Plateau and other places. On August 29, 2011, 20 innocent persons were murdered at Kabong, a suburb of Jos and their bodies mutilated and eaten by the beasts in human skin addressing themselves as Christians. Muslims had to celebrate their Eid-el-Fitr festival indoors. Yet, the worst case scenario was to follow later.
According to reports, some suspected herders went on rampage in Heipang near Jos on Sunday, September 4. 2011. By the time they were through, the family of one Chollom Gyang, including his wife Hannatu, six children and a four month old baby were dispatched to their ancestors. And in a subsequent sweeping strike by suspected Berom terrorists, a Fulani family of eight and a visitor were, hacked to hideous death at Foron village in Barikin Ladi local government area on Friday, September, 9, 2011. It was the fourth of such beastly attacks in Plateau state within just a week!
If that was more than a decade ago, what do we make of the approaching 2024, with regards to the safety of the people on the Plateau? As if the destructions of farmlands by suspected armed herders and cattle rustling by suspected natives and destruction of properties by ethno-religious jingoists were not enough and as if re-enacting a midnight horror film as the 10th Anniversary of the past tragedy, some assailants attacked, Tafi Gana village on August 17, 2021. There they descended on their victims’ and posted them to their ancestors. And in another attack at Dong village, gunmen murdered residents.
At the sleepy village of Dawan, Ganawuri Chiefdom in Riyom local government area, in broad daylight, former Minister for Sports in the Obasanjo administration, Damishi Tonson Sango was severally attacked and one of his police orderlies murdered by suspected natives of neighboring community.
Similarly, on Wednesday, August 18, 2021 there was an attack by unknown gunmen on an Irigwe community with five persons killed while four others were missing despite an imposed curfew on Bassa.
The vogue by Berom natives (Turu) in times of crisis whose communities are located by the federal highways is to attack and murder innocent travelers in retaliation to attacks by either herders or their common enemies within them. Instead of reprisal action on perpetrators of the attacks, they natives cowardly lay ambush to murder innocent travelers.
Federal establishments located within Berom communities are not safe all the times for Muslims staffs. Without provocation, those establishments are attacked with Hausa/Fulani Muslims targeted for murder. National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) is a case study. Pastoralists cannot access services of the institute any longer for fear of attack by the surrounding natives.
The natives in their wildest imagination forget the fact that those murdered without reason, have relations elsewhere that can equally be murderous in retaliation with time. For instance, the gruesome murder of Gen. Alkali by suspected Berom terrorists whose known offence was passing through Berom communities as a free citizen. He was stopped, robbed, humiliated and subsequently murdered for the sake of his religion.
Funny enough, same murderers expect to live in peace without tasting the bitterness of their brutal action in due course. That’s an illusion!
So, what is the way forward to the spate of killings not only in Plateau State but in several other areas across Nigeria? These apart from killings related to secessionist agitations in the Southeast geo-political zone by IPOB and ESN.
Going forward, it has become imperative for the political leaders to demonstrate, more by actions than by words that they are in power for the entire country, state or local councils and not for their ethnic nationalities, religion or kith and kin as is the case in Plateau State.
We must do away with king-servant relationship. No ethnic group or any part of the country, or state should be seen as superior to others. Natives of Plateau State are not superior by any standard to the Hausa/Fulani Muslims on the Plateau. The only difference is that the Hausa/Fulani are more into commerce and trade than civil service. They believe in the spirit of self reliance than dependency. They built fortune on the Plateau out of their sweat.
Security operatives not the Operation Rainbows of Plateau State should do much more on intelligence information gathering, articulation, interpretation and taking proactive actions. That is, when and where it matters most. The pain in all of these is that most of the attacks were preventable.
It could be recalled that Mario Machungo, in his thought provoking lecture entitled: “Good Leadership Counts” presented at the 1999 Kampala, Uganda Conference for Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa (CSSDCA) focused on the imperative of strengthening internal security. He stated that the inter-related problems of security, stability and development must be solved through home grown methods.
This, dovetails to the need for the security architecture and apparatus to be made holistic to engender the trust in the people to see it as their own. With that they will be willing to divulge relevant information which security agencies should act on promptly without politicizing them. And with that in place, it would be easier for them to identify and mop up hundreds of thousands of small arms and ammunition hidden all over the country by prospective trouble shooters most especially in Plateau, southern Kaduna and Tafawa Balewa axis in Bauchi State.
Besides, we should also do away with the persisting culture of impunity. The government should stop slapping perpetrators of evil with amnesty programs that insult the intelligence of their helpless victims. As Arewa Consultative Forum highlighted, this is the time to deal decisively with killers; to pay for their crimes against humanity instead of being cajoled by the powers that be. Only that would serve as a form of deterrence to others with similar evil inclinations.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang in the embattled Plateau State should not allow himself to be caught napping or his thoughts for a better and peaceful state beclouded by ethno-religious sentiments as was the case with some of his predecessors who sustained what we are witnessing today.
There are several devilishly claimed religious leaders parading the streets of Plateau that should be arrested and prosecuted for misusing the pulpit and podiums to fan the embers of hatred. One of such clowns known through his actions and preaching claims to be a Prophet while hiding his past antecedents needs public exposure by relevant security agencies.
A discreet investigation may expose his past as a disciple of the late devil, Muhammadu Marwa Maitatsine and now as a stationed disaster on Plateau State that should be seriously monitored and possibly disconnected from preaching a religion he is misinterpreting.
He lost access to power after the defeat of his master’s sponsored gubernatorial candidate in 2015. He has been lost midstream since then but so desperate to breach the peace for recognition and return of business as usual. Injustice breeds violence that should be the watch word of any responsible government in Plateau State.
There was justice in Plateau State by successive governments as all were treated equally before the peace was disrupted by area boys and vagabonds in power. Late Police Commissioner Joseph Deshi Gomwalk, Chief Solomon Daushep Lar, Fidelis Nanmi’apTapgun and Simon Bako Lalong were good and straight forward leaders who governed Plateau State with respect to all.
Simon Bako Lalong did his best for the return of lost glory but the blood thirsty beasts on the Plateau were not comfortable with his style of carrying all along. Typical Plateau indigene sees the APC as a Hausa/Fulani Muslim dominated party not for them. The 2023 voting pattern in the presidential election says it all!
Lalong resisted and ignored their advances and never for once subscribed to their evil plans of Christianizing the state until he exited power peacefully. Now, there is Barr Caleb Mutfwang is a real Christian running helter-skelter to bailout the state from the past unfortunate incidences. But the crisis seems to have returned in full swing.
The devils are back to the trench thirsty for human blood to quench their eight-year thirst. But with Governor Caleb applying the right prescribed balm with courage, the wounds may heal within a short period. If not, one has to pity the once peaceful and progressing state loved by all as the bastion of tourism and hospitality.
Finally, for the truth, you cannot kill my own unjustifiably and still expect yours to live in peaceful no matter the societal status you enjoy. It is a tit for a tat game. A stitch in time saves nine! I Come in Peace!
Muhammad is a commentator on national issues
